Unhatched

If you've been following for a while, you might remember that one of our eggs had a crack in it from shipping, so I coated it with wax to seal it in hopes that it would hatch anyway. Things were going perfectly until around day 16 or 17 when we candled and couldn't see any movement. We decided to keep it in the incubator just in case the embryo was sleeping or something. After the hatching of the other 3 eggs, I recandled, and again saw no movement. I also noticed that the egg just didn't feel right and so decided to pronounce it "unhatched".

Out of curiosity, I used a pin to chip away at the eggshell. I was careful not to puncture the membrane, just in case I was by some chance wrong with the candling. If the baby had been viable for some reason and just not moving, I would have known by looking at the membrane. Alas, this was not the case, so I took a bunch of pictures of her so that she did not die in vain. I figure someone may find these useful scientifically. If not, she is still beautiful in her own sad way.

Please- if you have children, watch the slideshow first and use your own judgement as to whether they can handle the photos or not. We showed Jib, who will be 3 next month. We told him that she just wasn't strong enough to hatch because she stopped growing, and sometimes things like this happen. He was sad about it for a minute, wanted to touch her (which I let him and then made him wash his hands, he just wanted to pet her head). He then wanted to see the other chicks that were still hanging out in the incubator, I think to make sure that they were still in there. All in all, I think it was a good learning experience for him even at this young age; but I know every child is different.

I had to resize the slideshow to get it to show up in it's entirety on here. If you'd like to view the full size version, please leave a comment and I'll email it to you. Thanks!

A baby chick hatches

This is video of our Silkie chicken hatching yesterday 3/27. Sorry about the audio, I know the music doesn't fit with the video but it's better than the original commentary by the Mr. and JibJib.

Stay tuned...

for more pics. The babies are still drying, and I can't take them out for pictures until they're nice and fluffy.

Pip pic

It's hard to see, but remember that I'm photographing through the incubator window ;)

Three babes!

We have 3 chicks! One blue, one yellow (not sure if it's white or buff yet) and one that could be either black or blue (we're hoping for black so we have a big variety). Awwww! Off to upload pics...

A pip and a ZIP!

Today is hatching day! We had a pip yesterday around 2pm (the star crack that begins the hatch, kind of like the first contraction). Not much going on in the incubator last night besides some moving and peeping eggs. I got up around 2:15am (it's hard to sleep when you're in labor ;)) and we had a total of 2 pips.

As of this morning, our second pipper (the one that pipped during the night) is hatched! It looks to be a blue Silkie (they're all Silkies, but the person I got the eggs from doesn't separate so the colors are a surprise). Pictures to come when I get back from yoga.

We have a pip!

A little star crack on the top of an egg, found by my mother (who of course had to go ruining my fun and blabbing to the Mr. before I could LoL). I can't wait! We should have at least one baby tomorrow, if not tonight.

Egg Update & Chicks

Yay! Chicks should be here today or tomorrow, I can't wait! We've got a call in to the Post Office- they said that they normally just deliver them to the house, but they spread the word around that we want a call so we can pick them up ASAP.

I recandled eggs #1, #2 and #6. #1 was the one that was clear- still clear, and the air sac was still moving around so I broke it open (outside, just in case of stink). First of all, I can tell you that it did not stink. Secondly, the yolk was scrambled when I cracked it open, so it definitely wasn't viable.

Eggs #2 and #6 have definite veining in them, so it looks like 5 out of 5 eggs in the incubator are growing well:)

Silkies are in the incubator

The title about says it all.

Silkie Eggs!

Lookie what showed up today!


Why yes, yes that is a carton containing 6 fertile hatching silkie eggs.


They need to sit at room temp, then into the incubator they'll go- probably tomorrow.

Setting up the incubator

The incubator is all set up and holding steady at 99.5* F. The directions say to leave it on for a half day before putting in the eggs, but I'm going to wait until tomorrow morning so I don't wake up to accidentally cooked eggs.

I'm using my mom's hundred year old HovaBator. She used to hatch the Mallard duck eggs that our neighbors would find in their boats come springtime. Her very first hatch was done under a lightbulb, misted with a spray bottle. I've heard that hatching isn't the easiest thing to do; she's my hero!

Here's a picture of the eggs (click on pictures to see the whole image):


Rearranged and numbered:


1-4


5-8


9-12


Weights:
1- 72.1g
2- 62.3g
3- 68.9g
4- 62.2g
5- 66.5g
6- 76.2g
7- 63.0g
8- 70.6g
9- 62.0g
10- 60.9g
11- 67.4g
12- 65.0g