Day 19 and one egg has pipped.....

[handlemecarefully]

And I can hear a little bit of cheaping .

Bit anxious though since I can't get the humidity any higher than 53% (and it should be at least 60% ,I believe, for hatching?)

Also managed to inadvertently squash one of the fertile and developing eggs whilst I was messing about with the incubator and the evaporation sponge (feel such a chump, gawd I'm an idiot sometimes)..so feeling rather bad about killing an almost mature viable chick in it's shell albeit by accident

Still glad that one of the eggs has pipped - unfortunately it is making me hugely unproductive as I am spending far too much time just staring into the incubator watching for developments!

Eek! It's much more exciting in an incy than under a broody, I never take much notice when the hens are hatching but with the R-Com I also spent too much of my time looking at the pipping eggs!

Humidity may take awhile to get up to the 60s, as long as the water is well topped up it should get there eventually. I think mine took a few hours - unlike getting it to 45% when starting off which only took a few minutes.

Have you remembered to turn the turner off?

Good luck!

Hi DoNB, it is so good to hear from you (yourself and Meghalegs are my poultry oracles of wisdom). I hope that you and the family,and baby Archie in particular, are doing good.

Humidity up to 58% now (very unscientifically stuck a damp flannel in) - I hope that is enough for now [worried emoticon].

I couldn't resist fiddling with the pipping egg. I gently peeled a bit more shell off but stopped pretty quickly when I though I spotted a tiny pin prick of blood. Chick seems okay though - still cheeping. It's exposed a bit more of the membrane under the shell and tbh it does look a bit papery and dry - not sure I am cut out for this malarky, way to stress inducing ...worry, worry, worry

Yes have switched turning function off

(will be strong and won't fiddle with any other pipping eggs)

As long as the chick gets it's beak out and can breathe, it will be fine for up to 48 hours. 58% should be enough. I was going to suggest putting a wet cloth in if all else failed

I now know from watching my own incy hatchings, that some chicks make a little hole and then take a couple of days to get out and others do the entire job in less than an hour when you're out on the school run!

And that is precisely what has happened DoNB. At 6.15am ds came thundering into our bedroom and announced " A chick has hatched and it is dead!" (fortunately it wasn't - just tired after it's exertions).This chick had only just pipped last night with a tiny hairline fracture to the egg - so (s)he was a fast little worker.

I have 3 chicks now - chick number 3 is the one I fiddled with yesterday and although he /she looks normal, he is chirping quite a lot. Am hoping (s)he is not distressed because of my intervention!

2 more eggs have pipped so hopefully still to come. Of the other 6 - nothing yet. Still quite frankly if all I get is 3 chicks I am nevertheless very happy!

Thanks for your advice and support

Hooray - good news.

I was like you with my lot in the incy. One had hatched and another had pipped but then did nothing for about 6 hours. The membrane was dry and tough so I peeled a bit. I ended removing almost all of it and then saw blood at the last minute. I put it back in incy and it laty around half hatched for hours but following morning it was fine and i couldn't tell it apart from the others.

Anymore hmc?

My broody is due to hatch Sunday/Monday. So that could bring our chicken total up to 24 - a big improvement on last years decimated fox numbers. And I'm planning on putting either another 12 hens eggs or 24 quail eggs in the incy next month. And I still won't have to register with DEFRA. Though I will have to buy another run...

Yep 4 hatched now - another very close to emerging from his / her shell. A further one is cheeping but no pipping as yet. Atm I can't see or hear any other signs from the other eggs. However as these were posted eggs, I think this is okay as a batting average?( 12 eggs set initially)

Megha - I shall promise to keep schtum about your four fertile eggs

Goodness DoNB, you are going to have such an impressive flock!

I am pondering ducks now. We have a naturally occuring pond in the fenced off wilderness at the bottom of our garden. It's very green and stagnant looking however....(perhaps because surrounded by trees). Will be checking the duck section out in the Practical Poultry forum to look at possibilities!

I've put them all in the broody cage under a heat lamp already and they are fluffing up nicely. They don't seem very interested in water yet (I am less concerned about food as I understand they don't need to eat for 24 hours). Should I dip their beaks in the water?

Incidentally the one who was just about to emerge has now hatched - that's 5 currently then, with a further egg cheaping but not pipping

P.S. It's nice to share this with fellow chicken lovers. The school mums show polite enthusiasm at the news for about 5 seconds and then switch off

I took each chick to the water but found it's actually quite hard to dip their beaks in so I splashed in the water with my finger and offered the chick a few drips. They would then follow my finger and drink. This was on the second day (I think) and I was amazed. I only had to show a few and the others copied.

Did ame with chick crumbs. Scattered them in a shallow dish and tapped them with my finger. They will follow your hand and eat.

Mine are huge now. Lulus two are the same size as her and are now unable to squeeze through the gap in the fence to go out the front.

I keep looking at them and imagining Sunday roasts

A 50% hatch rate from posted eggs isn't too bad. A fellow school mum has only had 2 hatch out of 12 and says the chicks don't look very robust.

I also dripped water from my finger to get the chicks to drink - it was amazing to see them drinking from the water tower like real grown-up hens within a day or two.

DH has just caught me looking at 'hen house porn' as he refers to it. I really need to get something sorted by early next week when the next batch of chicks (hopefully) hatch. Plus my 4 week old chicks are well-feathered and quite big and need more space (but will need a few more months before they look like roast dinner).

mehga how old are your Sassos now and when are they ready to eat? I'm definitely doing quail - they're ready to eat and/or laying eggs after just 6 WEEKS!!!!

As big as Lulu ! It didn't take them long to grow up did it! Do you slaugher and butcher your chickens yourself? (sorry can't remember). I am not averse to doing that in the future, but wouldn't know where to start.

I have observed the chicks going to water independently since I started to encourage them, so that's good news. Also seen them nibble some chick crumbs (and the woodshavings at the bottom of the brooder which I have now covered in kitchen roll to deter this)...

Think I will get only one more chick making 6 (one egg cheeping and pipping) - but that's just fine. Have left another egg in the incubator with it which I am undecided about, but have binned another 3 (no signs of life, didn't show much promise at day 12 candling - porous shells etc). When I cracked those 3 open 2 were infertile and one had died at early gestation (about a week or so I think)

Still all in all a good first attempt.

I think I will wait until next year before I do it again. Not quite sure I am quite ready to make the move to rearing for the table, so I will keep some of these chicks and will rehome others. Don't want to be overrun with chooks, hence 2009 before I have another go!

DH has always been the slaughterman around here but I need to learn. Not sure if I'll be able to do it though. I have to say I think I could cope with the method HFW used on his Chicken Out programme where the birds are shocked and then bled.

DH agrees taht he'll pull their necks and I shall draw and pluck them.

The Sassos are 8 weeks now and according to the website they can be finished from 12 weeks. They are remarkably fast growers.

I'm planning on keeping a couple of hens to cross with nev the Cornish Game Cock. He is lovely, he looks like an eagle.

Nev looks like an eagle doing a good impersonation of a bulldog.

I might do Sassos then. My Sussex-crosses will take about twice that long to get to a decent size.

I don't mind pulling necks - I was reared on pheasant shoots so had plenty of practice. I've been told that to butcher quail you just cut their heads off . I suppose it's just as quick as breaking the neck but it seems much more grisly. And I keep thinking of Sweeney Todd!

hmc - am at your pond, stagnant or otherwise. I like the fact that it's away from the house too.

6 chick is here (with assisted delivery at 06.30 this morning, had to do a lot of shell peeling). His / her feet seemed to 'clawed' if that makes sense, I don't recall seeing this with the other chicks. Could it be from being crammed into the egg for so long and they will straighten out / or possibly a deformity? Time will tell I suppose