Thank you Catsy!!

Here is a bird for y'all!!! LOL

Happy to see you back Wren!! I hope your tooth is better now! Beautiful bird..:)

Incredible bird Wren: Looks like the neck, head, and beak are one and the same.


Well I am up and the rest of the eggs hatched while I was sleeping, No more drama. That episode wore me out. Yes my little angel is still alive and somehow turned himself around. He is finally lifting his head a little and still has egg shell stuck all over it but it is looking very good and peeping wildly.

You were surely right ZZ's I learned the art of extracting babies from my darling wife. Had she not been sleeping ??? well you get the message. I don't want to go through that again, it's to nerve wracking. Maybe not, but I felt like I was a shaking nervous wreck during that proccess. ZZ's the inc I was using is the Brinsea and it has the digital humidity preset, and I don't have the book to tell me how to change it. I probably wouldn't anyway as this is the only one this has happened to. Have a wonderful day all, I have some baby sitting to do...LOL. Hay

Thanks y'all That is a Florida Water Turkey. She is a nice girl-says Hi to use when we go to the
park. LOL

That's what I mean Hay.. You didn't do anything wrong, and even with perfect conditions, some just dry out.. I didn't think it was driver error... LOL

My little struggling one is still VERY ifffy right now.. I just got 3 more drops of egg yolk water down it, but I am very worried about this one..

Water turkey? Amazingly beautiful... so graceful looking!!

what an awesome bird..
Good job Hay.. You know we all love you.. a man that says he was scared.. you are still my hero!

Here is a pic of my little survivor I call heavens gift...Hope you can see it. Sorry lousy pic, I'll try again after it warms up. Hay

This message was edited Mar 12, 2010 12:43 PM

Hope the little guy/girl makes it! Sending good thoughts your way!

Awww How cute Hay!!! Poor lil thing.. I hope it pulls through okay.

Mine is doing a TINY bit better... I took Catsy's advice and left it alone to rest. I just gave it a couple more drops of egg yolk water, but didn't pick it up... it took a tiny bit from the dropper on it's own! Now all the others LOVE to see the dropper coming! Starts a feeding frenzy.. LOL

SHE_WOLFIE, I forgot that I am a member of the SCNA.. I joined last year.. I rarely go there, cause there is not much goin on. ;) DG rocks.. :)

WREN YOU are back...Ma'am no disrespect but you had me quite concerned when we had not heard a peep from you..

Awww Hay...Just as Frans says... You are a hero...

OK now I just have to ask a really stupid question. I have heard you all talk about this before, but can some one explain?? What is a Pip?? and
can you explain this please...

The pip is the first sign of life emerging from the egg, a crack, or generally a dinky hole that allows air into the shell so the baby can breath while it continues the struggle of breaking out of the shell. In some cases the shell can be so hard that the baby cannot break through and in those kind of cases it will suffocate if help is not available. Some pips can be so small they are very difficult to see. It is amazing how fast you learn when and how to help. Sometimes your successful and sometimes all your efforts are not enough. It's the heartbreak of chick parenting. But there is nothing else like it in my mind. The rush of successful hatching cannot be explained, it can only be experienced. Hay

The first stage in hatching is the "pip", where a chick begins to break through the egg shell with its egg tooth. Before that happens, it has to break through the inner egg membranes into the enlarged air cell at the top of the egg. When it does that, it begins to breath and sometimes you can hear it cheeping.

Then it starts at one spot to break though the egg shell. It looks like someone shot the egg shell from the inside with a tiny bee bee. This is the pip. The chick will then gradually work its way around the top of the shell. about where the air cell is. While it is doing this it is pushing up against the shell with its back and shoulders. The top of the egg starts to come off--sometimes referred to as the "zip" or "zippering". Inside the egg the chick is still covered with the inner membrane which is full of blood vessels. They will eventually clamp off. The chick is also taking what remains of the egg yolk into its body through what looks like its belly button. If you try to take the chick out of its egg before these happen it will bleed to death from the unclamped blood vessels and the "belly button" will be open with part of the yolk still showing. This is bad.

Sometimes, if the RH is not high enough or the zippering has taken too long, the inner membrane will dry out and trap the chick so that it cannot complete hatching. It is like it has been shrink wrapped in plastic film. If the blood vessels are clamped off, you can help the chick out and remove the film. HOWEVER...sometimes the reason this happens is that the chick has something wrong with its legs and hasn't been able to push its way out. This is heartbreaking, because it has come so far and you want it to be okay, but it isn't. You just have to accept it and do what you feel is best.

But most chicks are fine, complete the hatch and tumble out screaming and wet. They tumble and fall around for a few hours while they dry off and learn to walk.

Very rarely, the pip doesn't start at the top where it should, but close to the bottom. This puts the chick in a completely wrong position. Most won't hatch without eventual help and sometime they bleed to death even without help. This "bottom pipping" is, for some reason more common in certain breeds, particularly Araucanas and Ameraucanas.

Well, that's all the technical stuff about the pip. Now let me tell you the REAL truth about the pip. The pip is what we live for, it's extremely addicting.. People have been known to stare for hours or look at the same spot close to a million times the last few days of the hatch cycle.. The pip is something that will make your heart race like you never imagined. The pip is something so strong, it can make a grown man giggle like a teenager. It can make a teenager hide a tear. It can make a person weak in the knees or give them fits of energy. It can, and does help support ebay and eggbid, so be warned... there is no turning back once you see your first pip.

Then you graduate to someday helping a chick out of the shell... so worried it is not going to make it out alive. The lil tiny thing slides onto your hand, unfolds and opens it's eyes and starts peeeping.. Trust me, there is nothing like it in the world..

I hope this lengthy story helps explain why we are so silly on these threads, why we want to share every detail, and why we love this place so much.

Well ZZ's my little one is still alive, but with just enough fluf that it now looks like it just came out of the shell, it still looks wet and it's standing up for a few seconds and then drops with apparent exhaustion. I have hand fed and eye droped with electrolytes and all. it's a slow process and I think now it's just a waiting game. How is your little one doing? I loved both descriptions of the pip's...LOL. Hay.

This message was edited Mar 13, 2010 9:04 AM

Up Date: My little naked serama is up and a little wobbley, but for the most part is running with the others, still not as much fluff but getting better by the hour and I think it is now out of the woods. Yeah.

Great news! Good job, mama Hay.

This message was edited Mar 13, 2010 4:14 PM

So glad to hear Haystack! I am happy for you.

My lil baby is failing.. :( It hatched 2 days late, so I am thinking it was just meant to be. It is so hard to just watch them fade slowly like this. I tried...

Way to go Haystack and thanks all for the explanation of a pip.. Ok another question here, if I dont take the turner out, it will hold the eggs in the little plastic things and well if the hole is in the bottom, then how can they get out??

They flop and flip and roll... Honestly, that's hard to answer.. LOL The bottom 1/2 of the shell will be sitting there and the top taken off..

Actually they can't get out very well anyway if they pip on the bottom.

If you feel like it, you can take the egg turner out for the last four days and just lay them on their sides on the wire on the bottom of the eggbator. They are structured so that the big end will still be raised, just like in the nest.

I truly enjoyed the discriptions of the 1st pip and totally agree! my little chicks started piping this morning they are a day early but so far all that have hatched are doing great!There is still quite a few hatching.I will post an up date later with pictures of the lil cuties hatching on my birthday!

Happy Day!

MissJ, your hatch sounds like it was successful, yay!!
Hay, hope your naked serama is fluffing out and doing well. You must have the hands of a surgeon to have picked the shell off, that would have scared me silly.
SHE_WOLFIE, how many in your brooder, I must have missed it or you're keeping it a sceret? LOL
ZZ, sorry to hear your baby is failing, hoping for a miracle for it.

I really got caught up in everyone's hatching experience. Wow!

My lil one didn't make it.. but it was probably meant to be. These three are doing amazingly well.

Oreo's tail is coming in 1/2 black and 1/2 white.. fits it's name well. :)

I didn't hatch these, but I'm goin to start hatching again tonight I think... LOL

Oh AnneBBB not yet, due around the 21st in a few days, There is another link
Incubating for the First time Lots of questions that you can read about it...
Greys hatch was good... I did go out and buy 6 babies though and maybe Friday I might go to the feed store to get hay and well who knows what will follow me home.. LOLOL

Sorry, Must have over exposure heat lamp burn since I'm not keep any of this as straight as I thought. I really love reading everyones stories about their hatch and seeing the pictures. Amazing, Everyone of you! Go to the feed store, there are chicks waiting to call you mamma..

Picked up 13 americauna/ EE's and 4 Buff Orps today at Meyer, sexed, hope no roos slipped through. Got attached to Burnadette (EE'er) really fast, she is all chipmunk cheeked but not as strong as the others, unsteady on her feet, but eats and drinks. Gave her some egg yolk drops, hoping for the best. One of the Sillies, Elizabeth, freaked when I added the new chicks to the box. She ran at them flapping her tiny bad self wings and posturing. Pushy little thing! I so hope she's a girl, love her attitude!! The new day old chicks are bigger than the Silkies, too cute!! Julie took 3 of the remaining Silkies as I'm already over the comfort level for the 19 chicks to go into the coop. Unless they are roos by mistake it''ll break my heart to part with them! Need to clean the box again and give clean water and food, done every 4 hours. The chicks have high standards at the Hilton (which is three paper towel boxes duct taped together) !
G'Night all!!

Here is a pic of my little naked serama, five days later. It is a true survivor. Sure glad that drama is over, ZZ's I want you to know Karen was in bed asleep and I was the only midwife available. Going to get my midwife license today...LOL

one more pic: Sorry you lost your baby ZZ's...thats always tough.

Hay, happy to hear your naked serama is no longer naked and is thriving. You're a good mamma!



Annie

He is trying to grow as big and strong as the chickens behind him!
So very glad he has made it.. Does he have a good strong name Hay? Like Hurc or Titan?

ANd yes ZZ so sorry.. thats a tough one.. but now that you are home, I am sure there are many more happy days ahead..

Frans did you get my dmail?

Im sorry to hear bout ya baby ZZ :0( I also have one im watching and hoping.
Annie i ended up with 9 adorible chicks.Here is a picture of them piped and hatching jester.

Great picture, SHE_Wolfie, the picture gives me goosebumps, that must have been so exciting to watch!

I thought this was a cute pic of Oreo, (the big one) Ditto (the smaller twin) and Keebler..
Keebler is my favorite, (mostly black) I think it's a pullet, although it "flips" as a roo.. Keebler stares at me... right in the eye... Like a bird I once had long ago. LOL I think this lil thing can see right through me!

Here is the happy couple outside finally!!

They're so cute! What does 'flip" mean?

Gee, those chicks sure look familiar.

I love Oreo's tail!

And Harley's sickle feathers are coming in:0)

When you lay them on their backs in your hand, one leg drops down, pullet.. both legs, roo.. Not accurate, but fun to do..

Hay, you've got dmail