Cuckoo in the nest

[Cliodhna]

So, I have just hatched 7 Welsummers.

1 died shortly after hatching (it hadnt even got out of the shell fully). I'm not sure if it was trampled, I read not to open the incubator until all the eggs were hatched and it was a bit cramped with all the shells and new chicks. Alternatively, it looks as though it may have been exhaustion, he/she didnt seem to recover after hatching. I'm hatching a second clutch shortly so if I did something wrong I'd appreciate feedback so that i dont repeat the mistake. I use the small Brinsea incubator with the automated turner, temp at 37.5, humidity increased in the last few days from one chamber filled to both chambers filled with water as per the instructions.

The other thing is, one looks completely different from the others. He/she is much darker brown head back and wings, has no stripes or triangle or eyeliner and has a white breast.

I got my eggs from a reputable breeder who I trust implicitly.

Is it possibly just a variation or is it more likely to be a mix up with the eggs.

I will post photos, I just want to give them time to recover. We have a weird narcolepsy / hypnosis thing going on at the moment where they are all chirping and moving around and then instantly at the same time they fall asleep lol . Waiting for them to be awake a little bit longer before I take photos.

 

[chrismahon]

Hi Cliodhna. The temperature should go down to 37 degrees during pipping and hatching. This is to counter the heat they give off moving around, so it could have been exhaustion. Sounds like an egg mixup, but sometimes you can get a genetic throwback to the breeds and colours that were originally used to created the breed and colour you have. It is this natural event that can trigger new colours and breeds, by breeding from the throwback individual. We thought we had such an event and contacted the breeder we bought the cockerel from. The breeder was scratching his head as well until I realised we had accidentally hatched a crossbreed of a Buff Orpington cockerel and a Gold Laced Wyandotte hen thinking we were hatching a Brown English Leghorn bantam! Anyway, Chester turned out a lovely, friendly, fluffy and rather large 'orange' cockerel. His mother(s) fell for him straight away, so he moved in with them and they are all very happy together.

 

[Marigold]

Hi Cliodhna, glad the hatch went well, except for one. Sadly, not all chicks do make it safely out of the egg, even if they get part way. I don't expect the other chicks affected it badly, if it was going to hatch and have the strength to grow, it would have done so. Probably it hadn't fully absorbed the blood from the membrane and thus wasn't able to detach from the shell. If it hadn't the strength to do this, there was nothing you could have done and if the others were OK you didn't do anything wrong.
I wonder if you have the newer type of Mini Advance, which tells you the humidity reading? Mine didn't have this but I put a small hygrometer in it to tell me what the humidity was. It shouldn't be above 40-45%, and often it's OK not to add any water at all to the pots, as the humidity in the air circulating from outside will be at that level. Many people have found that keeping the water levels low, or even not adding water until the last day or two when turning has stopped, results in good hatches. Too much humidity means that the chicks are in danger of drowning because the excess water vapour penetrates their porous eggshells. Also, in the Mini Advance, you need to remove the turning circle when the turning stops, and replace it with a layer of soft cotton fabric or J-cloth, as otherwise the chicks will scrabble about on the slippery plastic surface and be in danger of getting splayed legs because their muscles are so undeveloped. I expect you did this? These are just some ideas based on my own use of an earlier model of this incubator, as you asked.
I dont know about the odd coloured chick, Ive never had Welsummers, but you might send a photo to the breeder and ask her opinion. Unless you want a truly purebred flock, I wouldn't think it would matter, would it? But the breeder would be interested to know, and might offer some help if its important to you. One reason for a mismatch might be that the hen wasn't kept on her own for long enough before being mated to a purebred cockerel. Hens can store semen for up to three weeks from the last cock to mate them, so if their Mum had been running in a mixed flock, she might have had one egg fertilised by another bird of a different breed, even if she was shut up with a pure Welsummer.

 

[Cliodhna]

I dont mind the different chick, I am hatching mixed eggs next (nothing like a surprise!) so the breed isnt an issue, just curiosity really.

I did remove the turning circle, and replaced it with kitchen towel. My brinsea doesnt tell you the humidity, I just followed the instructions in the book that came with the incubator, but that's interesting to know about the humidity. So I shouldnt add water at all until day 18? I also followed the heat instructions, which said for chickens between 37.5 - 37.6. so that is too high?

 

[chrismahon]

37.5 is correct for the first 18 days Cliodhna. Then it needs to drop to 37.0, the humidity increased to about 70% (which in the UK means putting water in one or perhaps both trays) and turning stopped. In dryer climates, like here, water is required all through. One tray initially and two trays for hatching, unless we have a prolonged wet spell or live amongst trees, which is unusual. Incubators are generally designed with the water trays necessary for the larger European market. Our incubators were made in Spain and Italy.

 

[dinosaw]

Sounds like you have done alright to me Cliodhna, some chicks are just not quite strong enough to survive. I've hatched Welsummers and your different chick is obviously not normal for the breed, if all of the eggs looked the same then it is most likely what Marigold says, a non Welsummer cockerel has got in and had a bit of fun or as Chris says it can be some kind of genetic throwback. I once hatched what was meant to be a pekin that looked more and more like a orpington bantam the older it got, it never did lay any eggs and the boys had no interest at all in her. How many eggs did you start out hatching with at day 1?

 

[Cliodhna]

I started with 7, so all hatched.

I have to admit I thought I was hallucinating when I first saw the eggs move and heard them cheeping. It was late at night and I was studying, I was sure it was in my head lol.

And now, of course, I'm hooked.

 

[dinosaw]

An 85% hatch rate is a great result by any standards but for a first go it is excellent, it's a shame that you lost 1 but I would say you shouldn't change what you have been doing unless you have a good reason to as it has obviously worked well in the environment that you are in. Humidity levels vary from location to location which is why dry hatching can work well in the UK while keeping the humidity level higher throughout the hatch is recommended by Brinsea who are Italian and have a drier environment. One little tip I would give is if you ever find it difficult to raise your humidity at the end of the hatch is to put some small pieces of sponge soaked in incubator disinfectant into the brooder.

 

[Cliodhna]

These are photos of the "different" chick.

No stripes on the back.

 

[dinosaw]

Your right it's not what you would expect a Welsummer chick to look like, will be interesting to see how he/she turns out.

 

[Icemaiden]

Aaahhhhh.... 08