foxy
Active member
Waiting with baited breath here for an update!!! 
We have a gosling on the way!
- Thread starter Isis
- Start date
Margaid
Well-known member
Me too Foxy. There are all sorts of things I should be doing but I keep coming back to check for news!
Sorry guys! lol.
I live in Ontario so it's only just now 8am.
He hasn't done anymore progress, he's being pretty lazy... However still perky, responsive, wiggly... I intervened again this morning and managed to get his whole beak visible. However I noticed some yellow marks that look kind of like burns on the membrane in the egg? When I saw this I turned down the heat lamp.. I don't want to burn him! I also stopped chipping at the shell when I noticed this because I worried that maybe it wasn't burn marks but rather something else that needs to be left alone for now.
I also ran my finger under some water and put it to his beak and he eagerly drank it up. Hoping I won't have to break him out completely, but I guess we'll see!
I live in Ontario so it's only just now 8am.
He hasn't done anymore progress, he's being pretty lazy... However still perky, responsive, wiggly... I intervened again this morning and managed to get his whole beak visible. However I noticed some yellow marks that look kind of like burns on the membrane in the egg? When I saw this I turned down the heat lamp.. I don't want to burn him! I also stopped chipping at the shell when I noticed this because I worried that maybe it wasn't burn marks but rather something else that needs to be left alone for now.
I also ran my finger under some water and put it to his beak and he eagerly drank it up. Hoping I won't have to break him out completely, but I guess we'll see!
chrismahon
Well-known member
The staining on the membrane is normal Isis. Is the towel and the membrane around the hole still damp as he should be coming out any time now and I wouldn't want him to stick to it. keep the temperature at 37 if you can.
And here was me thinking you were a 'night owl' type person. Didn't realise you were in Ontario.
And here was me thinking you were a 'night owl' type person. Didn't realise you were in Ontario.
Yep, it's all pretty damp. He keeps opening his mouth super wide to lick water off my finger haha, so the little beads of water roll onto the membrane too and then he starts nibbling at it. Just watching for now.. Won't intervene again until late tonight unless I don't have to!
So.... just checking on him and the staining looks like it's turning red
Is that bad news!?
So.... just checking on him and the staining looks like it's turning red
Is that bad news!?
chrismahon
Well-known member
You haven't done anything wrong Isis. If it's caused by blood it might be bad news. But he could be moving around and has detatched a redundant blood vessel. We've had eggs with blood inside the shell after hatching and no apparent reason why. They can bleed when removed from the shell too early. If the process is stopped they can recover. As long as he is still moving and cheeping. He will be absorbing the remainder of the yolk, which is still part of the egg and I suppose there are blood vessels going into it.
Fingers crossed.
Fingers crossed.
He's falling asleep right now. Chriping once in a while but biiiig yawns and getting quieter. I think he's tired.. everytime I came out to check him last night he was awake and chirping. Fingers crossed big time! Although if I look inside the egg you can see sort of a "pocket" of red? if that makes sense? but it's not like.. all over the place red it's just condensed to one area and doesn't seem to be doing any harm.
The red dots aren't getting any darker.
Fingers crossed big time! Although if I look inside the egg you can see sort of a "pocket" of red? if that makes sense? but it's not like.. all over the place red it's just condensed to one area and doesn't seem to be doing any harm.The red dots aren't getting any darker.
chrismahon
Well-known member
The 'pocket' of red will be the last absorbtion of the yolk sac I think Isis. He will come out tonight maybe, as he doesn't sound ready yet. He shouldn't need anything to eat or drink until the day after hatching.
chrismahon
Well-known member
Important the area remains damp, otherwise he will stick to the membrane inside. Otherwise he'll be fine Isis. He will be orientated to hatch and just waiting for the last of the yolk to be absorbed before the big push, or plop. He will break the egg all around him and then push with his 'shoulders' so he can squeeze out. Only then will he unfold his legs.
Okay so just keep the area damp, and otherwise leave him be.
He's still fully responsive and reacts well when his beak is petted. He comes out to about his nostrils when you do that, so I think he'll be okay. The red has spread out but it's turned more orangey now so we're thinking it just spread because of the dampness, and that he's not bleeding out. If anything changes or happens I will let you all know.
Thank you so much for your help here.
He's still fully responsive and reacts well when his beak is petted. He comes out to about his nostrils when you do that, so I think he'll be okay. The red has spread out but it's turned more orangey now so we're thinking it just spread because of the dampness, and that he's not bleeding out. If anything changes or happens I will let you all know.
Thank you so much for your help here.
Margaid
Well-known member
I am completely ignorant about the development of the chick and the hatching process - my ideas seem to be on a par with a three year old thinking babies get out through mummy's belly button! I've ordered the Chicken Manual: The Complete Step-by-step Guide to Keeping Chickens by Laurence Beeken so hopefully that will enlighten me, but in the meantime can someone point me in the direction of an article that would help please?
BTW I've realised that the shabby green book with a cockerel on the front that was amongst mother-in law's books seems to be a twentieth edition of The Practical Poultry Keeper by one L Wright! I haven't found anything in it yet that explains the process but I may not be looking in the right place.
BTW I've realised that the shabby green book with a cockerel on the front that was amongst mother-in law's books seems to be a twentieth edition of The Practical Poultry Keeper by one L Wright! I haven't found anything in it yet that explains the process but I may not be looking in the right place.
chrismahon
Well-known member
Margaid- you have an ACTUAL COPY of Lewis Wrights book. With Illustations? Any idea how much that could be worth ???!!! You won't find anything in it about the hatching process. Everything was done under broody hens then. Incubators were in their infancy and rather unreliable. A COPY OF LEWIS WRIGHTS BOOK !!! Amazing, in mother-in-laws books. If we win the lottery I'm going to get a copy as well.
He sounds cute already Isis.
He sounds cute already Isis.
So it's been a few hours. The blood isn't getting any darker but is spreading out because we're keeping the area moist.
Gosling is showing no signs of distress, and is getting more curious about coming out of the shell. A couple times now he's pushed his nose out far enough that we can see the little fluffs above his nostrils. Hoping this means good things.
Gosling is showing no signs of distress, and is getting more curious about coming out of the shell. A couple times now he's pushed his nose out far enough that we can see the little fluffs above his nostrils. Hoping this means good things.
Margaid
Well-known member
That's the second "quick reply" that's disappeared into the ether! Yes Chris, once I realised what it was I googled it, but having lived in Hay-on-Wye (the second hand booktown) for several years I know that everything depends on condition - this would be described as "well used". It's imaterial anyway as I love books and only ever get rid of ones I didn't enjoy reading. It has the Ludlow illustrations which are gorgeous but unfortunately nothing about Welsummers - presumably they are too recent. I love the language, particulalry the first page - "Our own experience has taught us that domestics are rarely to be relied upon in many matters essential both to eceonomy and the well-being of the stock;" - that's not a problem I'm going to have. Semicolons proliferate and there's not a split infinitive in sight.
Things I want to know are how does the chick develop and why does interfering and breaking the membrane cause bleeding, and what's meant by the yolk sac - the yolk or the membrane enclosing it?
Sorry Isis if I seem to have hi-jacked the thread - it whiles away the time between your updates about Peep.
Things I want to know are how does the chick develop and why does interfering and breaking the membrane cause bleeding, and what's meant by the yolk sac - the yolk or the membrane enclosing it?
Sorry Isis if I seem to have hi-jacked the thread - it whiles away the time between your updates about Peep.
No problem Margaid.
I would assume that interfering and breaking the membrane would cause bleeding because the yolk is attatched to the bird inside.. like an umblical cord if you will. Attatched to the yolk I would assume is the blood vessels that spread throughout the membrane of the egg to keep everything in place and obviously provide fluent blood flow. If one of thes blood vessels is broken, it bleeds. Blood flow would continue through the others and leak from the broken one, therefore causing the bird to bleed out and die.
So in simple terms.. in my uneducated opinion.. Cut the "umbilical cord" before it's ready, and it's bad news for the bird.
I would assume that interfering and breaking the membrane would cause bleeding because the yolk is attatched to the bird inside.. like an umblical cord if you will. Attatched to the yolk I would assume is the blood vessels that spread throughout the membrane of the egg to keep everything in place and obviously provide fluent blood flow. If one of thes blood vessels is broken, it bleeds. Blood flow would continue through the others and leak from the broken one, therefore causing the bird to bleed out and die.
So in simple terms.. in my uneducated opinion.. Cut the "umbilical cord" before it's ready, and it's bad news for the bird.
chrismahon
Well-known member
In a nutshell Isis. The chick grows on the surface of the yolk and feeds off it. The blood vessels in the yolk allow transfer to the developing embryo. They are redundant when the yolk is consumed and are simply absorbed into the chick. The final closure happens after pipping, presumably because the chick needs air to have enough energy to complete development and then make the final push.
