well it worked

[simon+colette]

good morning all, we are now the proud parents of 1 buff orpington chick, my home made incubator has worked.

ive not been on here for a while as i didn't want to tempt fete,, ive just sat on the side line and been reading all the posts and learning a great deal.

i first noticed a small crack at 03-00 yesterday morning as i was getting ready to go to work and i also heard a few 'cheeps' anyway fast forward 15 hours and out he/she came . it went from a small hole to full freedom in about 4 minutes we were very shocked.

anyway just checked now and he/sher was lying on the floor and i thought the worst, i then did a slight tap on the side of the incubator and up he/she popped and tried to have a wander although he/she soon went back for a lie down, as im sure its been a very tireing time for her/him.

we had 6 eggs originally but after candelling we waited till day ten and candled again to find 4 were infertile (ebay for you) we were left with the two which were candled at 18 days (last time) and both were moving well, its justa wait and see now for the other one, hoping its not DIS.

i will try and put up a picture but my camera is on my phone so its not great.

thanks again for the help and advice,
regards simon and colette

 

[Philcott]

Well done! So pleased that the chick hatched and that your incubator worked! Good luck for the remaining egg!

 

[chrismahon]

Its beautiful -looks strong too. Reminds me of our first hatching. They were buff orpingtons and we only got 2 from 6 (P & T Poultry £18 plus postage). Would appreciate some more info on the construction of your incubator -how and what with ?

We lost one and rushed out to get the survivor some company as they don't do well on their own. That's when Bottom arrived.

 

[foxy]

Lovely chick and well done on your home-built incubator!!! 08 08

 

[simon+colette]

Its now 14-45 on day 22 and Derek (as the kids named him/her) seems to be doing well, walking around for a bit then crashing out for a rest then wandering again then resting, the other egg has no signs of pipping or movement - would it be wise to attempt to candle it or would we just see a black blob or would this be foolhardy of me?.

at what point do we give up on this egg ?

were really hoping it will hatch but im a little more pessimistic than Colette and i feel it may be too late but i don't want to take any risks yet in case im wrong.
any advice?

 

[simon+colette]

Its beautiful -looks strong too. Reminds me of our first hatching. They were buff orpingtons and we only got 2 from 6 (P & T Poultry £18 plus postage). Would appreciate some more info on the construction of your incubator -how and what with ?

We lost one and rushed out to get the survivor some company as they don't do well on their own. That's when Bottom arrived.

hi chris, once derek is out of the incubator and in the brooder and (hoping/praying) the other has joined him/her i will take some photos of the inside and outside and put them on here for you.

 

[chrismahon]

Thanks Simon. I would give Derek's sibling at least another day as we've had hatches two days late before and were fine. In fact I broke one two days late, which I had candled and seen no movement, to find out what had gone wrong and the little thing was alive and I killed it -bled to death, probably would have hatched next day!

 

[Marigold]

I think that's brilliant, well done! are you going to leave it at that, or try again with some more reliable eggs? I'm sure people onn here could advise on a good source, better than the ebay lucky dip method.
Let's hope 'Derek' is a misnomer! I keep talking to my baby quail as 'girls' in the vain hope that, even after hatching, it will have some effect on what they turn out to be!

 

[simon+colette]

thanks for the thumbs up guys, just to say 'derek' is doing really well and he/she's found his/hers vocal chords that's for sure.

unfortunalty derek 2 the other egg didn't make it, we did candle again and saw no movement so waited until today (day 24) and candled again, i took the plunge and took off some shell around the air sac but he was still and lifeless and appeared to have his head still under his wing , as you can imagine the wife and children were devastated, fortunately i didnt let them see it.

by a strange fate of chance a friend of my mums owns a farm and mother was chatting to her yesterday and mentioned that we had 1 chick that had hatched, and has given us 12 fertilised eggs today which are to go in to the inc tomorrow afternoon, she says they are too are buffs so wish me luck for take two!, isn't it amazing how word of mouth can help .

we've just spent the last half hour disinfecting and cleaning it again ready for tomorrow.

i have taken some pics of the incubator and will put those up in a seperate thread.

 

[chrismahon]

What's happening about company for Derek then Simon?

 

[simon+colette]

there should be another 2 day old chick due on tuesday, fingers crossed as my allotment neighbours (who will be having any surplus males) have some rhode island reds that are due to hatch tomorrow and i can have one as company for derek, should that not work there is a local breeder who had day old chicks advertised in our local country store - so a quick call should remedie that problem.