ACK! I could KILL my husband! - UPDATE on DAY 8

So, I've been worried sick about the temperature in the stupid incubator for the past few days (still air). I've checked with ya'll here and searched online and was convinced that the 102* I had it set up would be OKAY for the eggs.

Today I went out and bought the thermometer many recommended from wal-mart. I put it in the incubator and waited for it to reach the right temperature. It stayed steady at 102.2 - Okay, right?

Well I was CONFUSED because my regular thermometer (those old school ones) said 101. ONE of the thermometers HAD to be wrong. I mentioned it to DH and he came and took a peek. TURNS OUT THAT EVERY LITTLE LINE COUNTS FOR TWO DEGREES -- NOT ONE! The thermometer had been set for the past couple of days at 104! 104!!!!! ONE! OH! FOUR! And he waited until TODAY to tell me this. (Day 4)

OMG. I think I killed the eggs.

Should I throw them out and start anew? Should I wait until day 10 and see if any of them survived? DO I WIN STUPID OF THE YEAR AWARD?

All i wanted was baby chicks... looks like I might not even get that.
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..:AY 8::..

Well, what do ya know. We didn't actually kill the chicks! Hooray for that.

I candled them last night and saw little embryos moving in there. IT WAS TOTALLY WICKED!

I pulled out an unfertilized egg. It was nice to actually be able to distinguish between the baby eggs (as my daughter calls them) that are viable and one that isn't. One egg's air sac/cell was WAY smaller than the rest. I could see SOME veining in there, so I am gonna give it a few more days before culling it. A second egg I could see what I assumed to be a blood island and some dark little floaties in there, but it didn't seem like the embryo was moving in there. At this point I would hate to throw any out, so I'll wait a little longer before deciding to give it the boot. SUGGESTIONS? IDEAS? COMMENTS?

I made sure and traced the air cells on all the eggs. If the information I've gathered is correct, I should be able to see the air cell increase as the embryo develops. Is this something I can base their development on?

EITHER WAY, I'm pretty happy that out of 38 eggs, only ONE was unfertilized, TWO are iffy and the rest were thriving. We did have some temp spikes/fluctuation so I'm crossing my fingers that it didn't affect them too much. At this point I'm convinced that the eggs are hardier than I assumed them to be. After FOUR days of being under TOO HOTT temperatures they've still managed to come this far.

NO NO, leave them there. Candle them in a day or so! Its ok! We have all done it!

Could you try candeling an egg? Don't give up hope yet, eggs are tougher than you think.

I wouldn't throw them out just yet. Wait and candle them in a few days. You might be surprised. They could be just fine.

Well, even 102. Is high. Your temp should optimally be 99.5 + or - .5. But can range from 98.5 to 101. You could wait and see. If nothing by day 10 then start over.

I had a temp spike to 112 and still got a chick.... BECAUSE I LEFT THEM IN! Please do wait. It may have ruined a few, or none at all. I'd wait nd candle at day 10. I hope that makes you feel better

I agree with the others. There's a chance they will be fine. Candle at day 10 and see how it goes. Good luck and have fun!!!!

who told you 102?

Okay. None of my business....... but, please don't say something, for dramatic effect, that you could live to regret. Chicks are a lot easier to replace than a husband.

Quote:
I thought I was the only one. I put my bator beside a little heater because it's so cold here that my bator won't regulate itself. It spiked to 115!!!! I could have passed out!! Then, my little 2 year old girl got her hands on two of my eggs while I went out for literally less than 5 minutes to close up the coop. She cracked them!! I candled them a little later and they were both still alive and moving (day 7). I just posted because I didn't know what to do about the cracks. I was told to put candle wax on them and I did. So, I would leave your eggs in the incubator and see what happens. Most likely, you will still get some chicks!