Well, what you can do to make sure it's humid enough is put a damp washcloth over the eggs loosely. If it's not humid enough the chicks may not be able to get out of the shell and will eventually die. If you have a thermometer I would put that in there as close to the eggs as possible. Correct incubating/hatching temp. is 99.5, but since the mom has done all the incubating, it can vary a little. Be careful you're not frying them from the bottom heat.
my power supply went out on my incubator this past week. I wrapped it up in an electric blanket and it seems to be doing great for a pinch. You might try something similar with a glass or plastic container. Add a cookie cooler/ wire rack to keep above water. I use a thermometer/hydrometer I bought at Ealmart for less then 10 bucks.I need some help. I currently have a chick starting to hatch. He has already cracked the shell but the problem is yesterday I had one chick die while hatching and another die a few hours after hatching.
Now....this incubation was not my first choice. Originally I had two brooding hens that did hatch 5 chicks and that left 5 eggs that were left in the coop without a brooding hen to keep them warm. I took those inside, made a quick warmer with a heating pad and bed pads to cover the heating pad. One egg dropped, I opened it because I thought the chick might have been distress but left the egg attached by the "umbilical" vein and over several hours it started to move around and thriving so after the chickens rooster that night, I stuck the chick under the hens with the other 5. The next morning I checked on the chick and it survived and intrigrated just fine. So that left 4 chick yet to hatch and that's where I'm at now, two have died so far in this makeshift incubator and there's one hatching now and I don't want these next two to die, can any one help me with any information and maybe answers to why they died?. I thought I was doing really well with 6 of 10 hatched and doing well. Please....Please help!!
Just a pic of the hens and chicks
And the way I have the eggs, this pic is of the two that died. The larger one died while hatching and the small Silkie egg-chick died hours after hatching.
