I do not weigh. Just monitor air cells.
Yes, other chicks' peeping does motivate the other hatchers. To replace this "cheering" section I play chicks chirping from you tube videos, (I had an awesome video that I always recommended and then this winter the user removed the video. I was devestated...lol So now I have to find one comparable...lol), but I set my phone on top of the bator and I periodically play the chirping during pipping and when I have one that is zipping I play it over and over. You wouldn't believe how motivated they are from it. My brooder is also only feet from my incubator, so they can still hear their real sibs, but I really think the taped chicks being played from the electronic device is more of a motivator, but that's my personal opinion...lol And I don't have to worry about the others getting hurt in the bator or playing football with the eggs.
I had one hatch that I had 7 or 8 in there (this is before I started pulling them out earlier) and they were playing king of the hill on my thermometer and the eggs. I was watching a zipper and there was a thud from the other side and a yelp and I jumped to see one of the chicks had hit his beak, I think on the thermometer, had chipped it bad enoughthere was blood and in the same hatch I had one standing on eggs and stretching up. Next I knew there was a mark in his down on his head that resembeled the shape of the heating element. I believe he burned his head in his stretching. (I know I've burnt myself enough on it.) Then a couple hatches later, after telling another concerned hatcher that I had never had a problem with any chicks getting hurt on the fan unit, (there's no cover on them) I had 2 stretch out underneath it and hit the fan. The first one just hit his beak and yelped. The second one was almost scalped. Right above the eye the skin was peeled back. I thought she was going to loose sight in that eye. She didn't, but she still has the slit right above the eye where your eyebrow would be to this day. I neer left them in more than a few hours anyway, but after that I started pulling them as soon as they started becoming active and moving around in there.
Honestly because I use such a high humidity my chicks don't fluff up well. They fluff much better under my brooder light.
