The wait is exiting and s o o o o o o l ooooooonnnnnggggg.........Congrats on the new babies, everyone! Mine aren't due til the 22nd. Seeing yall's babies is making this wait so much more exciting!
November Hatch-A-Long (2014)
- Thread starter Junibutt
- Start date
The answer is no, unless your incubator is set up with separate compartments. Before day 18 the eggs need to lose weight and increase air cell size. Low humidity (40%) helps them do this. After day 18, the humidity has to be increased so the membranes don't dry out while the chicks are hatching. If the humidity is too high before day 18 the chicks could drown before they hatch, and if the humidity is too low after day 18 you end up with shrink wrapped chicks that can't get out of the shell.
There are some people that do staggered hatches. I'm not sure how they do it. Some people have more than one incubator so they can do multiple hatches at once time or for a back up.
Also keep in mind that chicks can be pretty aggressive towards each other. Having two week old chicks in with day olds might not work out so well. You'd probably have to build a new brooder.
Realistically, start out small-scale and go from there. I'm finding out first hand that hatching in an incubator is way more difficult that using a broody. Get a little experience under your belt before trying to do staggered hatches.
Ok thank you very much!!
- Dec 30, 2012
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A watched pot never boils. Does that mean a watched egg never hatches? 5 pips now on day 20.
Thanks Thailand. This should be very helpful. I agree that the incubator can be opened while still maintaining good humidity and temps. The first batch I hatched with a broody had one sticky chick. She was the last to hatch, so in my mind I think the late hatching chicks have some propensity towards drying out quicker than the others.
My incubator "ICU" had four babies in it last night. Two of them where chirping so loudly in the middle of the night that they were moved to the brooder and are doing great. That leaves one Ameraucana and one Olive egger still in the incubator under the tent. They are chirp a bit and hold their own, but still very weak. I gave both of them some electrolytes in a syringe/dropper. The Ameraucana looks pretty good, but the Olive seems very weak and I think we'll lose that one. Just waiting for them to kick off the bottom shell that is still attached to them. I hear someone chirping now so I should go check on them again...
Hahaha. Yep, they will start hatching all at once and you won't be able to remember who is who. LOL By tonight you'll have little chicks running all over the place.
- Dec 30, 2012
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I hope so. Thank You
It's true. Totally, totally true.
I tried to schedule this hatch so it wouldn't interfere with the rest of my schedule. Hatching was supposed to occur Wednesday through Friday, with Saturday there as a buffer in case some were late. Instead hatching started Monday night and still hasn't ended now on Sunday morning. Next time I'm going on vacation during hatch or something. Or stick them in the garage like I said before. They can be Schrodingers chickens.
- Dec 30, 2012
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Up to 8 pips, no zips.
Question for you all.
One of my chicks that is still in the incubator is out of the egg but still has some membrane or something stuck to the umbilical cord. It is very moist and she is not moving around. She is the last chick to hatch, so I'm not worried about humidity anymore. Should I lower the humidity and hope it dries up? Or what should I do with her? Temp is 98 with about 65% humidity. She is sleeping and seems pretty weak.
One of my chicks that is still in the incubator is out of the egg but still has some membrane or something stuck to the umbilical cord. It is very moist and she is not moving around. She is the last chick to hatch, so I'm not worried about humidity anymore. Should I lower the humidity and hope it dries up? Or what should I do with her? Temp is 98 with about 65% humidity. She is sleeping and seems pretty weak.
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