First time incubating!!!

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whiterooster329

whiterooster329

In the Brooder
Mar 30, 2015
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Hi, I know this will sound very ignorant, but I need some help.
So, I've had a hard time recently with some of my chickens eating their eggs. Long story short, the eggs
were disappearing, and we weren't really sure what was going on. Once my husband and I realized
that one of our hens was the culprit, it was already too late, my husband had been switching them all around and we had a flock of egg eaters. Now that the issue has been solved, we had to incubate the eggs that we've taken from them during that time.
I have never done this before and wasn't sure what to do, so I searched online a little. The only thing I don't know is,
if I candle them, will it hurt them to do it? Also, the floating trick, I had a couple that didn't hatch and when I candled them they looked fine, but then when they were a couple of days late I tried the float test. I had watched a few videos and I know
that if they are alive they will kick around and float only a little. My problem, they have yet to hatch and floating but not moving? My husband refuses to let me throw them out, so I need some advise so that I know for sure what to do, and so that I can make him understand. Any advice will help!
idunno.gif


Thanks, and apologies for such a long post!​
 
Candling itself does not hurt the eggs. It's unclean hands and handling the eggs that can hurt them. Then of course since you should candle in the dark there is always the chance of dropping one but the act of candling wont hurt them.

What day of incubation are you on? 21 days is only a guide of normalcy, a day late is not big deal and if your temp was a degree low then two days late. It's a wait and see game. After day 25 I wouldn't put out much hope but have read of a few hatching at day 28. Though that late and hatch rate plummets drastically. The other thing to note is what day you set, many incorrectly count the day they set as day one. It takes 24 hours for a day and the easiest way to know your due date is by the day of week you set will be the same day of the week three weeks later.
 
Last edited:
A common mistake for first time hatchers is to run far too high of humidity first 18 days. I did it myself. The problem with that is the air cell that grows over that time does not actually grow much do to too much humidity so the egg can't lose the moisture it needs to. This results in the chicks drowning, they pip into the air cell and if far too small or non existent can't breath. It's from this internal pip position they rest and prepare to pip the shell.

I candle to check the air cell growth. It ensures I'm running a good humidity which for me is about 33% then up to 60-65% for last three days of hatch. If you candle now and see no air cell it's likely they internally piped so don't worry about that at this late stage. Not trying to scare you but it's a common mistake and I did it first hatch. With those large water troughs and getting a lot of high humidity recommendations online...

 
Egghead_Jr said:
Candling itself does not hurt the eggs. It's unclean hands and handling the eggs that can hurt them. Then of course since you should candle in the dark there is always the chance of dropping one but the act of candling wont hurt them.

What day of incubation are you on? 21 days is only a guide of normalcy, a day late is not big deal and if your temp was a degree low then two days late. It's a wait and see game. After day 25 I wouldn't put out much hope but have read of a few hatching at day 28. Though that late and hatch rate plummets drastically. The other thing to note is what day you set, many incorrectly count the day they set as day one. It takes 24 hours for a day and the easiest way to know your due date is by the day of week you set will be the same day of the week three weeks later.
Click to expand...
xs2 I candle (spot check, not EVERY egg) every night during the incubation period, and do a full candle on (at least) days 7/14/18. I rely on candling to keep track of developement and air cells (I mark air cells as well).

It depends on what day as to wether there's much hope. Generally if you do the float test after "hatch" day and an egg floats with no self motivated movement, chances are there is no viability in that egg. The float test is an iffy test though. Like anything it can be misleading at times. I too do not see much hope after 24/25 days.
 
Yes, I am very sure to clean my hands as if it were a newborn. The two I am worried about are on day 23 and day 25.
hmm.png
I'm not sure that they made it. Or at least the one that is on day 25, it's been incubating since 3/29. but as I said before, my husband refuses to throw it away. And I don't know if I have the heart when I am not sure if its still alive, I can't see through the egg but it's not moving and no pips. The temp has been pretty consistent, I'm a stay at home mother so I check it frequently, and it has stayed between 97- 99.
 
Egghead_Jr said:
A common mistake for first time hatchers is to run far too high of humidity first 18 days. I did it myself. The problem with that is the air cell that grows over that time does not actually grow much do to too much humidity so the egg can't lose the moisture it needs to. This results in the chicks drowning, they pip into the air cell and if far too small or non existent can't breath. It's from this internal pip position they rest and prepare to pip the shell.

I candle to check the air cell growth. It ensures I'm running a good humidity which for me is about 33% then up to 60-65% for last three days of hatch. If you candle now and see no air cell it's likely they internally piped so don't worry about that at this late stage. Not trying to scare you but it's a common mistake and I did it first hatch. With those large water troughs and getting a lot of high humidity recommendations online...

Click to expand...
Not to mention the user manuals for the bators suggesting to fill an x number of wells regardless of what that gives you humidity wise or recommending 50-60 for the incubation period. Crazy!!
 
whiterooster329 said:
Yes, I am very sure to clean my hands as if it were a newborn. The two I am worried about are on day 23 and day 25.
hmm.png
I'm not sure that they made it. Or at least the one that is on day 25, it's been incubating since 3/29. but as I said before, my husband refuses to throw it away. And I don't know if I have the heart when I am not sure if its still alive, I can't see through the egg but it's not moving and no pips. The temp has been pretty consistent, I'm a stay at home mother so I check it frequently, and it has stayed between 97- 99.
Click to expand...
Is this a still air incubator or forced? 97/98 is low even for a forced air and can cause delays.
 
Okay, yea I noticed that more people had been keeping it at like 55% maybe that's what is going on then....I did have one hatch so far, but that was a few days ago, so we put it in with one of our hens. She is a good mama, and was receptive of the chick, so I thought it may be better for it because of being alone and the other two I'm afraid aren't going to make it. I have three more that are progressing well but are not due until 5/7-5/9, but I was afraid I did something wrong, hence the questions. Maybe this will help with the rest. Thank you so much for the info!
fl.gif
 
Give it another day and call it quits if you don't see movement in a float test. Temp is 99.5F for forced air and 101.5 F for a still air measured at top level of eggs.
 
I'm not sure? What is the difference, or how do I find out? My husband knows more than I do about the incubator, I have researched on the whole growth and progress part. But that's why I'm so worried, I really am pretty ignorant to this, but I want to hatch them so badly that I'm winging it. I'm only hopeful because of the one hatching, it leads me to believe that I'm doing something kind of right?
 

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