Beginner's Hatch-A-Long

[barbieszoo]

Tomorrow begins lockdown for my two remaining Serama eggs, one of which is 99.999 percent surely a quitter, the other is looking good.

 

[ivyrash]

I was just looking around and found this. It is full of really good clear info. Might come in handy.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-101

 

[WhiskeyTango]

I was just looking around and found this. It is full of really good clear info. Might come in handy.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-101

I read that one twice before I tried my hand a incubating. This one is great for candling tips. Tons of good images all the way through incubation https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...g-candling-pics-progression-though-incubation

 

[BeccaBeeOly]

Took a gamble setting 9 eggs from two hens I purchased on April 27th. I didn't have a broody hens, so purchased an incubator to see if I could hatch any fertile eggs. Thank goodness I have a couple young roosters to help provide me more hatching eggs in a few months!
I candled on day 6, & could see veining on only two eggs. Those two seem to be developing fine, but the rest are duds. I can only see yolk.
Should I toss the duds now, or wait until lockdown?

 

[SA Farm]

I waited until lockdown to toss duds, but that's just me...

 

[DavidKerk]

So you think they got stuck?

I'm not really sure. Incubating can be a little confusing!

 

[dutchbunny83]

Honestly, pretty surprised to see chicks since my first incubation period has been a temperature roller coaster!!!

Need some help though!

15 hours ago (around 3pm yesterday) we noticed 2 chicks had pecked a little hole in their shell and were peeping. I expected them to be out this morning, but they're not. Still some slight movement, but not too much. Peeping is much quieter. Do I help them out of their shell? How long do I give them before intervening?

Secondly, a chick that wasn't even rocking around in the shell at all last night is now completely hatched and running around! It had to have started sometime between 10pm and early morning, because by 7am it was out running around. It seems super wound up and keeps jumping on other eggs, rocking them all around, and coming super close to the heating element at the top of the incubator. When do I take this one out?

Also, today is day 20 so they came a little early. There are some other eggs in there that haven't started the hatching process yet that looked good on day 18 candling....

 

[mariama]

I'm on lockdown (day 20) over here, and I get a strong feeling that none of the 16 eggs will hatch. The eggs haven't moved around and there isn't any evidence of pipping. The temperature fluctuations have been so great and all over the map during the entire incubation period.

I think we will end up buying a Brinsea incubator and starting over.

At what point should I give up and toss the eggs? Day 25 or so?

 

[mariama]

Honestly, pretty surprised to see chicks since my first incubation period has been a temperature roller coaster!!!

Congrats! Do you have any pics?

 

[dutchbunny83]

Congrats! Do you have any pics?

SURE!!!
Super excited for first hatch!
I had to help the first out who cracked her egg 16 hours ago because it seemed like the membrane wasn't breaking just the shell, and she seemed really stuck. Fingers crossed I didn't do damage, I was trying to help.
The other 2 came out all on their own!
I ordered mail order hatching eggs since no one around here had any, and so far it's looking pretty good. They are all barnyard mixes (she had like 8 kinds of roo's and 10 kinds of hens) so it will be fun to try and figure out what kinds we have!
Here are my first pics!!!