First time Hatcher having some troubles

[CrazedCowgirl]

Hi!

I bought an incubator last week and one of my friend gave me a dozen fertile eggs from her flocks. They've been in the bator for 72 hrs tonight at around 6pm PST. I've had a lot of trouble keeping humidity where I want it (50%) for the first 2 days.

Humidity ran between 38% and 62% for the first couple days I've finally gotten it under control yesterday afternoon and it's been holding steady between 44% and 56% humidity. This is my first hatch and I'm worried I've killed them. I'd like to candle them but not sure if I should yet or not.

Any advice from anyone would be very helpful. I'm concerned that I've killed the little guys already and I honestly have no idea what I'm doing here.

 

[feedman77]

I personally keep my humidity between 20 to 40 during incubation.

Your eggs only being in for 72 hrs should not be hurt with the higher humidity.

I would candle on day 7 and 14. But I like to keep tabs on mine so I candle more often.

What kind of incubator are you using?

Do you have a 2nd hydrometer to check humidity?

And a accurate thermometer to double check incubator temp?

 

[CrazedCowgirl]

I personally keep my humidity between 20 to 40 during incubation.

Your eggs only being in for 72 hrs should not be hurt with the higher humidity.

I would candle on day 7 and 14. But I like to keep tabs on mine so I candle more often.

What kind of incubator are you using?

Do you have a 2nd hydrometer to check humidity?

And a accurate thermometer to double check incubator temp?

Have you found the 20% -40% humidity works for you on hatches? I'm going by most of the guidelines out there that say 45% -55% for days 1-18 then bump it up to 65% - 70% for days 19 until hatch.

How often do you candle your eggs? Most of mine are brown or olive with only a couple light tan and one white. I'll hold out until Sunday (day 7) then candle a couple and see what kind of development we have.

I bought a Harris Farms styro 'bator off Amazon since I didn't want to drop a ton of money on something I wasn't sure I was 100% into.

I have a second hydrometer and thermometer at egg level to insure both are within the range I want them.

I've gotten some good info from my friend on incubating but I also wanted more insight from others out in the community so I can see how others are hatching out babies.

 

[feedman77]

I use the 20 to 40 during incubation. Then raise humidity to 70 plus for lockdown and hatch.

I have good hatch rates. I incubate everything this way. Quail, chickens, turkeys, and pheasants.

Thru trial-and-error I got my best hatches this way.

After day 7 I candle often. No set days just when I want to see how they are doing. I've had an egg explode once not a nice smell. So that helps me find quitters.

At least for me I started with a brinsea 20 adv. Wanted an incubator that if I didn't like hatching I could resell easily. Well it's addicting when those fuzz balls hatch.

I now have 2 1588 genesis, the 20 adv, and if that wasn't enough I just acquired a 1502 cabinet.

Once you have a good hatch you'll be hooked. And chicken math will then come into play

 

[kuchchicks]

I too have a 1588. I also keep my humidity lower ...25%-35% until lock down and then up to 75%-80%. My last hatch 2 weeks ago was in the 90s. Lowest hatch I ever had using this method was high 80s%. When I first started incubating I use to run 45%-55% and my hatch rate was closer to 50%. I don't think the air cells were getting big enough. Use the humidity numbers as a guide but your biggest guage to tell if your humidity is where it needs to be is the size of the air cells on day 7 and 14. Also know that you don't have to worry about the humidity fluctuation as much as you do with temp. Humidity is a little mor forgiving and easier to correct. With mine I never add water until it falls below 25% and generally try to keep it under 35% when I do add water. At hatch time keeping your humidity higher is of more importance so they don't get sticky and glued in. Hope this helps. Good luck.

 

[aart]

First Hatch - I candled on day 7-10-14-18.
:
Day 7 - didn't see much but the air cells, which I outlined with a pencil every time I candled, maybe some veining and lumps..maybe moving...I was very disappointed.
Day 10 - could definitely see veins and some movement...maybe some clears and blood rings.
Day 14 - saw much more definition of shape, movement and realized what I had seen the previous times. Clears and blood ring more obvious.
Day 18 - pulled the now very obvious clears and blood rings. Viable chicks almost filled egg and wasn't as much movement.

Knew much better what to look for the next time I incubated. It just takes some practice and experience.
Candle well after sunset or in a dark windowless room, I used a cardboard template with a hole cut to fit into a utility light shade with a 60watt bulb. Also used a very bright flashlight and just my hand in a windowless room after I got better at it.



Pretty easy to test a hygrometer, you will need:
1/2 cup table salt
approximately 1/4 cup water
coffee cup
hygrometer
large re-sealable freezer bag
1. Place 1/2 cup of salt in the coffee cup, and add the water. Stir for a bit to totally saturate the salt (the salt won't dissolve, it will be more like really wet sand).

2. Place the salt/water mix in a re-sealable plastic bag, along with the hygrometer, and seal the bag. Note: make sure none of the salt/water mix comes in direct contact with the hygrometer.

3. Let this bag aside at room temperature for 8-12 hours, in a location where the temperature is fairly constant.

4. After 8-12 hours, check the reading of the hygrometer. It is best to read it while still in the bag.

The relative humidity in the sealed bag with the salt/water mix should be 75 percent.

 

[CrazedCowgirl]

I finally got the courage to candle 3 eggs last night and we have growth! Air cells, veins, and little embryo's are all looking good! Can't wait to see how they develop over the next 2 weeks. Everyone has given me such good advise. More updates to come!

 

[CrazedCowgirl]

I'm hoping someone can help me figure out if I have a few quitters on my hands. I finally got the courage to candle all my eggs and out of the 12, I think I have 3 that either never developed or just have blood rings.

Sorry for the pics, I had to move to my iPad halfway through and it's hard to handle a 10" tablet one handed. I'm candling again on Saturday so I'll get better ones then if needed.

Egg 1, EE egg. Air cell has not expanded since traced on day 5. No bloodring, veins or movement visible.



Same egg as above, different angle.



Egg #2, Brown egg, Veins and blood ring visible Air cell growth since day 5, no movement or baby visible.



Same egg as above (#2) different angle



Still egg #2, again, different angle



Egg #3, My only Ayam Cemani, No growth or anything. Makes me so sad. I'm like 99.99999% sure this one was never fertile which makes me all kinds of sad.



Same egg #3, different angle

 

[aart]

EE eggs are really hard to candle.
Air cell should enlarge due to evaporation whether embryo is alive or not, high humidity may be an issue.

#2 not sure if I'm seeing veins or a blood rings

#3 sure looks clear.

For your first hatch I would leave all eggs in until day 18 lockdown,
unless egg is stinky,
you'll learn a lot by candling them all at the noted intervals.

 

[CrazedCowgirl]

Question for someone who knows more about incubating then I do!

My babies are due to hatch anytime between now and Tuesday. My question is if my babies hatch while I'm at work, will they be ok until I get home to put them in the brooder? I work 7-12 hrs a day and I have plans on making tomorrow a short day but I'm worried that they might have troubles in the incubator and die while I'm at work.

Please help.