Newbie - Hatching, day 20

[NW Chickadee]

Hi all,

I'm new to this forum and to hatching/incubating. I'm on day 20, started with 7 eggs, 5 have been developing on schedule. I'm OBSESSIVELY watching these eggs at this point (as seems to be the norm the 1st time around ) and I heard chirping about 30 mins ago. It's since stopped and the egg isn't moving - Should I be worried?? No external pip yet but if I've done my research correctly, the chirping is an indicator that the chick has pipped internally? Am I correct on this?

Lastly, I'm struggling to keep my humidity above 65%, and sometimes even 60% during lockdown. The chick was chirping when I'd got it to its highest (71%) but I can't get it to stay there. Should I add a damp sponge? I carefully added more water to the built in water channels w/a baster and just after that the humidity raised to 71% and chirping began. But now, no room for more water to channels. Eeek! Also, would it be harmful if I gave them a quick spray with a sterile spray bottle, thru one of the holes?

Btw, you guys are ALL amazing! I've spent hours and hours reading & learning in these forums. THANK YOU!

 

[gamebirdsonly]

If you get the humidity to high you will drown them. I would keep it at 60 to 65. Hope you have some hatch

 

[NW Chickadee]

Thank you! Any thoughts on the chirping starting and then stopping - Is this normal?

Again, thanks for the help!

 

[NW Chickadee]

If you get the humidity to high you will drown them. I would keep it at 60 to 65. Hope you have some hatch

Thank you! Any thoughts on the chirping starting and then stopping - Is this normal?

Again, thanks for the help!

 

[NW Chickadee]

Hi all,

I'm new to this forum and to hatching/incubating. I'm on day 20, started with 7 eggs, 5 have been developing on schedule. I'm OBSESSIVELY watching these eggs at this point (as seems to be the norm the 1st time around ) and I heard chirping about 30 mins ago. It's since stopped and the egg isn't moving - Should I be worried?? No external pip yet but if I've done my research correctly, the chirping is an indicator that the chick has pipped internally? Am I correct on this?

Lastly, I'm struggling to keep my humidity above 65%, and sometimes even 60% during lockdown. The chick was chirping when I'd got it to its highest (71%) but I can't get it to stay there. Should I add a damp sponge? I carefully added more water to the built in water channels w/a baster and just after that the humidity raised to 71% and chirping began. But now, no room for more water to channels. Eeek! Also, would it be harmful if I gave them a quick spray with a sterile spray bottle, thru one of the holes?

Btw, you guys are ALL amazing! I've spent hours and hours reading & learning in these forums. THANK YOU!

Thank you! Any thoughts on the chirping starting and then stopping - Is this normal?

Again, thanks for the help!

 

[WVduckchick]

Agree 60-65% should be high enough. Did you calibrate your meters, verify them for accuracy?

No, no, definitely do not mist the eggs. Misting actually works opposite than we logically think. As the mist evaporates, it actually draws more moisture out of the egg, so you do not want to do that, at this point.

If you do feel you need more humidity, adding a wet sponge is fine. Remember, humidity goes on surface area, not depth of the water. Just do not add so much as to create condensation on the window.

Oh, and and Good Luck!!

 

[NW Chickadee]

Agree 60-65% should be high enough. Did you calibrate your meters, verify them for accuracy?

No, no, definitely do not mist the eggs. Misting actually works opposite than we logically think. As the mist evaporates, it actually draws more moisture out of the egg, so you do not want to do that, at this point.

If you do feel you need more humidity, adding a wet sponge is fine. Remember, humidity goes on surface area, not depth of the water. Just do not add so much as to create condensation on the window.

Oh, and and Good Luck!!

Thank you so much! Yes, I ran the the incubator for a full 24hrs before we set the eggs to verified the heat and humidity was reading accurately.

The humidity is hanging steady at about 64-66% BUT, there is condensation on the window on the top of the incubator. I filled all of the channels evenly to hopefully cover the entire surface area. Geeez, humidity is a toughie! Now I'm not sure if I should gently take a bit of water out of each channel since there IS condensation on the window(s) of the lid OR leave all
alone for now and trust my readings? Watcha think?

I've heard some more faint chirping but no pips yet! Fingers SO crossed! It's unbelievable how exicting and consuming this is! My husband is about as excited as I am - loving the experience and all of the wonderful people on here. I'm sure praying for at least a few little ones - it's amazing how attached I already feel to each (probably didn't help that we named each egg before we set them!)

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Hi all,

I'm new to this forum and to hatching/incubating. I'm on day 20, started with 7 eggs, 5 have been developing on schedule. I'm OBSESSIVELY watching these eggs at this point (as seems to be the norm the 1st time around ) and I heard chirping about 30 mins ago. It's since stopped and the egg isn't moving - Should I be worried?? No external pip yet but if I've done my research correctly, the chirping is an indicator that the chick has pipped internally? Am I correct on this?

Lastly, I'm struggling to keep my humidity above 65%, and sometimes even 60% during lockdown. The chick was chirping when I'd got it to its highest (71%) but I can't get it to stay there. Should I add a damp sponge? I carefully added more water to the built in water channels w/a baster and just after that the humidity raised to 71% and chirping began. But now, no room for more water to channels. Eeek! Also, would it be harmful if I gave them a quick spray with a sterile spray bottle, thru one of the holes?

Btw, you guys are ALL amazing! I've spent hours and hours reading & learning in these forums. THANK YOU!

I like a wet bub temperature of 83 Degrees during lock down, I think that equals 83% relative humidity. As I've said before, with my GQF Sportsman (forced air incubator) my chicks hatch out like popcorn popping. The dry bulb tempt is higher of course.

 

[WVduckchick]

Thank you so much! Yes, I ran the the incubator for a full 24hrs before we set the eggs to verified the heat and humidity was reading accurately.

The humidity is hanging steady at about 64-66% BUT, there is condensation on the window on the top of the incubator. I filled all of the channels evenly to hopefully cover the entire surface area. Geeez, humidity is a toughie! Now I'm not sure if I should gently take a bit of water out of each channel since there IS condensation on the window(s) of the lid OR leave all
alone for now and trust my readings? Watcha think?

I've heard some more faint chirping but no pips yet! Fingers SO crossed! It's unbelievable how exicting and consuming this is! My husband is about as excited as I am - loving the experience and all of the wonderful people on here. I'm sure praying for at least a few little ones - it's amazing how attached I already feel to each (probably didn't help that we named each egg before we set them!)

If it's just a little condensation, i wouldn't worry about it. If it's alot, you can pop the lid for a couple seconds and see if it will go away. You just don't want it dripping on the eggs. And if it's that humid, your reading could be inaccurate. It's gotta be pretty humid to condensate.

And i do believe the hatching bug has caught you, and your husband! Great that he is doing this with you. It's a wonderful experience! (highly addictive, i must say!!)

I like a wet bub temperature of 83 Degrees during lock down, I think that equals 83% relative humidity. As I've said before, with my GQF Sportsman (forced air incubator) my chicks hatch out like popcorn popping. The dry bulb tempt is higher of course.

Wet bulb is highly dependent on temp, so extrapolating them to RH is different. Most people won't mess with wet bulb setup since regular RH hygrometers are much easier. But glad you have good hatch rates! If it is equivalent to 83%RH that seems quite high. But whatever works!!

 

[WVduckchick]

oh heck, i didn't pay attention to when you posted. Anything hatch yet? @NW Chickadee