Hatching is beautiful - almost magical...... and very addictive! May you soon have a brooder filled with much happy peeping!
Some of my own observations:
There's not much you can do if they pip in a bad spot, but sometimes they can make it on their own. I learned that patience is the key. I also do a more "dry" incubation day 1-18. I keep the humidity around the low 30s% for the 1st 18 days, so the air cells will be larger. A steady temp seems to be a more important factor.
Every spring I teach embryology to the local preK & K students. Also @ the park district & sometimes a 4H group or two. Their success is variable. The teachers who mean well often open the incubator to remove chicks as they hatch. Those hatches are always lower than the teachers who follow directions & wait for the end of the day to remove all the chicks at once. When the incubator is frequently opened, the humidity plummets & the membranes are more likely to dry out. At home if I have to open the incubator, I mist the side wall with a little water. That gives a quick boost. I've never been able to get humidity way up to 80%, so I'm not sure of the max range. I believe embryo drowning is caused by air cells that are too small.(meaning high humidity day 1-18) If a chick pipped & the egg rolls 180', then yes, the fluids could drown the chick, but I don't think that's a common reason for death. Of course opening the incubator to correct the positioning of a single egg puts all the other healthy eggs at risk.
Some people use cut egg cartons to make a stand, so eggs will remain air cell up throughout hatching. Chicks must push up & out to hatch. I tried it a couple times but did not notice a difference in hatch rate. We like to be able to see the hatching, and the carton obstructed the view. I like to use some of that rubber shelf liner under the eggs. Allows egg fluids to drip down/away, protects newly hatched chicks from sharp metal, & provides more friction than a paper towel so eggs roll around less. It can be purchased at a $1 store &/or washed & reused.
So here's where the patience comes in..... Some of the better hatches are the ones where no one is watching. Class goes home & returns the next morning to an incubator filled with chicks. In other words, no one was there to mess with the incubator.
