November 2016 Hatch-a-long!!

[Faraday40]

Ok, so, I've began to incubate my eggs a few days ago. And the electricity went out for about 2hrs and the incubator went down to 89 degrees and then when the electricity came on, it end up hitting 106 degrees and it took a few tries but I finally got it back to 100. I'm hoping it wasn't at 106 too long. Has any one had this happen and still had their eggs hatch? Also, my humidity seems to bounce between 50% and 30%. And I do not open it,so, I don't know why it's bouncing around. It's a still air incubator and holds around 40 eggs and it's filled up!

If a brief temp swings happens eggs can be OK. Hens must leave the eggs for bio breaks & the eggs cool- but still hatch. I even had a hen jump into the wrong nest on day 13 & left her eggs for a few hours. They were cool to the touch, but they still hatched. The 106'F or having the eggs at the wrong temp for several days are more harmful. A brief swing will likely mess up the hatch date (late or early), but that's all.

Still air incubators can be more tricky. I recommend continuing to incubate & candle them around day 7. Hopefully you'll see signs of life then.

 

[orrpeople]

Here's the stats for signs of life in the Orr incubator:
Our EE/BCM crosses: 4/4
Our RIR/BCM cross: 1/1 (Husband thought might be interesting cross. Daughter and I think meh -hen has terrible temperament)
Shipped BCM: 11/16, (1 clear - we opened and think it might have briefly started because there was a tiny little vein. And 4 we left in incubator but didn't see anything conclusive.) ALL have funky air sacks. Ugh.

 

[aliciaplus3]

They where local shipped by me he said he washed some spots with a wet napkin he stored them point up.  They where not refigerated or over hot i dont think because they where room temp when i got them and he had them sitting on the table with lots of others.  They may have been over a week old idk  I set up bator let it run for 3 days with extra thermometer and humility.  No power outage. I had one other incubator but it holds like 3 and i did that 4 times and got 2 chicks but it could not hold its temp very well and would crash by like 10 degrees all the time.  And those eggs had been shook up by a dog trying to eat them only got a few and they were older eggs to.  I have done everything text book for this and nothing.  Some do not even have air cells and i have the humitiy at like 30  

Ok I remember pointy end down??

 

[Faraday40]

They where local shipped by me he said he washed some spots with a wet napkin he stored them point up. They where not refigerated or over hot i dont think because they where room temp when i got them and he had them sitting on the table with lots of others. They may have been over a week old idk I set up bator let it run for 3 days with extra thermometer and humility. No power outage. I had one other incubator but it holds like 3 and i did that 4 times and got 2 chicks but it could not hold its temp very well and would crash by like 10 degrees all the time. And those eggs had been shook up by a dog trying to eat them only got a few and they were older eggs to. I have done everything text book for this and nothing. Some do not even have air cells and i have the humitiy at like 30

Ok I remember pointy end down??

Yes, Pointy end should be pointing down. The larger end should be facing upward, so the air cell remains at the fat end.

 

[fscvics]

Somebody talk me down. We're at day 20 and I'm seeing no changes and the 'bator window feels awful small the longer this goes. Normal to not have pips yet or no? They're Brahmas, if that makes a difference.

 

[Faraday40]

Somebody talk me down. We're at day 20 and I'm seeing no changes and the 'bator window feels awful small the longer this goes. Normal to not have pips yet or no? They're Brahmas, if that makes a difference.

Hang in there! "They say" the breed does not matter, but eggs from my hen (named Bubbles) always pip & hatch 1st. Not sure why. Could simply be dumb luck.

Anyway, the hatch date is like a human baby's due date. There could be some wait time or they can arrive early. Your chicks may pip on day 21 & hatch on day 22. There's not much to do now but make sure the temp & humidity are good.

 

[Mylied]

Somebody talk me down. We're at day 20 and I'm seeing no changes and the 'bator window feels awful small the longer this goes. Normal to not have pips yet or no? They're Brahmas, if that makes a difference.

Depends on when you set them and when you started counting down. You're supposed to call it day 1 after 24 hours. Or the temp could've been a little low making them slower to hatch. Or the pips could just be so small you aren't noticing them or more towards the underside.

 

[FridayYet]

Somebody talk me down. We're at day 20 and I'm seeing no changes and the 'bator window feels awful small the longer this goes. Normal to not have pips yet or no? They're Brahmas, if that makes a difference.

LOL - Have you candled to see if there is draw-down or any internal pips?  That will kind of let you know how close you are to hatching. 

Ps: All of mine are doing well! 100% hatch, although I had 2 assists.

 

[fscvics]

Thanks guys. Mylied, I started counting after 24 hours, making this day 20 (though my hatcher app insists otherwise).

I didn't take the wait for my babies well either. Patience is a virtue I'm short on! FridayYet, I haven't but I may. I'm not sure what I'm looking for with drawdown. Your babies are precious!

 

[FridayYet]

I draw lines like this on my eggs when I candle. Right before they internally pip. you often see the air cell pull farther down the side. If the air cell is at the same place as day 18. draw down may not have happened yet.

When the chick internally pips, you'll sometimes see a dark triangular shadow in the air cell, where the chick has broken through the internal membrane and is breathing in the air cell.

Candling can take a little practice, but the more you try, the more confident you get about what you are seeing.

Hope you have a great hatch!