October 2016 Hatch-A-Long!!

[darkbluespace]

I am currently on day 3, and my temps hold steady when humidity is 30-40%. But if I add any warm water, my humidity jumps up to 90% and my temps crash, and are hard to stabilize until the humidity goes back down (12-24 hrs later). This morning I set up a humidifier in tge room with the incubator. I will leave it on, and stop messing with the water in the incubator until day 18. Then I will add a sponge and bring it up where it should be. Have any of you done this successfully in Northern California? I know lots of you dry incubate on the more humid east coast. Any advice?

I would leave the water out... 30 to 40 is plenty high! I wouldn't use a humidifier either unless you are in a very dry climate. I dry incubate at 20 to 35%, depending on the eggs.

 

[lpatelski]

Why do some have green on their head?

They are a different generation-F2, different parent group.

 

[darkbluespace]

They are a different generation-F2, different parent group.

Congrats on the chicks!! e

 

[darkbluespace]

One of my special silkied Serama babies is hatching... with help... but hatching nonetheless! Hoping, hoping it is a girl, but I am happy to get one. I hope the other might make, we'll see!

 

[chantels1]

I would leave the water out... 30 to 40 is plenty high! I wouldn't use a humidifier either unless you are in a very dry climate. I dry incubate at 20 to 35%, depending on the eggs.

Thank you. I will try that.

 

[darkbluespace]

Congrats on all the new babies!!
I apparently was worried too soon cause all but 4 cream legbar are showing veining now! Woo-hoo!! Same with the black copper marans. Interesting tho to see that my Saffires, who were set at the same exact time seem further developed??
I found a cracked egg that is developing. I hatched a cracked egg once by using Elmer's glue during incubation so I will try that on this egg too.
I got my olive eggers in today so I will be setting them tomorrow.
Can't wait to see these little fluffy butts.

Happy surprise that the cream legbars are developing! Shipped eggs will develop slowly because of the rough handling. I think the rougher the handling, the more slowly they are to get started. That is why it helps to not turn them for several days so they can have a chance to get a foothold, so to speak.

 

[darkbluespace]

Day 7 arrived, so I candled all the Silkie eggs. It is so different from candling peafowl eggs, which is all I'd done before this. Peafowl have thicker shells, harder to see through. Silkie eggs are so little, I was much more concerned when handling them. But I got all 12 done:

Caesar - White - Looks ok
Cobweb - Black - Ok
Miranda - Paint - Ok
Oberon - Black - Ok
Peasblossom - Black/Split - Detached air cell. Set it upright in a carDboard ring. Do I not turn it? For how long? Or is it too late to try to get it to reattach?
Calpurnia - White - Ok
Cassius - White - Saddle-shaped air cell. Hope it will make it. Looks like there is a chick starting.
Romeo - BlueBlack Splash - Egg looks clear. No sign of anything in there. No dark area.
Mercutio - BBS - Egg looks clear.
Marc Antony - Lav - Egg looks clear
Charmian - Lav - The chick is moving!! I can see an eye and veining very clearly, and that is a busy chick in a tiny egg.

If the eggs look clear on Day 7 (no dark mass visible, no veining), do I still wait to see if something develops?  I am newish to candling, and don't want to throw out viable eggs by mistake. I also don't want an egg-splosion in the incubator.

:/

Not bad for shipped eggs! If an air cell is unattached, I would put the egg upright. It should help the chick stay alive as the egg looses moisture.

 

[AustralorpsAU]

Mine hatch in 5 and a half days hopefully! Ive made another thread called The Incubators Thread hopjng that we can have a slower paced incubating thread than the Incubating With Friends thread!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1136731/the-incubators-thread-with-host-australorpsau

 

[homestead 101]

Just had one little one hatch

 

[Jayzandra]

How do the air cells look? These are my first duck eggs. Cayuga. They're a week or from hatch day.