Silkie Holiday Hatch-a-long

[jnjmanning]

Good luck everyone. My 3 are growing like weeds!

 

[CALI CHICK]

Today is Day 16 for mine. It's time to set up the other incubator as a hatcher. I like just moving the eggs into a different incubator with the higher humidity and cartons.

My "hatcher" doesn't have a fan...
Any thoughts or experience with/without a fan during hatching?
What about "best" temperature and humidity to shoot for?

 

[TripleCreek]

So sorry Little Critters! Hope the baby is ok.
We are almost ready for lockdown & trying to decide...leave the eggs in the incubator they are in (there are eggs in there put in on different days) or move to another incubator for higher humidity & no turning. Anyone have any thoughts/ideas?

 

[minichic]

Day 10 - candled my silkie eggs. Looks like I have 18 developing nicely. Woot!

 

[littlecritters]

Today is Day 16 for mine. It's time to set up the other incubator as a hatcher. I like just moving the eggs into a different incubator with the higher humidity and cartons.

My "hatcher" doesn't have a fan...
Any thoughts or experience with/without a fan during hatching?
What about "best" temperature and humidity to shoot for?

We tend to maintain 100 degrees for hatching. I believe other folks may turn the temp down a tad bit to 99 degrees. By regulating your temp at the level of the eggs, it will compensate for lack of a fan. You can lay a thermometer right on top of the eggs to monitor them. Typically, once we see the
first pip, we then raise humidity to 65%. One time, we lost track of the days and forgot to raise the humidity until a chick hatched. Then we quickly adjusted the humidity and continued with a successful hatch.

So sorry Little Critters!  Hope the baby is ok.  
We are almost ready for lockdown & trying to decide...leave the eggs in the incubator they are in (there are eggs in there put in on different days) or move to another incubator for higher humidity & no turning.  Anyone have any thoughts/ideas?

When we were in full hatching mode this summer, we used a second incubator as a hatcher. It might help you "control" your hatch by moving eggs to the second unit as they become ready to hatch. However...be sure the second unit is maintaining temp and humidity just like the first unit. Also, consider a two phase lockdown. 1) on Day 16 stop turning and lay eggs on their sides. The trick is to set each egg on a flat surface and let it roll back and forth till it stops wobbling. You can mark the top with a pencil, then place it in the hatcher with the pencil mark facing up. 2) wait till you see the first pip around Day 18/19 to increase humidity. These simple changes have helped increase our hatch rates.

 

[CALI CHICK]

Great advice, Tina.
When you let the egg roll back and forth is that because the biggest/lowest point of the aircell will go "up"? If so, that will be simpler than drawing the aircell on with a pencil (in the future).
Also, will this work on Day 18?

TODAY IS LOCKDOWN FOR MY EGGS!!

 

[littlecritters]

Great advice, Tina.
When you let the egg roll back and forth is that because the biggest/lowest point of the aircell will go "up"? If so, that will be simpler than drawing the aircell on with a pencil (in the future).
Also, will this work on Day 18?

TODAY IS LOCKDOWN FOR MY EGGS!!

Hi Darla,
Day 18 should be fine. The aircell will go up and the embryo will be weighted down, which should give an optimum position for hatch. However, there are lots of folks who hatch in egg cartons with the blunt side up.. Doesn't look like we are going to have a big hatch...seems like we have late quitters in the group. But, we might get pleasantly surprised in the next day or so.
Tina

 

[Classy Chick]

Hello! I am very new to this whole hatching thing, and my Silkie mutt Sushi has been sitting on fifteen eggs for almost 18 days now. Some are in different stages of development, what should I do with them after the older ones hatch? Is it ok to put them in an incubator even after they have been under the hen?

 

[PaintedFeathers]

Lockdown on Saturday =)

 

[CALI CHICK]

Hello! I am very new to this whole hatching thing, and my Silkie mutt Sushi has been sitting on fifteen eggs for almost 18 days now. Some are in different stages of development, what should I do with them after the older ones hatch? Is it ok to put them in an incubator even after they have been under the hen?

I would let the hen sit and hatch as many as she's willing to do. If there are still eggs under her when she and the chicks are ready to get moving around then you could candle the remaining eggs for viability (fertile, alive,& moving). These eggs could be placed in an incubator until they hatch...but you might have to raise them in a brooder if the hen won't adopt them.
Good luck with your hen and babies!