What’s the next step?

[angela0408]

OK, so my second round of incubation (I’m totally new to this) I finally have one beautiful chick on day 23. Last night one pipped on the wrong end and I lost her. Second one successful hatch this afternoon...yay! So, here’s the question. I see no action on the other eggs. I have a hen with 3 newly hatched chicks 2 days ago. Do I leave this one chick floundering around in the incubator (I have a 7 egg Brinsea Mini), or do I sneak her out when she’s complete dry (it’s been an hour and a half and she’s looking pretty good) and try to give her to the hen. She’s a sweet Cochin and a great mother.

 

[katiek77]

OK, so my second round of incubation (I’m totally new to this) I finally have one beautiful chick on day 23. Last night one pipped on the wrong end and I lost her. Second one successful hatch this afternoon...yay! So, here’s the question. I see no action on the other eggs. I have a hen with 3 newly hatched chicks 2 days ago. Do I leave this one chick floundering around in the incubator (I have a 7 egg Brinsea Mini), or do I sneak her out when she’s complete dry (it’s been an hour and a half and she’s looking pretty good) and try to give her to the hen. She’s a sweet Cochin and a great mother.

I’ve seen others wait a day or two. This lets them get their legs and strength. Then you sneak them in at night. I would also wait another day or two on the other eggs. You never know. You can always candle. If the egg is completely dark and this includes the air cell darkened out they are no good.

 

[angela0408]

Super thanks! I’m just going to haven to sneak in and add more water to the bin. It’s about half empty right now and I don’t now want the humidity to dip too low.

 

[katiek77]

If

Super thanks! I’m just going to haven to sneak in and add more water to the bin. It’s about half empty right now and I don’t now want the humidity to dip too low.

If your humidity is too high that can also cause chicks to hatch late. My rule for lockdown humidity is no more than 15-20% higher than days 1-18.

 

[katiek77]

So

Super thanks! I’m just going to haven to sneak in and add more water to the bin. It’s about half empty right now and I don’t now want the humidity to dip too low.

sorry. Being said I dry hatch so my 1-18 humidity is 23-32%. So my 15-20% increase wouldn’t be a high number.

 

[angela0408]

If

If your humidity is too high that can also cause chicks to hatch late. My rule for lockdown humidity is no more than 15-20% higher than days 1-18.

Ah! I was following the directions on the manual, but that may make sense and I was weighing this time and it seemed like they weren’t loosing a lot of weight. So many things to learn! Lol, luckily I have a rooster and I can keep trying until I figure it out.

 

[katiek77]

Ah! I was following the directions on the manual, but that may make sense and I was weighing this time and it seemed like they weren’t loosing a lot of weight. So many things to learn! Lol, luckily I have a rooster and I can keep trying until I figure it out.

I don’t know why busy most directions I’ve seen with incubators always quote high numbers. They don’t take into consideration on the region you live in. I live in the hot humid south so dry hatch works for me. If you live somewhere with little to no humidity dry hatch wouldn’t be for you.

 

[angela0408]

Interior bc, so somewhat humid, but not as much as the coast and not as dry as the prairies. Seems like we’d be average. I will try adjusting that next time. May as well keep it rockin’ through the spring to early summer.

 

[katiek77]

Interior bc, so somewhat humid, but not as much as the coast and not as dry as the prairies. Seems like we’d be average. I will try adjusting that next time. May as well keep it rockin’ through the spring to early summer.

Good thing about having your own flock. You can do unlimited trial and errors. Just make sure you take great notes.

 

[angela0408]

Yes, cause I’ll never remember what I didn’t for next year.