Out of 40 eggs, 28 passed the last candling. Of those, 14 hatched & lasted a week. 1 never grew at all & continually got weaker during the first week. I am now at 13 healthy 2-wk old chicks. I'm pretty disappointed with the final number, but I think I've learned a few things. Humidity is crucial...
@ Silkies-Polishes: I discovered they weren't really hatching a day early, they were just pipping. I recalculated my days & my original due date was on target. I kept the temp at 99.5 with only slight variations as I kept the incubator in an inside room (no drafts or drastic temp changes). My...
My latest count is 11 dead & 12 healthy. I had 1 die in hatching & candled the other two & found that they were not fully developed & showed no signs of activity. I've got 2 more that are pipping now & the others show no signs either way. If I've learned anything from this experience, it's that...
I just got back into raising chickens last year, so this Spring I thought I'd try my hand at hatching from an incubator. I read up on it beforehand, kept all the temps & humidity at the right levels, made sure they were turned properly, and was really excited when my chicks started hatching a...