🍃August Hatch-a-Long🍃

[Trisseh]

@Lunah452 As Vantic says, I would monitor and only increase the humidity once you’ve got an external pip, if you’re able to be nearby and checking. If you’re not around it may be more of a crap shoot and then I would do as FortCluck said and not increase it quite as much.

I’ve got a couple eggs in my latest batch that are due tomorrow that aren’t where I want them to be (I’m assuming they just had less porous shells than the others) and I’m just waiting. I expect to be able to up my humidity when I get home from work as they all had internally pipped this morning.

 

[nivagh]

So our single successful hatch died yesterday.
At nearly three weeks old, he / she just laid down and stopped. No idea why, our only theory is that it was too hot, though there was plenty of space for him to be away from or close to the heat lamp. My son is really upset; we;re trying to look on it as a natural thing but it's tough. It had had spraddle leg and we were feeling very clever with ourselves, fixed it with a DIY splint, but I suppose these things just happen. Chalking it down to experience and will try again come the spring. RIP Hen Solo.

 

[FortCluck]

I like my manly hands, as a man.

I was going to say... I’m sure your wife has womanly hands lol... I’m sure you don’t

 

[Lunah452]

You don't have to up the humidity until there is an external pip. Sometimes I have a hard to finding the pips, but if you visibility is good you can push the limits. Also, low humidity can cause shrink-wrapped chicks or more assistance on your part, if you are hovering anyway you can push the low humidity farther.

I am a bad influence.

@Lunah452 As Vantic says, I would monitor and only increase the humidity once you’ve got an external pip, if you’re able to be nearby and checking. If you’re not around it may be more of a crap shoot and then I would do as FortCluck said and not increase it quite as much.

I’ve got a couple eggs in my latest batch that are due tomorrow that aren’t where I want them to be (I’m assuming they just had less porous shells than the others) and I’m just waiting. I expect to be able to up my humidity when I get home from work as they all had internally pipped this morning.

Would you run it with no water, as I have the last 2 days? Humidity with no water is avg 20%.

Without getting into the assisted hatching good/bad debate. I've already decided I'm an assister if I see a need. I'm a nurse and have assisted goats, cats and horses over the years. Assisting chicks are new to me but I'm sure I'll manage with all the helpful info here. I've seen a lot of babies that needed a little help getting into the world that went on to be healthy.

I have them sitting upright in a detached egg turner, hopefully I'll be able to see an external pip. Either way I'll have my face glued to my incubator window for the duration.

 

[FortCluck]

Would you run it with no water, as I have the last 2 days? Humidity with no water is avg 20%.

Without getting into the assisted hatching good/bad debate. I've already decided I'm an assister if I see a need. I'm a nurse and have assisted goats, cats and horses over the years. Assisting chicks are new to me but I'm sure I'll manage with all the helpful info here. I've seen a lot of babies that needed a little help getting into the world that went on to be healthy.

I have them sitting upright in a detached egg turner, hopefully I'll be able to see an external pip. Either way I'll have my face glued to my incubator window for the duration.

I hatch all my eggs @ 30% day 0-21 (chickens) or 0-18 (quail). I get 90%+ every hatch unless it’s shipped and out of my control.

It’s not for everyone, but this is what I do. I never have many late quitters and not many early quitters.

 

[Lunah452]

I hatch all my eggs @ 30% day 0-21 (chickens) or 0-18 (quail). I get 90%+ every hatch unless it’s shipped and out of my control.

It’s not for everyone, but this is what I do. I never have many late quitters and not many early quitters.

I have my other batch of eggs in a separate incubator at 30%. That seems to keep them on track air cell wise. I had to stop weighing them because it was making me nuts and 2nd guessing everything.

Once I could see the air cells, it was easier to judge whether to increase or drop the humidity. I must not be doing too terrible since all 11 eggs were still developing and moving as of yesterday.

I may stick with the 30% mark. I don't have to fiddle with the water too often to keep it around there.

Thank you all for the advice and help. It's much appreciated If I get any live chicks out of this venture I'll be sure to post some pics.

 

[ShrekDawg]

The chicks are so huge. I need to get new pictures of them lol

 

[FortCluck]

The chicks are so huge. I need to get new pictures of them lol

You don’t have pics yet

 

[ShrekDawg]

You don’t have pics yet

well I have a lot when they were little and the first few weeks but then like none the last couple weeks lol I need to get new ones

 

[kelseyk]

Update. None of the Phoenix eggs hatched but I have 3 of the 4 Deathlayers with pips 2 days early. One is piped on the bottom and I don't want to open the Bator will it hatch?

Just keep an eye on the one that pipped the bottom. It may take a bit longer to start to zip where it was both the internal and external pip. I usually allow 48 hours before thinking about assisting. All of my wrong end pippers have hatched successfully on their own.