1st time hatch question

[Storybook Farm]

So, I am on day 21 of my first hatch. I set 25 eggs, and took out three of them at day 18 lockdown, so, 22 eggs went into lockdown. During the hatch, I had some issues with keeping the relative humidity high enough. I found this out by weighing my eggs and tracing the air sacs. I also had some questions about temperature: I think it ran a little high. I'm using an Incuview Incubator.

So now to my question: of the 22 eggs that I set at Lockdown, on D 19 I heard internal pips with chirping, and on the morning of day 20 , 11 of them began hatching, and on through the night, such that 50% hatched in a 24 hour period...bringing me to today, Day 21.

There are 11 eggs that have not pipped or rocked, or anything, in the hatching process so far. I am on day 21. Should I leave all of the chicks in the incubator overnight again tonight (they will then be from 48 to 24 hours old by tomorrow AM) and then in the morning, Day 22, take them out? Or should I wait even longer?

I guess I'm wondering if it's at all common to have a bunch of eggs hatch together (in one 24-hour period) and then have a second half of the hatch be so far behind the first ones? Are the remaining eggs likely to hatch?

Also, my nurturing heart wants so badly to open the incubator and slip in a little lid of water. Are the really okay without? It's SO counterintuitive!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

So, I am on day 21 of my first hatch. I set 25 eggs, and took out three of them at day 18 lockdown, so, 22 eggs went into lockdown. During the hatch, I had some issues with keeping the relative humidity high enough. I found this out by weighing my eggs and tracing the air sacs. I also had some questions about temperature: I think it ran a little high. I'm using an Incuview Incubator.

So now to my question: of the 22 eggs that I set at Lockdown, on D 19 I heard internal pips with chirping, and on the morning of day 20 , 11 of them began hatching, and on through the night, such that 50% hatched in a 24 hour period...bringing me to today, Day 21.

There are 11 eggs that have not pipped or rocked, or anything, in the hatching process so far. I am on day 21. Should I leave all of the chicks in the incubator overnight again tonight (they will then be from 48 to 24 hours old by tomorrow AM) and then in the morning, Day 22, take them out? Or should I wait even longer?

I guess I'm wondering if it's at all common to have a bunch of eggs hatch together (in one 24-hour period) and then have a second half of the hatch be so far behind the first ones? Are the remaining eggs likely to hatch?

Also, my nurturing heart wants so badly to open the incubator and slip in a little lid of water. Are the really okay without? It's SO counterintuitive!

Personally, I would take out the hatched chicks and get them in the brooder where they have food and water accessible. I do not leave my chicks in the bator after hatch, many of us don't. It's a personal decision when you take chicks out. As for the other half, if you have no pippers and you are comfortable doing it, give them a candle and see if there are any internal pips or movement. It will give you a better idea of what chances you have of others hatching.

 

[Storybook Farm]

Thanks, I did so. I am going to give the others another 2 days; glad to have the stress released.

 

[KarliRae]

Keep us updated!

 

[Storybook Farm]

Well, no pips or sounds from the remaining eggs. Sigh. My husband is going to help me do the eggtopsy on the ones that haven't hatched.

This was my first time, and I know that during the first week I had too low humidity, and I also struggled with candling. As a Newbie I didn't quite know what I was looking at, so I could have put non-viable eggs into the hatch. Finally, I had a second thermometer in the bator at egg level that read a consistent 101°, but I trusted the bator's readings of 99.5 more. I suspect now from the early hatchers that the bator ran a bit hot. Does that seem right?

This maiden voyage used "mutt" eggs from my beginner flock. I am getting 16 Columbian Rock eggs shipped on Wednesday. I know shipping lowers the hatch rate but am hoping to hatch at least one cock and one hen to be foundation birds for upgraded flock.

 

[rbailey]

Do I have a new baby boy or girl? I have read that girls have dark legs and boys light color legs, also that boys have white spot on top of the head but so do girls sometimes....mine has a white spot and dark legs...also it's hard to tell by wings.its day one too...tell me what you thing?

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Well, no pips or sounds from the remaining eggs. Sigh. My husband is going to help me do the eggtopsy on the ones that haven't hatched.

This was my first time, and I know that during the first week I had too low humidity, and I also struggled with candling. As a Newbie I didn't quite know what I was looking at, so I could have put non-viable eggs into the hatch. Finally, I had a second thermometer in the bator at egg level that read a consistent 101°, but I trusted the bator's readings of 99.5 more. I suspect now from the early hatchers that the bator ran a bit hot. Does that seem right?

This maiden voyage used "mutt" eggs from my beginner flock. I am getting 16 Columbian Rock eggs shipped on Wednesday. I know shipping lowers the hatch rate but am hoping to hatch at least one cock and one hen to be foundation birds for upgraded flock.

Congrats on the hatchers. Sorry about the others. Never trust the bator readouts, unless they have been checked against a known accurate thermometer. Never trust a thermometer that hasn't been checked either...even brand new. If they were early, yes that points to slightly higher temps. Most likely your individual thermometer was closer to accurate.
Good luck on the shipped eggs.

Do I have a new baby boy or girl? I have read that girls have dark legs and boys light color legs, also that boys have white spot on top of the head but so do girls sometimes....mine has a white spot and dark legs...also it's hard to tell by wings.its day one too...tell me what you thing?

Feather sexing can not be done on all chicks. You must have a fast feathering parent crossed with a slow feathering parent in order to determine sex from feather sexing. As for head spots that is particular to certain pure breed chicks.

 

[Storybook Farm]

We just did our eggtopsies. 11 didn't hatch. Here's what we discovered, by category of ills:

First: Of the 11, six didn't have absorbed yolks. What does that say? Details:
*They seemed to all be at the stage where the yolk should have begun to be absorbed (i.e. formed with feathers). From the video of embryo development, I'm guessing that they died right before lockdown--Days 16 or 17.
*I'm not aware of any event (like a power shortage...?) that would have caused this, but there may have been a power surge or some such thing... especially if temps were running a bit high and these were somehow nearer stress levels than the others?

I don't know if anyone has ideas about this or not.

Second: One of the eggs was an early quitter. Had a tiny, one-week old embryo and mushy egg yolk and white mixed. This says to me that I need better candling skills.

Third: One had absorbed 75% of his yolk... not sure what that was all about.

Fourth: Two were malpositioned: they had drowned because they couldn't pip the air sack.

Fifth: One was fully formed and in the right position, but just never pipped even his air sack.

Conclusions:

1. Plan to keep humidity for first 18 days right around 40-45%

I'm doing more testing of this device vis a vis other known temps in my home, and adding I'm also adding a second, wireless hygrometer/thermometer this next time, because during the hatch, the chicks sat on the probe of the one I have and tossed around the display of the one I placed loosely in the incubator, so I couldn't see it; the new one is designed to put an outdoor probe (read: tough) that the display reads wirelessly.

3. A question that has been niggling me is the horizontal nature of the Incuview setup: the auto turner has the eggs lying horizontal for the whole hatch. From things I've read, I was fearing a high number of malpositions as a result. Two out of 25 were malpositioned; the average is 1-2%, I read. For 25 starting eggs, 2 malpositioned (and nothing else wrong) is more like 17%. Does that seem like a high proportion to you? I plan to manually turn the shipped eggs upright if, as I anticipate, they arrive with rolling air sacks. We'll see!

Comments? Any advice is most appreciated!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

We just did our eggtopsies. 11 didn't hatch. Here's what we discovered, by category of ills:

First: Of the 11, six didn't have absorbed yolks. What does that say? Details:
*They seemed to all be at the stage where the yolk should have begun to be absorbed (i.e. formed with feathers). From the video of embryo development, I'm guessing that they died right before lockdown--Days 16 or 17.
*I'm not aware of any event (like a power shortage...?) that would have caused this, but there may have been a power surge or some such thing... especially if temps were running a bit high and these were somehow nearer stress levels than the others?

I don't know if anyone has ideas about this or not.

Second: One of the eggs was an early quitter. Had a tiny, one-week old embryo and mushy egg yolk and white mixed. This says to me that I need better candling skills.

Third: One had absorbed 75% of his yolk... not sure what that was all about.

Fourth: Two were malpositioned: they had drowned because they couldn't pip the air sack.

Fifth: One was fully formed and in the right position, but just never pipped even his air sack.

Conclusions:

1. Plan to keep humidity for first 18 days right around 40-45%

I'm doing more testing of this device vis a vis other known temps in my home, and adding I'm also adding a second, wireless hygrometer/thermometer this next time, because during the hatch, the chicks sat on the probe of the one I have and tossed around the display of the one I placed loosely in the incubator, so I couldn't see it; the new one is designed to put an outdoor probe (read: tough) that the display reads wirelessly.

3. A question that has been niggling me is the horizontal nature of the Incuview setup: the auto turner has the eggs lying horizontal for the whole hatch. From things I've read, I was fearing a high number of malpositions as a result. Two out of 25 were malpositioned; the average is 1-2%, I read. For 25 starting eggs, 2 malpositioned (and nothing else wrong) is more like 17%. Does that seem like a high proportion to you? I plan to manually turn the shipped eggs upright if, as I anticipate, they arrive with rolling air sacks. We'll see!

Comments? Any advice is most appreciated!

Here's my thoughts:
First, what did you run for humidity for this hatch? You said you weighed and checked air cells, were they growing too big too fast?
I hatch all my hatches now laying on their sides and hand turning. I started off using a turner and switched and have better hatch rates hand turning. I also stop turning my eggs at the end of day 13 so that when at day 14/15 they start turning toward the big end of the egg, the egg is at rest. I didn't have a single pointy end malepositioned pipper in the last hatch. I was talking to someone who was having high occurances of malepositioned chicks and I explained that I stop turning at the end of day 13 and my theories behind it and he tried it. He said there was a significant decrease in the amount of malepositioned chicks that he was seeing.

As for shipped eggs, when you get them, if you candle them and find you have unsteady air cells, it's best to set them in the bator upright w/o turning for the first 2-3 days while the air cells, hopefully firm up.

Usually I recommend a lower humidity if people aren't in a high elevation. (I prefer 30% and running dry when possible.) However, myself and one of my friends on here that has mucho experience with shipped eggs were discussing the theory that for the first week, with shipped eggs it would be more suitable to run a higher humidity while the air cells firm up and stabilize before lowering to increase size. Theory being that if the air cell stabilizes before it grows it's less likely to produce saddle shaped air cells. It hasn't been put to the test enough yet, but the logic behind it rings true enough that when I start setting at the end of this month with my first shipped eggs, that is my plan. To run 40-45% until air cells are firm and lowering it down to my comfort level to increase the size.

The Brinsea Spot check is a highlly recommend way to check the bator temps and accuracy of the thermometers in use. I think it sells for around $20 on line.

 

[Storybook Farm]

Here's my thoughts:
First, what did you run for humidity for this hatch? You said you weighed and checked air cells, were they growing too big too fast?

Okay, this is where I'm sure I messed up, along with the too-high temperature (by one degree, most of the time).

When I first set the eggs, I *could not* for the life of me find guidance for humidity (everyone gives a range; Hatching 101 doesn't even do that, etc.) so I shot for low 20's (from advice given on one of these forums), but my 'bator was highly sensitive at low RHs, so I woke up several mornings for the first week to find the RH at 10-12%. I candled/weighed/marked the eggs on Day 6 and the air sacs were large and we were on track for a 24% loss of weight over 3 weeks. Yikes! SO, I did more online research and read that normal and average RH should be between 40-50%. I decided to overcompensate for earlier low figures by boosting it, so for Days 7-18, the hatch was in the mid-to-high 45-50% RH. (I found this much easier to keep steady than the lower RH I had been shooting for.) On Day 18, we had slowed down the moisture loss and the eggs (by weight) were set to lose 15% (AVERAGE over 25 eggs) for the 21 day hatch.

As for shipped eggs, when you get them, if you candle them and find you have unsteady air cells, it's best to set them in the bator upright w/o turning for the first 2-3 days while the air cells, hopefully firm up.

Right; I've read all of Hatching 101 on that topic, and am ready for that. I also plan to incubate these upright for the entire time, and turn by hand. VERY interesting about stopping turning on Day 13. Do you not turn AT ALL from then on out to Day 18? If I am doing shipped eggs, would you recommend that I put them on their sides for hatching on Day 18 for lockdown?

Usually I recommend a lower humidity if people aren't in a high elevation. (I prefer 30% and running dry when possible.)

What is this "running dry"? I've heard the term, but never had it explained. We do live slightly high: we're at 2600 feet in the mountains of WV. My RH in my home right now is running at 10%, but that will change as the weather warms.

However, myself and one of my friends on here that has mucho experience with shipped eggs were discussing the theory that for the first week, with shipped eggs it would be more suitable to run a higher humidity while the air cells firm up and stabilize before lowering to increase size. Theory being that if the air cell stabilizes before it grows it's less likely to produce saddle shaped air cells. It hasn't been put to the test enough yet, but the logic behind it rings true enough that when I start setting at the end of this month with my first shipped eggs, that is my plan. To run 40-45% until air cells are firm and lowering it down to my comfort level to increase the size.

I might join you... how often will you check to see if air sacks have settled, and how fast will you decrease humidity after they are firm?

THIS IS SO HELPFUL! THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP!