Well, there are multiple issues going against these poor eggs. First, a major oversight was that I was going to be out of town over the holidays and had to store the eggs until they were about 14-15 days old before incubating. The good news is that I had a wine cellar to put them in that is exactly 55 degrees and 75% humidity.
Even with the long idle time, 9 out of the 12 were viable and moving around day 12, with two duds and one quitter. At that point, does the long idle time even have any bearing on the outcome still, or does a long idle time produce more duds & early quitters?
So, I was unable to turn from about day 13 until lockdown since I was out of town, but I hear turning is most important from day 1 until day 7-10ish, so I was still hopeful. The problem was the guy I had coming over to start lockdown and pour the water in did not come on the correct day, but one and a half days late. So instead of the morning of day 18, high humidity started mid-day on the 19th. Btw, I was dry incubating, and my humidity from day 1-19 was between 25-30%.
So I fly back home the morning of the 21st day hoping to see a bunch of chicks, but no dice. I did hear some peeping and I swear I saw some movement, but boy do the eyes and ears play tricks on you looking into a dim incubator through a bunch of condensation!
So when I woke up there was one healthy chick, Pookie, that was just chilling out, but nothing from the other eggs at all.
So today is day 22, and I still swear I hear a peep or two, but I can't be certain, and maybe a little rocking, but again with my mind playing tricks. So I'm starting to lose hope that lil Pookie will have any sibling other than my 5 month old's little stuffed tiger.
I'm bummed. Still crossing my fingers, but losing hope. I dunno if Pookie was late and therefore didn't get shrinkwrapped by the late lockdown, or if my temps are all messed up and Pookie is just early. I have 3 thermometers, so I hope all 3 aren't wrong.
Oh, also, while I was checking the eggs thru the glass with my flashlight, my baby knocked the incubator and my thermometer came loose and fell on an egg and broke it a little. Didn't break the membrane, and it doesn't seem *too* bad, but man, my luck is terrible. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Even with the long idle time, 9 out of the 12 were viable and moving around day 12, with two duds and one quitter. At that point, does the long idle time even have any bearing on the outcome still, or does a long idle time produce more duds & early quitters?
So, I was unable to turn from about day 13 until lockdown since I was out of town, but I hear turning is most important from day 1 until day 7-10ish, so I was still hopeful. The problem was the guy I had coming over to start lockdown and pour the water in did not come on the correct day, but one and a half days late. So instead of the morning of day 18, high humidity started mid-day on the 19th. Btw, I was dry incubating, and my humidity from day 1-19 was between 25-30%.
So I fly back home the morning of the 21st day hoping to see a bunch of chicks, but no dice. I did hear some peeping and I swear I saw some movement, but boy do the eyes and ears play tricks on you looking into a dim incubator through a bunch of condensation!
So today is day 22, and I still swear I hear a peep or two, but I can't be certain, and maybe a little rocking, but again with my mind playing tricks. So I'm starting to lose hope that lil Pookie will have any sibling other than my 5 month old's little stuffed tiger.
I'm bummed. Still crossing my fingers, but losing hope. I dunno if Pookie was late and therefore didn't get shrinkwrapped by the late lockdown, or if my temps are all messed up and Pookie is just early. I have 3 thermometers, so I hope all 3 aren't wrong.
Oh, also, while I was checking the eggs thru the glass with my flashlight, my baby knocked the incubator and my thermometer came loose and fell on an egg and broke it a little. Didn't break the membrane, and it doesn't seem *too* bad, but man, my luck is terrible. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
