2 day incubating egg with a crack

[bhaugh]

Hi,

Newbie here with first hatch. My eggs have been in the bator now for two days. I was looking the eggs over this morning and noticed that one of the eggs has a very slight crack in the shell. Should I remove the egg or let it go?

Also I have a hovabator forced air and cannot seem to keep it at the recommended 20% humidity Ive read. If I put a sponge in, will it cause too much of a spike in the humidity? I decided to just put in some tj eggs as my first try so I could see what was going on and make corrections before I got eggs shipped to me. A trial run if you will. I ran the bator for a day or so before putting the eggs in and I was able to keep the humidity constant but I knew the only way to perfect things a bit was to add eggs. The constant humidity is now 16.5%.

Barb

 

[Cheyen]

Everyone seems to have different opinions on how to incubate eggs, so you'll probably get some different answers. If I were you, I'd take the cracked egg out immediately just to be safe. However, if you're curious to see what might happen, you can leave it in until it's time to candle. If nothing has happened by then, toss it.

As for humidity... I usually keep mine around 45%-50% in a still air incubator. I have never used forced air, so I'm not sure how that would affect the eggs. If you want to keep your eggs at a steady 20%, I wouldn't worry too much about it being a bit higher or lower than what's ideal. If I'm gone for a while (like if I'm at school or something), I put a damp paper towel in the incubator, and it usually keeps the humidity ideal for a good five hours or so.

I tend to get a pretty decent 65%-75% hatch rate by doing this, although I'm still learning too! Good luck!

 

[dvoice]

Hi,

Newbie here with first hatch. My eggs have been in the bator now for two days. I was looking the eggs over this morning and noticed that one of the eggs has a very slight crack in the shell. Should I remove the egg or let it go?

Also I have a hovabator forced air and cannot seem to keep it at the recommended 20% humidity Ive read. If I put a sponge in, will it cause too much of a spike in the humidity? I decided to just put in some tj eggs as my first try so I could see what was going on and make corrections before I got eggs shipped to me. A trial run if you will. I ran the bator for a day or so before putting the eggs in and I was able to keep the humidity constant but I knew the only way to perfect things a bit was to add eggs. The constant humidity is now 16.5%.

Barb

Hovobator recommends 20%? That seems rather low even for dry hatch. I was under the understanding dry hatch is low of about 30% and lockdown around 70%

 

[bhaugh]

From all I have read its about right. I live in NV and its extremely dry here. If the eggs were under a hen here it would most likely be even less. Ive read 16% would be ok in a still air dry but for forced 20%

The cracked shell? And thanks for the papertowel suggestion. Ill try that

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

I would leave the egg in the incubator. It may surprise you, but check it often. If you notice any weeping, get rid of it immediately.
The last time I incubated, I dropped one of the eggs a week in. It put a round crack in the shell but didn't break the membrane. I threw it in the trash (twice) before I decided to put duct tape over the crack and let it keep going. An adorable Silkie chick hatched from that egg, all on its own

Good luck!

 

[bhaugh]

Ive decided to increase the humidity since my interpretation of the "dry incubating" is maybe not what I thought it was. I raised the humidity to about 40% and that included a sponge. I hope I haven't cooked the poor chicks for the first two days. Guess Ill never know since they probably wont hatch.

I sealed the ever so slight crack with some wax and will hope for the best. Ill watch it over the next few days and see what happens. Thanks everyone for your replys.

Barb

 

[bhaugh]

Well I candled the cracked egg today. Didnt see much so I decided to open it up. NADA not even fertile I'm guessing. I pulled a second egg and same thing. So now I'm down to 10 with a couple of the eggs a question. Thanks for everyone's replys.

Barb