8 hatched and dry - 2 still working on it

[kpopow7]

Hi all! I am new to this as I am first timer here. I have researched a ton before doing this and have read as much from this forum as I can. I incubated 10 eggs. At the last candleing all but 3 (which I just couldn't see into due to pigment of egg) were viable. Yesterday was day 19 and the first 3 hatched fairly fast. From then I have 5 more that have also hatched - for total of 8. All 8 are completely dry and very active. The other 2 eggs - one has an air hole and the other I don't see any activity yet. It is just barely coming up on the end of day 21....

My question is should I move the 8 to the brooder and leave the 2 in the incubator? I have read both answers - some say to move them, and others say to leave them and not to worry if they are kicking the other 2 eggs all over the incubator. I just don't want to do anything to cause an issue for the first born.

Again, since it's my first time I am just not sure what is best for them?

 

[newchickmomma3-2025]

If the chicks are completey dry, feel free to move them. Try to do quickly to avoid too much cool down or humidity loss. You can also add some very warm water to incubator water to boost temp and humidity while moving the chicks.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hi, welcome to the forum! Glad you joined!

Yes, you can get a lot of different opinions on here on practically any topic. I will give you my opinion.

A chick absorbs the yolk before it hatches. It can live off of that yolk for 72 hours without eating or drinking. Incubator temperature is nice and warm. I personally do not see any benefit to removing the chicks until the hatch is over or the 72 hours have passed.

To me the question is whether you cause harm by leaving them in or removing them. Some people are concerned that if the chicks stay in they will play rugby with the unhatched eggs, rolling them around. They sometimes will roll them around. I've seen it. I do not think that causes any harm, others do.

If you open the incubator to take a chick out you release heat and moisture. Unless you are ridiculous about how long it is open I'm not concerned about heat loss. I don't think it is a problem. In my opinion, it is possible to shrink-wrap a chick with the moisture loss however. It doesn't happen often, it is rare. Many people open the incubator all the time during hatch and never have a shrink-wrap problem. It really is rare.

If I have an emergency in the incubator I'll open it and take care of the problem. To me, an emergency is something that endangers the life of a chick. I don't consider my impatience to be an emergency.

As you said, you see different opinions. Some people will support you no matter what you do. While I agree the risk is very small, I don't see a benefit worth it to me to remove them early, especially since you've had another pip. It is still early in the incubation process. But if you want to remove them plenty of people on this forum will agree with you.

 

[kpopow7]

Thank you both! I truly appreciate the opinions, and it helps me feel better either way. I did make the choice to go ahead and move them as I was actually having a hard time keeping up with the 2 left to hatch as they were moving around so much. I lowered the incubator into the brooder opened it and quickly transferred them so hopefully very little was lost - the humidity did drop for about 30 seconds but then went right back up....not sure if that is good or bad. Thanks for the feedback!