Anxious, First Hatch in my bator

[Yorkshire Coop]

That's what I was wondering! So I have 41 eggs in there, how the heck do I candle all the eggs without cooling them down too much.. Or should I just leave them alone for at least another day before doing anything..

For me I would just leave them for now and see what happens. With the temp being low they will probably be just a bit late in hatching. I can't say how late, maybe a day or so.

 

[AmandaF]

I know I know I have A LOT of questions, but I was always told you will never learn unless you ask questions or ask for help lol

I've also noticed my paper towel on the mesh that I put down when I took the egg turned out is wet at times. Will that hurt them? The humidity hasn't been over 70% the entire time, but some condensation is on the window

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

That's very true!! If you don't ask you dont get and its how we all learn!

As for your paper towel becoming wet, was it wet when you put it in or has this happened since lockdown? If it's happened since lock down I would say it's just your humidity. Condensation is also sign of high humidity, which is what you want for hatch. I have at least 65% for lockdown so yours at 70% is fine.
Wet paper towel will be fine once they get hatching it will get messy in there any way and the paper towel will keep your humidity up. Surface area of water is what creates the humidity.

 

[AmandaF]

I'm feeling a little better about it now that I've heard I'm not doomed

.. So I will just sit & wait.. The hardest part

 

[AmandaF]

Just rigged this fan up from stuff I already had.. So now it's a forced air incubator!!

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

I'm afraid sitting and waiting is the hardest part!! I rig a chair and cushion up so I can sit and watch!! Even when nothing is happening Very sad (or so my son reckons) but keeps me happy

As you have now added a fan double check what your temps are now. You may get a different reading with the fan added.

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[Lacrystol]

I wouldn't have bother to put that fan in there, you just needed to raise your temp to 101-102 but since you did put one in, watch your temp it needs to be at 99-100 that fan may give you different readings and things could go hay wires so watch it very closely.

Second, I would get the paper towels out, it's to slippery for chicks and they wouldn't be able to gain muscle control therefore you could end up with a spraddled leg issue, although it's easy to fix, I would hate for you to have to deal with something like that on your first hatching. Wired floor or Rubbery shelf liner is the best..

Third, you don't want that humidity to high, I would keep it around 60-65 if possible.

Since you had your Temp to low and it was a still bator at the time, expect some delay's, the lower temp will make them slightly late. So don't be disappointed if day 21 slips by and nothing has hatched out yet, just hang tight..

Also, it doesn't matter what time you put them in, you see when I hen sits on eggs, they don't have a watch, they go by days only not time. So 3,4,9,10 o'clock doesn't matter it's all based on days.

If you can candle them and perhaps take pictures, we could tell you what's happening, if you can't then just candle them. One thing you want to look for is to see if they have taken a dip.

What I mean by that is when you first put eggs into the bator, the air cell is perfectly round up towards the top. Three days before hatching day, the air cell will fall to one side, this is called dipping.. then the chick will break through that air cell and you can hear them chirp. Sometimes you have to put the egg by your ear and lightly tap on it, this is called internally pipped.

Once they internally pipped, now there job is to externally, that's when you will see what I like to call a CRACKER, the shell will have an up hill like crack, this is where the chick starts to make his GRAND EXIT...

Also, don't be to shocked if you candle them and you can see that they have already internally pipped, if you watch for a few seconds, you should be able to see them breath. It's kind of cool but you don't want to keep they out to long so just take a few moments to look inside..

Keep us posted. YIPPIE BABIES.



OH I FORGOT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING: you now have the HD disease. Yes, I said HD (hatching disease) this will be followed by the CDHD (can't stop hatching disease) theres NO cure, there's NO shot you can take, Doctors are dumb founded by this disease, the only way to keep it under control is by HATCHING MORE. LOL Don't try to fight the disease, just let it flow into your veins. You'll make up all kinds of excuses to hatch more, IT"S OK, it's not your fault... We all UNDERSTAND... HAHAHHAHAHAHA