Anybody else on LOCKDOWN?? Hatch day Aug. 5th!

[NashChic]

Quote:
A couple of mine had smears like that. If there are dried clumps, I would brush those off. I don't think I would wash or wipe them though. If they were gathered in the last few days and haven't been refrigerated, they should be alright til Sunday.

I feel so bad about your last hatch.

I was paranoid about the high humidity thing. The humidity in my basement is usually in the mid 60s, so I tried to keep the humidity in the low 40s and it often was in the 30s (even dipped to the 20s) during the first 18. Then I was really torn when it came to the hatch days. I was scared of drowned chicks, but also shrink-wrapped chicks. During the hatch I tried to keep it 60-65, but it dropped to 55 quite a bit and spiked at 78 a couple of times when I added damp cloths. I hope these eggs go better for you.

2txmedics.... I don't know what you're going to the doc for, but I hope it goes well and I hope you recover quickly

jonathan... Congrats on the 3 you got!!

Love them extra for the others that didn't make it

 

[NashChic]

Here are a few pics...

Day 1

First Chick Hatched!! YAY!!

The "flock": I think the 3 on the left are blacks and the "row" on the right is a blue on top, splash in the middle, & blue on bottom. Does anyone have any idea if this is right? Are blues yellowy-silver? Are splashes black on the back then silvery on the sides with yellow on the bottoms?

Black and splash?

Close of possible splash? (Look at those fat little cheeks)

 

[andrea98]

i was wondering ..does the humidity have to be raised or do you think if i kept it between 40 & 50 the whole time , it would be ok ..maybe i did drowned them ...

 

[kathyinmo]

i was wondering ..does the humidity have to be raised or do you think if i kept it between 40 & 50 the whole time , it would be ok ..maybe i did drowned them ...

I kept mine 30 - 45% the first 18 days. Then cranked it up 60% for the hatch. I am no expert. This is my first time. I just used advise from Katy in Kansas. We are at the same altitute, and that worked for her.​

 

[NashChic]

I tried to follow the instructions for the "dry hatch" method since our humidity here in Nashville is pretty high. I think there's a sticky about it in the incubating section or you can search it if you haven't read about it before. The main thing I took from it (and also in the manual for my Brinsea bator) is to weight the eggs with a gram scale (I got it at Walmart). I weighed them day 1, day 7, day 14, and day 18. I was shooting for a weight-loss of 11-14% by day 18. From what I researched, and now believe, you really can't go by a specific humidity number. That's why nobody will give you a straight answer about the humidity %. Different things work for different climates, altitudes, bators, etc. If my eggs seemed like they were losing weight too fast, I upped the humidity... and visa versa. Mine ended up losing an average of 13.21%. Apparently, one of the problems with the humidity being too high is that the chicks grow too big for the shell (they don't lose enough weight). They can pip, but they are too big to spin around and zip... so they die in the shell. Or they can pip into excess water in the aircell and drown. I don't know if that's what happened to yours, but I think it would be worth trying again with a lower humidity. But I would still up the humidity for the hatch days, so the membranes aren't dry. I tried to keep mine at 60-65, but it dropped down to 55 quite a bit. It also spiked a few times at 77-78 when I would put damp cloths in. Make sure your vents stay at least 1/3 open so they get good air circulation/oxygen during hatch days.

I'm rooting for your new batch!! I know it's rough, but I think if you keep trying you'll figure out the right combination for your bator/climate/altitude

Keep us posted!

ETA: I'm no expert, this just worked for me this time. We'll see on the next round if it's consistent

 

[andrea98]

you know i was wondering about the whole to big thing because they filled the egg all the way & were not in the air cell , they were all folded up with their beak at the lower end of the egg almost to the point & they were in water when i broke the egg open. maybe i should just lay them on a paper towel next time . i put them in an egg carton exactly the way they were in the turner ..hmmmm
& no the new eggs have not been refridgerated, they were from todays lay & i took them out of the nests my self.
im chargeing my camera so i can post a pic of the eggs , this way i can see if any one can tell me what i have ..given that i know what the hens are & i have 3 diff colored eggs.. just so i know what to expect lol

 

[andrea98]

ok i do have the pic of the eggs up ..if any one could help me out that would be great & thanks

 

[NashChic]

I also wanted to add that I bought 2 different digital thermometer/hygrometers from walmart. I followed the instructions on BYCer Dipsy Doodle Doo's page to calibrate the hygrometers. One was 2% off and the other was 7% off. So I had to add 7 to whatever the one in the bator was reading in order to get the actual humidity. I highly recommend taking the time to do that before using one of those. Especially since they can be that far off. It wasn't hard to to. You just had to put the hygrometer in a baggy with a certain amount of salt and water and see what it says after a few hours. The instructions are easy, but I don't remember the exact measurements of salt/water.

I just thought about that and thought that might help somebody. It would be really frustrating to think you have your humidity at what you want, but it's actually 7% higher

 

[kathyinmo]

I also wanted to add that I bought 2 different digital thermometer/hygrometers from walmart. I followed the instructions on BYCer Dipsy Doodle Doo's page to calibrate the hygrometers. One was 2% off and the other was 7% off. So I had to add 7 to whatever the one in the bator was reading in order to get the actual humidity. I highly recommend taking the time to do that before using one of those. Especially since they can be that far off. It wasn't hard to to. You just had to put the hygrometer in a baggy with a certain amount of salt and water and see what it says after a few hours. The instructions are easy, but I don't remember the exact measurements of salt/water.

I just thought about that and thought that might help somebody. It would be really frustrating to think you have your humidity at what you want, but it's actually 7% higher

OH great .... Now ya tell me..

I didn't do that. I looked at your pictures, and I have exactly the same one. Shoot.... here's hopin' mine is gonna work out.

 

[kathyinmo]

I have 8 pips, and 1 whole chickeeeey!

I am at day 20.
Here she is, and boy is she loud and wantin' outta there!