August Hatch along?

[anvia]

Also- is there any reason that a chick would pip outside of the air cell just a few hours after lockdown? Did I lockdown too late?? I locked down at end of Day 18.

I’m tempted to think the temperature is running a little high? Thats my immediate thought - hopefully someone more knowledgable than me will pop along soon!
For hens - I’d have locked down on day 18 too - but not expected piping this early - well done for candling and doing what you did - fingers crossed your babies make it!

 

[anvia]

My only other thought is taking care not to shrink wrap the chick whilst the yolk absorbs - I’ve sucessfully put damp paper towel over the egg before. I’ve never succeeded with Vaseline / olive oil ect... but maybe someone with more experience can help guide you there.

If the temperature is running high - is it the thermometer or the incubator? Is the thermometer near the eggs? Sometimes they are at a different heights.....

 

[MichelleBelle]

Luckily the chick seems to be resting at present. No chirping or signs that it is trying to zip, thankfully. I've put it in a little plastic bowl with a paper towel to position the little rascal at an angle that allows for easy breathing but hopefully makes it physically difficult to emerge from the shell. Fingers crossed on that guy.

Thermometer is placed at egg height, but I don't trust it. I'm going to run get another one (or 2) from the store, and see whether they agree on the reading or not.

I did do an egg-topsy on the eggs that appeared to be quitters. One seems to have stopped developing around Day 14/15 and the other quitters the next day or so after that. There weren't any malformations, or any signs of bacterial infection. Just quit for unknown reasons.

 

[anvia]

Luckily the chick seems to be resting at present. No chirping or signs that it is trying to zip, thankfully. I've put it in a little plastic bowl with a paper towel to position the little rascal at an angle that allows for easy breathing but hopefully makes it physically difficult to emerge from the shell. Fingers crossed on that guy.

Thermometer is placed at egg height, but I don't trust it. I'm going to run get another one (or 2) from the store, and see whether they agree on the reading or not.

I did do an egg-topsy on the eggs that appeared to be quitters. One seems to have stopped developing around Day 14/15 and the other quitters the next day or so after that. There weren't any malformations, or any signs of bacterial infection. Just quit for unknown reasons.

Maybe she’s just keen? & See if the rest are closer to time?
Did she pip through the blunt end? I’ve had the odd early chick at the wrong end of the egg.... I assume it gets tight on space & they pip - lucky for her you were candling!

 

[MROO]

Mine are under a broody who abandoned her first clutch after just a few days, so I'm not touching these until she says she's done! Once she's up and about, we'll candle what's left and maybe put a few in the 'bator, just in case. We did that with the last hatch and got more babies!

Okay - Update on my broody. I gave the nest a quick glance, and there she was, sitting calmly, all puffed up and giving me a nasty stinkeye, which surprised me, because Miss Piggy has let me handle her this whole time. Then I checked the feeder and waterer, and there she was again. I glanced back to the nest, thinking I had the perfect chance to count and check ... and Piggy had teleported back, instantly. What the #$!!?
Looking closer, I noticed a small bald patch at the base of Piggy's tail. It's not Miss Piggy, it's Pepper, my first broody, whose chicks are raised and ready to go. Apparently, they've swapped places, and both appear to be fine with the trade-off.
At this point, I have NO IDEA what's in that nest! Pepper won't let me anywhere near it and I know from her last clutch that she'll fall apart if I take her off long enough to candle. I don't even have an accurate set date. We were all back and forth to the Fair for over a week and everyone thought everyone else had marked the calendar. I was counting on candling this week so I'd know about when they were due to hatch and how staggered they'd be. Guess that's not happenin' now. So, folks, I guess we're all in for a surprise... including Pepper!

 

[anvia]

Okay - Update on my broody. I gave the nest a quick glance, and there she was, sitting calmly, all puffed up and giving me a nasty stinkeye, which surprised me, because Miss Piggy has let me handle her this whole time. Then I checked the feeder and waterer, and there she was again. I glanced back to the nest, thinking I had the perfect chance to count and check ... and Piggy had teleported back, instantly. What the #$!!?
Looking closer, I noticed a small bald patch at the base of Piggy's tail. It's not Miss Piggy, it's Pepper, my first broody, whose chicks are raised and ready to go. Apparently, they've swapped places, and both appear to be fine with the trade-off.
At this point, I have NO IDEA what's in that nest! Pepper won't let me anywhere near it and I know from her last clutch that she'll fall apart if I take her off long enough to candle. I don't even have an accurate set date. We were all back and forth to the Fair for over a week and everyone thought everyone else had marked the calendar. I was counting on candling this week so I'd know about when they were due to hatch and how staggered they'd be. Guess that's not happenin' now. So, folks, I guess we're all in for a surprise... including Pepper!

Sounds like something is brooding!

We used to have a beautiful blue laced Brahma called Clara Cluck... and she went broody at the drop of a hat.... she would commandeer the others eggs and would savage anyone who so much as looked at her nest.... and she did a way better job of hatching and raising chicks than us with our good intentions and our incubators ever did! I think it’s a good sign that your girls are in charge - they know way more about being chickens than we ever will - good luck & I look forwards to hearing about what they are hatching!

 

[Sakai]

Remember eggs are evaporating moisture and the incubator provides a micro climate too. But if Arizona is normal dry - you might need to add moisture?

You said you’d had a bad hatch before - what did you do that time? Was it wet or dry? If wet was it sponges / paper or reservoirs? Do you know what your humidity was last time?

Sorry lots of questions! But I don’t think it’s a one size fits all answer - it’s a personal learning curve for your environment - I’ve also learned to have a room hygrometer next to the incubator so I know what my environment is actually doing and how I can react. Ie opening a vent one day might lower humidity - a different day it might raise it.
I hope that makes sense!

It was wet, we used reservoirs. The humidity inside was reading 77% during lockdown. And was kept in a room that was at 60% humidity most of the time (Due to storms) We did move the incubator at lockdown to a move favorable area for hatching. But it seems the chicks died before then. We candled them last at day 14 and they were alive and moving.
We candled the eggs at day 22 and they looked normal until I moved the light to the bottom and noticed that the eggs were not "Full of chick" As they should be, there was quite a bit of open space at the bottom of the eggs.

 

[MichelleBelle]

Maybe she’s just keen? & See if the rest are closer to time?
Did she pip through the blunt end? I’ve had the odd early chick at the wrong end of the egg.... I assume it gets tight on space & they pip - lucky for her you were candling!

Nope- she pipped in the center of the egg. She was moving a bit an hour ago, and I thought I'd can some fresh tomatoes to distract myself from worrying over her. During that time it seems some "goo" clogged up her breathing hole and she must've drowned
Now I'm down to 4 viable eggs. Keeping fingers crossed for them.

 

[anvia]

I’m sorry - did you hatch any?
In my experience - & I completely appreciate I am in a massively different climate - 77% sounds too wet - when that first egg pips humidity goes up hugely and the risk is saturating the others & then they drown. Personally with hens eggs I’ve aimed for to 60-65% once I have the first pip. That first pip raises humidity so much I often dont have to add more moisture - if anything I have to ventilate it out - but that could just be my incubators....
Over the years I’ve gone for drier and drier incubating and targeting humidity needs with damp paper towels - ie an early pipped egg or to achieve a change in humidity.
But - we moved house.... & we now seem to have majority late stage egg death - just like you describe... & I don’t know why. Our last hatch was 13/24 which I think is very poor compared to previous hatches. We got 21/24 almost fully formed the other 3 were infertile - something is going wrong in the lockdown for us too - and I think it’s humidity related. I shouldn’t lose 8 in lockdown?

I honestly find damp paper towels easier to control than reservoirs - you have more control & can effect a more responsive change in humidity.
Im also wondering if me physically moving the eggs on lockdown is causing drowning - this hatch the eggs are starting on their sides and staying that way throughout. My favourite trusty incubator keeps the eggs horizontal throughout incubation.... & when my broodys have built their nests the eggs are stacked horizontally.... but my more modern incubators & their manuals say to incubate big end up until lockdown & then lay horizontally.... I’m wondering if by laying them down on day 18 I’m drowning a large percentage of them? - by shifting the fluid within the egg?

When you say you moved the incubator for hatching did you change how the eggs were lying in the incubator? Were yours vertical or horizontal? Equally I’ve seen how my broodies spin their eggs! - but they do it fast.... so does the egg settle quickly?

Could it be we have the same problem?

 

[anvia]

Oh I’m so sorry - I’ve no experience of one pipping in the centre - ever - I hope someone else can help there.