Beginner's Hatch-A-Long

[DavidKerk]

It looks like I just got one out of my nine eggs... It's day 23 right now and my only chick hatched day 20. I'm keeping the incubator going until day 25, but I'm pretty sad and discouraged.
Maybe I'll try again with some more eggs.

I had the same thing happen. We can do it next time! Don't give up!

 

[MtnFamilyFarm]

We have discovered that a lot depends on who you get your eggs from.

We have gotten our eggs locally and depending on who we got them from we had a wide variation in fertility. One person we got five doz from - 100% fertility and someone else 0%. Another 3 out of 12, another 7 out of 12. The breeds were different - that is why we got from different sources. See if you can find someone in your area with experience at selling fertile eggs and a good success rate? We haven't paid a lot for any of these so that while we are learning we are at least not out a lot of $$ - still heartbreaking though.

Amanda

 

[pepsiokay]

Please help me!

Our stupid plumber tripped our electric today while I was at work and my 18 eggs went without power for 6 hours. When I switched it back on it was 23C inside.
Today is day 18, they were due to hatch on my birthday

Are they all goners????

 

[FFAChickenFan]

Please help me!

Our stupid plumber tripped our electric today while I was at work and my 18 eggs went without power for 6 hours. When I switched it back on it was 23C inside.
Today is day 18, they were due to hatch on my birthday

Are they all goners????

Since its so late in the hatch they aren't as susceptible to low heat. Most people worry more about humidity, but at the same time 6 hours is a while to go without power.
It's a little up in the air, but I've heard about younger chicks going to lower temps for longer amounts of time and still being fine, so don't worry too much. Just keep them in normal temp with 60-70% humidity and I think you should still get a hatch

 

[pepsiokay]

Thanks I candled and all 18 were kicking well last night..... I'll candle tomo and see if its the same......

 

[FFAChickenFan]

Thanks I candled and all 18 were kicking well last night..... I'll candle tomo and see if its the same......

I wouldn't suggest that you do.
Normally you wouldn't touch the eggs or open the incubator at all after day 18, which is called the "lockdown" day. The chicks are in a crucial part of their development right now where they position themselves so that they can properly hatch out of the egg. If you disturb them before they hatch, they might not be able to position themselves properly and you could lose some chicks. If I were you, I would leave them until day 23 or so if none hatch before I'd candle again.
Remember, candling only satisfies your curiosity- it does nothing to help and can sometimes be detrimental to the chicks.
Be patient, if they hatch hooray! If they dont, you can always try again its up to them now.

 

[Penny Hen]

We had to put the one chick down tonight. It was the one that had a ton of blood when it was born, the yolk sac didn't absorb all the way and it's umbilical cord was still attached. It was eating and playing fine and then today it's intestines started to pull down. It seemed like it was in pain. My hubby tried to push the intestines back in but he said there was just too much and they were bleeding. So we only have 3 chicks out of the 18 eggs we started with. I'm grateful for the ones we have but hopefully we will do better next time. I think I'm going to order more eggs and give it another try. Ugh! I must love to torture myself! lol

I know it is tough. I had to do that with a kitten that got underfoot and stepped on (by me) once. I had half crushed it's poor head. There was no fixing that.

 

[justoldbobo2]

Please help me!

Our stupid plumber tripped our electric today while I was at work and my 18 eggs went without power for 6 hours. When I switched it back on it was 23C inside.
Today is day 18, they were due to hatch on my birthday

Are they all goners????

My first try last month I had bulb blow in my homemade bator. It happened while I was at work on day 16/17. Temp had dropped to low 90's. Still ended up hatching 11 out 15. They are 4 weeks now

 

[FFAChickenFan]

Pepsiokay, how did the hatch go??

I'm eager to hear your results so far!

 

[DavidKerk]

Thanks I candled and all 18 were kicking well last night..... I'll candle tomo and see if its the same......

Great news!