Brinsea mini advance hatch question (2 day lockdown)

[88heather]

I noticed today that my incubator stopped the automatic turning so figured that meant it as time for lockdown.. My Brinsea countdown is on 2 days and the turner is off.. so I took out the eggs really quick so I could take out the turn tray, add paper towels to the bottom and add more water.. put the eggs back in and I guess this is lockdown?? I'm asking b/c I posted about this on Facebook and someone posted back to me "oh.. you shouldn't take the eggs out till tomorrow at the earliest".. I'm not sure why she would say that.. but as soon as the turner stopped turning.. i had to get the turn tray out and put the paper towels down.. so obviously had to take the eggs out for a bit. Was I supposed to wait till 1 day left? or did I do the right thing??

I did notice, finally, before doing that that a few eggs were moving (I'm down to only 4 eggs left ).. After I did that.. i'm only seeing one egg moving a bit.. How much should the eggs be moving when the countdown is to 2?

This is my first hatch.. I have no idea what I'm doing and I'm nervous!!! Any input appreciated

 

[gryeyes]

You did just fine. You don't want hatching guck to get all in the turntable.

Chicks in eggs will move, and rest, move, and rest, as they get closer to hatching.

Lockdown refers to the time period of 3 days - give or take, it's really not that exact, just the average so everybody follows the three day lockdown timeframe - during which the humidity in the incubator is raised and you don't handle the eggs. Let 'em hatch. Taking the lid off the 'bator can spill humidity and dry out the egg membrane, making it hard for the chick to kick its way out.

It takes a whole lot of energy for a chick to hatch, so there can belong hours of no wiggling.

Here's to a successful hatch for you!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

I have the Brinsea Mini Advance too. Yes, you must remove the turning tray as you did and add a nonskid bottom. I have used rags before. Keep the water trays (both of them is what I do in lockdown) full. You will have to do this as they will possibly dry out before hatching occurs.

IF YOU HAVE A PIP (hole) in one of the eggs just try to wait to refill, unless they are getting empty, as you don't want to take off the lid and lose humidity when they have that hole or they might get stuck in the egg.

What I do is refill every 24 hours and then when I see a pip I wait. When that one hatches if there are no more pips then I refill quickly. Then repeat the cycle. If they start to go dry though it is vital to get them refilled.

I never see eggs moving until the day of hatch or the day before. I really don't worry about it and just wait for the cute little faces to show themselves.

One thing about this incubator is that the chicks have a hard time drying out. I remove chicks from the incubator after a few hours (maybe 3 or 4 depending on if I have any pipping (I don't open it if I have pipping) as they stay wet.

You are technically supposed to leave them in for 24 hours and let them dry out in there. But I don't see them drying out in there and so I move them to the brooder where they dry out very quickly. I make sure my temps are 95 to start with since they just hatched.

Lockdown technically means don't open for any reason. But the water bowls are soooooo small and they go dry quickly in this incubator. This is just how I do things. I have only hatched hmm I think 3 times, 4 if you count moving them to a broody later. So no expert, lol!

 

[88heather]

Thanks!!!! When I saw the auto turn table had stopped .. I got that tray out, and took 2 paper towels that I cut into a circle with a hole in center for the bottom.. and filled the water pot (both sides) to the top.. I tried working fast as I hated putting the eggs out for a minute.. but when I got that comment on FB about how I shouldn't of done that.. I was very confused!.. I'm not sure what she was talking about.. unless she thought I meant that I had one breaking an egg and coming out?

So tomorrow when the countdown says just 1 day left.. is it possible to see any eggs being broken (or pipping)?

I'm sooooo EGGcited!!!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Quote:
It's possible you could see a hatch, yes. Mine hatch out on time or one day late if I remember correctly.

 

[88heather]

Thanks!!! My husband was teasing me b/c I kept watching with a flashlight on them seeing i could detect a wiggle. I just kept staring and staring.. I'm afraid I'll miss the excitement!! I also move the incubator on the counter just a nudge thinking it will start a wiggle going.. yes.. I have a problem. I'm about to go to bed right now but part of me wants to jump out of bed and see if i can see more of the eggs moving.

This is soooo fun!!!!!! I love this mini Brinsea.. but if they would make a 12 egg count one that would of been better since 3 of my original 7 were tossed as duds already.. I hate being down to only 4 eggs and wondering if I should find some day old chicks somewhere that I could have so the chicks have more to huddle wtih.. My worry is I'll hatch one.. and one chick is a lonely chick, right??

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Quote:
Just wait until you see them look at you as if to say, "Are you my mommy?"