Celadon Hatch. Day 17. Can't stop watching... Very Nervous...

[Ravenlover]

Do I need to do anything special when I candle... like do it in a humid room etc.... so I don't mess them up in the meantime

This is our first hatch.... sorry for all the questions.

I think kiki posted some youtube vids on how to candle for beginners? @Kiki ?

 

[Kiki]

Don't stress.
If the eggs are going to hatch they're going to hatch if they're not they're not.

If you're worried about candling then then don't.
The only reason I'm telling you to candle them is so that you will know if they are still alive or if they have already died.

I'm going to just tell you what I do real quick.
I incubate quail eggs all the time.
I have excellent hatch rates.
I open my incubator 9 million times including during lockdown.
I am quick and I am steady.


You are not going to make or break this hatch by candling a few eggs right now.
Candling is just for peace of mind just so you will know one way or the other.

 

[Kiki]

At this late in the game I prefer to use my phone flashlight to candle.
if you're not familiar with candling you may not know what you're looking for so give me one second and I'll show you a video of what to look for this late in the game.

 

[Kiki]

This is not using a phone flashlight so bear with me while I try to explain what you're looking at.

This is the fat air cell side of the egg...This is the chick pushing up against the air cell getting ready to make an external pip.

You would/should see this type of movement.

 

[Kiki]

Here is another type of movement you should see...
this one has actually already made the internal pip and just made the external pip...the crack.
Also remember you must candle in a very dark room or closet. It makes a huge difference being in a dark room.

 

[Kiki]

In this video notice how large the air cell is... This is the drawing down you hear about.

 

[Urbanhomestead_ut]

This is not using a phone flashlight so bear with me while I try to explain what you're looking at.

This is the fat air cell side of the egg...This is the chick pushing up against the air cell getting ready to make an external pip.

You would/should see this type of movement.

Great. Thank you for the videos. They help a lot. I'm going to try candling them and see what I can find out. We candled before lock down and all but 4 looked viable then, hopefully they are just slow to hatch.

 

[Kiki]

Great. Thank you for the videos. They help a lot. I'm going to try candling them and see what I can find out. We candled before lock down and all but 4 looked viable then, hopefully they are just slow to hatch.

Do you have at least one calibrated thermometer in your incubator?

 

[Urbanhomestead_ut]

Do you have at least one calibrated thermometer in your incubator?

Yes, we have 1.

We've kept it around 99.5 temp and it was 35% humidity for the first 14 days and has been between 65-70% humidity since lock down. It keeps going up each time a chick hatches.

 

[Urbanhomestead_ut]

Another chick hatched. Yellow with black spots. That was my last (currently) pipped egg. 15 left unpipped, unhatched.