Katona
In the Brooder
- Feb 27, 2024
- 3
- 6
- 12
First time posting...and first time hatching. 
Apologies for the novel.
I imported 16 Houdan eggs from outside my province and had them shipped in. Canada Post decided to lose them for a few days before getting to me. All in all, they were in transit for 4-5 days. Arrived in a state most would expect, loose air cells, saddled aircells, etc. One managed to break and leak despite excellent packaging. I’m using a Vevor 24 I got for $30 (new) at an auction, with 5 hydrometers for accuracy.
I had a very regimented plan for optimizing the hatch. They rested pointy side down for 24 hours in a dark box with a dish of water for humidity before going into the incubator. For the first 4 day in the incubator, they were in cartons to keep them "standing" pointed side down with no turning. Day 5 to 7 I used bottle caps to rock the cartons from side to side 2 to 3 times a day. Temp kept between 37.5*C and 38*C, humidity target between 45% and 55%, but I wouldn't get too worked up until it dropped to 32%.
Candling on day eight showed lots of excellent veins, reattached air cells and even little dudes moving around. weight loss seemed mostly on track. One had a blood ring, so it got tossed. A couple I wasn't confident about, so I left them with the rest. 14 eggs went onto the auto-turner.
Anticipation got the better of me, so I candled on day 16 instead of 18. One egg showed zero development and less than 1% weight loss from day 8, so I tossed it. Another looked more like it had never developed at all, so it also went. 12 went into lockdown with a target humidity between 65% and 75%. I removed the auto-turner at the same time, and added sanitized shelf liner for grip.
Day 20 to 22, I had 4 hatch normally and one that was assisted after an unzipping went half way around and then stalled for a whole day. Thankfully, I read the assisted forums here and opened it up to find it's body completely shrink wrapped. (It's doing great now and looks just like the others). A 6th broke through the shell, but the membrane never broke; after a day, I tried opening it, but the chick had past. Humidity was between 75% all the way up to 85% while hatching.
After 24 hours of no new action, I put the chicks in their brooder, removed cracked eggs, cleaned up poops and sprayed the surfaces with 3% hydrogen peroxide. I wiped everything down as best I could. Figured I’d give it another day or two back at lockdown temp/humidity.
Last night would have been the start of day 25. I figured I’d candle the eggs to see what I could learn for next time. The first one looked like a day 16 egg, with clear veins and some space between the end of the aircell and the embryo; maybe movement. Uncertain, I put it back in. The second one I candled started chirping at me, so I panickedly put it back. I left the rest without checking.
I’m at a loss. There is no obvious visual development this morning, and I’d really like to leave them alone to potentially “finish.” But how long do I wait to check again for signs of life? Has anyone ever had two drastically devided hatches time-wise? Should I increase the temp/humidity? Any other advice?
If you’ve gotten this far, thank you. Here is a picture of the 5 fuzzballs just after they left the incubator for tax.
Apologies for the novel.I imported 16 Houdan eggs from outside my province and had them shipped in. Canada Post decided to lose them for a few days before getting to me. All in all, they were in transit for 4-5 days. Arrived in a state most would expect, loose air cells, saddled aircells, etc. One managed to break and leak despite excellent packaging. I’m using a Vevor 24 I got for $30 (new) at an auction, with 5 hydrometers for accuracy.
I had a very regimented plan for optimizing the hatch. They rested pointy side down for 24 hours in a dark box with a dish of water for humidity before going into the incubator. For the first 4 day in the incubator, they were in cartons to keep them "standing" pointed side down with no turning. Day 5 to 7 I used bottle caps to rock the cartons from side to side 2 to 3 times a day. Temp kept between 37.5*C and 38*C, humidity target between 45% and 55%, but I wouldn't get too worked up until it dropped to 32%.
Candling on day eight showed lots of excellent veins, reattached air cells and even little dudes moving around. weight loss seemed mostly on track. One had a blood ring, so it got tossed. A couple I wasn't confident about, so I left them with the rest. 14 eggs went onto the auto-turner.
Anticipation got the better of me, so I candled on day 16 instead of 18. One egg showed zero development and less than 1% weight loss from day 8, so I tossed it. Another looked more like it had never developed at all, so it also went. 12 went into lockdown with a target humidity between 65% and 75%. I removed the auto-turner at the same time, and added sanitized shelf liner for grip.
Day 20 to 22, I had 4 hatch normally and one that was assisted after an unzipping went half way around and then stalled for a whole day. Thankfully, I read the assisted forums here and opened it up to find it's body completely shrink wrapped. (It's doing great now and looks just like the others). A 6th broke through the shell, but the membrane never broke; after a day, I tried opening it, but the chick had past. Humidity was between 75% all the way up to 85% while hatching.
After 24 hours of no new action, I put the chicks in their brooder, removed cracked eggs, cleaned up poops and sprayed the surfaces with 3% hydrogen peroxide. I wiped everything down as best I could. Figured I’d give it another day or two back at lockdown temp/humidity.
Last night would have been the start of day 25. I figured I’d candle the eggs to see what I could learn for next time. The first one looked like a day 16 egg, with clear veins and some space between the end of the aircell and the embryo; maybe movement. Uncertain, I put it back in. The second one I candled started chirping at me, so I panickedly put it back. I left the rest without checking.
I’m at a loss. There is no obvious visual development this morning, and I’d really like to leave them alone to potentially “finish.” But how long do I wait to check again for signs of life? Has anyone ever had two drastically devided hatches time-wise? Should I increase the temp/humidity? Any other advice?
If you’ve gotten this far, thank you. Here is a picture of the 5 fuzzballs just after they left the incubator for tax.
