So here is a question that might be stupid, but I just need to know. I have a staggered hatch going on. We are at the end of the 21st day with one set which hatched 9 babies out of 19 so far. But the other set which are on day 19 now I put in yesterday before the others hatched today. What I want to know is, when the babies hatch and the goo is stuck on the other eggs not due to hatch for another 2 days, do they become contaminated and then dont hatch?!? If this is true should I open the bator to wipe down the eggs and put in a new shelf liner??????? Please let me know, I hate having bad hatches!
Well, bacteria will start growing in the humidity of the bator and start to smell bad, so if you could quickly change out the liner that would be as best as you can really do short of cleaning it all out now. Cleaning it out carries the risk of eggs cooling down which can also be bad for the hatch this close to the due date. The best thing to do in the future is to separate the hatches or at least put a divider up so the hatching eggs don't disturb the ones that still have time to go. Humidity was probably a bit high for the ones that were not on their last three days too while the ones you just hatched were hatching, and that can affect the final hatch. Good luck what you decide to do.
With that small of a difference in hatch dates it is unlikely the first group will effect the second group.
That does make me feel better...... but I am gonna go ahead and put the eggs I have now in the other incubator I have going so they can stay warm with a 55% humidity and then put in new shelf liner at least and then put them back while wiping the bad looking ones. I will keep you posted if anything hatches. Please keep your fingers crossed they are ok. Thanks everyone!