Day 20, No activity.....Is this normal? Chicken mom freaking out! :)

[henpeckedoregon]

My humidity measuring devices are saying I am only at 45% humidity.......I have sponges dipped in warm water in there and all the wells are full of water. There is some steam/water droplets around the edges of the observation windows, so I am wondering if my gauges are wrong somehow......

The waiting is so nerve wracking!! This is supposed to be a fun hobby, but is turning out to be so stressful!!

 

[Dcat]

You might want to get/borrow another hygrometer just to double check, for now just try to be patient, yes patience is extremely hard at this point but the results when everything goes as it should make you almost forget about the stress(kinda like labor, LOL)
My first couple of hatches I would go clean a room as clean as I could, including mopping the bathroom cieling just to try to get my mind on something else, since my housekeeping skills aren't anywhere near showroom quality I always get a sense of accomplishment along with something to refocus my attention so I don't stress so bad.

 

[alequeen]

Please don't do like a rookie friend of mine did. He didn't stop turning the eggs and increased humidity to such a high level when he locked it down that the chicks drowned. Don't be to impatient about the hatch date. I give all mine an extra 14 days after the expected hatch date before i dispose of eggs. It does sound like the factory gauges might be inaccurate or you have a problem with heat and humidity being diff in diff areas of the incubator

 

[henpeckedoregon]

Hi everyone.

Still waiting! I am hoping things are still progressing in the incubator. We live in Oregon and have had a couple of cold mornings. My husband started a fire in the wood stove this morning and I noticed the temp. was reading 101.7 I'm not sure how this will effect the eggs, or of the temp was high enough to kill them.......these little guys just cant seem to get a break! I noticed the temp. and fixed the problem, not sure how long they were at that temperature though. I'm wondering how Mother Nature and a broody hen deal with fluctuations in temps during hotter summer months!

 

[Aphrael]

I don't know everything they do, but I've seen mine lift up off the eggs and kind of ruffle their feathers in such as way that it seems like it kind of fans the eggs. Whatever secrets they have, they work! I've had a group of broodies set a clutch of eggs through about 105-110 degree weather. I did everything I could to break them, but they would not be stopped. I've never been able to break my cochins yet. Finally, I gave in and let them have eggs. They hatched every one and not one was worse for wear - mamas or babies!

 

[McChickenNugget]

Any peeps yet?

 

[henpeckedoregon]

So today is day 23, and nothing. I water candled the eggs this morning and **I THINIK** I saw movement in 4 of them. I went into a dark room and candled the other 8 eggs and decided they were no good, so I broke them open.

Of the 8 I broke open, there was only one who had a developing embryo, which from looking at pictures seems to have been around maybe day 18 or so. There was no movement of the chick when I cracked open the egg, so I am assuming he had already died?

I have left the others in the incubator and we will wait and see. These are the ones who have dark masses in them, and I could swear I saw some ever so slight movement in the water.

Any thoughts?

 

[Aphrael]

So today is day 23, and nothing. I water candled the eggs this morning and **I THINIK** I saw movement in 4 of them. I went into a dark room and candled the other 8 eggs and decided they were no good, so I broke them open.

Of the 8 I broke open, there was only one who had a developing embryo, which from looking at pictures seems to have been around maybe day 18 or so. There was no movement of the chick when I cracked open the egg, so I am assuming he had already died?

I have left the others in the incubator and we will wait and see. These are the ones who have dark masses in them, and I could swear I saw some ever so slight movement in the water.

Any thoughts?

If you still see signs of life, I'd definitely give them some more time. I have read about people having hatches as late as day 25 or 26. If the chick had no movement when you broke open the egg, then yes it was most likely already dead.

 

[henpeckedoregon]

I ordered another batch of eggs today, as well as a new hygrometer/thermometer so hopefully we will have success next time.......I am not giving up hope on these last four little eggs, but I am preparing for the worst

 

[Aphrael]

I ordered another batch of eggs today, as well as a new hygrometer/thermometer so hopefully we will have success next time.......I am not giving up hope on these last four little eggs, but I am preparing for the worst

What kind of eggs did you order? You might think about buying a baby thermometer to compare your other thermometers to. Then you will KNOW how accurate they are. I just bought one that is guaranteed accurate to within 2/10's of a degree for under 5 bucks. Doesn't work to keep in the 'bator to monitor temps because it only stays on a short time and you have to push the button to turn it on. BUT, it is a great tool for checking the accuracy of your other thermometers. Also, you can test your hygrometers for accuracy by putting salt in a small dish or lid and wetting it (should be a sludgy wet sand consistency). Then place the salt dish and the hygrometer in a ziploc baggie and seal it up. Let it sit for 12 - 24 hours and then check the reading. It should read 75%. If it reads 80%, then you subtract 5% from future readings to get the actual humidity; if it reads 70% then you add 5%, and so on. Some instructions I've read say it is more accurate if the baggie is in a very warm area, so I set it up inside the running incubator to get the test reading.