Day 21 no internal or external pips

[Bigcheeks]

Hi I’m incubating 6 chicken eggs I really need help I want all of them or atleast 4 to hatch I’ve been incubating for 21 going on 22 days now. I tried hearing them and 1 egg is probably internally pipped going to external in like 12 hours. All 6 eggs are starting to shadow. I am just wondering. can someone tell me what the shadowing means?

 

[ChickNanny13]

21 days is a estimated hatch time but incubation can take longer ... A lot depends on your temperature, humidity and the viability of your eggs. What is incubator are you using? What temperature are is it set at? What's your humidity, start to lock down? Has there been any fluctuation in temp/humidity? Did you do the candling 7 day, 14 day & 18 day lockdown? Are the eggs your stock or shipped?

 

[Bigcheeks]

Eggs werent shipped, we got them locally. Humidity is like 70% temp 37.5 degrees and we put them on the fan if it changes anything. I think one is internally pipping as we speak

 

[Bigcheeks]

We candled at day 5, 10, 12, and 17. We did a 21 day candling and all 6 look fine and getting ready to internally pip

 

[Bigcheeks]

Also yes there’s been temp fluctuations but for only very short periods of time. Soon I’ll refill the water for more humidity because I heard that less humidity would cause shrink-wrapping.

 

[JayQ]

Hi! Thought I’d tag along in this older thread than creating new one.
I have similar situation on Day 21 today and no pipping but the eggs were moving last night. It’s by far the longest 3 days of my life since lockdown .
Question: Is it okay to water test them at the end of day today if still no pipping? I read from here that opening the incubator lid on lockdown can cause serious issues..

Thank you as always

 

[BDutch]

Hi! Thought I’d tag along in this older thread than creating new one.
I have similar situation on Day 21 today and no pipping but the eggs were moving last night. It’s by far the longest 3 days of my life since lockdown .
Question: Is it okay to water test them at the end of day today if still no pipping? I read from here that opening the incubator lid on lockdown can cause serious issues..

Thank you as always

I would make a new thread if nobody answers. More chances to get a good answer. I only have experiences with broodies, not with machines.
Water testing is not the right thing to do in my knowledge.
Just get the temp and humidity right, no more turning and most of all be patient.

 

[Kiki]

Hi! Thought I’d tag along in this older thread than creating new one.
I have similar situation on Day 21 today and no pipping but the eggs were moving last night. It’s by far the longest 3 days of my life since lockdown .
Question: Is it okay to water test them at the end of day today if still no pipping? I read from here that opening the incubator lid on lockdown can cause serious issues..

Thank you as always

NO, it is not a good idea to ever put a hatching egg in water unless you want to make sure it is dead.
Opening the incubator is fine to do if you do it quickly.
Candle some of the eggs in a dark room and look to see if the air cell has drawn down yet.

 

[BantyChooks]

NO, it is not a good idea to ever put a hatching egg in water unless you want to make sure it is dead.
Opening the incubator is fine to do if you do it quickly.
Candle some of the eggs in a dark room and look to see if the air cell has drawn down yet.

X2. I’m rather hands-on with my hatches and I don’t have issues. Candling once is fine… water testing is not. If you have a slight pip or crack in the shell that wasn’t noticeable (happens often) water testing can kill them. Plus, it doesn’t give you any useful information.

 

[JayQ]

NO, it is not a good idea to ever put a hatching egg in water unless you want to make sure it is dead.
Opening the incubator is fine to do if you do it quickly.
Candle some of the eggs in a dark room and look to see if the air cell has drawn down yet.

Thank you so much @Kiki this is not the first time you have helped me with my chickie concerns . Appreciate you. I will candle tonight if still no pipping, and NO to water testing.