Day 22 now, still moving but not hatching....?? HELP!!

[Gspeed31]

Thanks for replies and for asking how they are doing. We have 1 little chick that made it from our hatch. 2 of the eggs look like they stopped developing half way through and 1 was fertilized but not developed at all. Sadly, the other 2 eggs had fully formed chicks inside but they never hatched even though they were alive and moving on day 20 and 21. Peep hatched on day 23, took him from about 4am until 4:30pm to get out but he is doing terrific and loves to snuggle and sleep on my chest. We thought he (she?) was lonely so we went and got 5 more chicks from Tractor Supply the day after he was born. They are about 5 or 6 days older but they seem to get along ok. Hope everyone else has happy hatchings!!

 

[mmjc]

I'm in the same boat...I have 19 white leghorn eggs in the incubator and it's day 25 today for one of them and still nothing! No pip or anything yet. I candled at day 18 and everything looked good so I'm not sure what the problem is. Humidity is good, but my bator doesn't have a meter on it either, but I've kept water in there and no signs of it being too humid. Temps have been maintained and they've been on "lock down" since day 18. How long should I wait?

 

[nettifer]

i waited till day 28 just in case 2 hatched day 24 1 day 25 , go with your gut feeling!

 

[Gspeed31]

I read on one of the posts on this forum that they had a hatch as late as 28 days. If you see no movement at all though, I am not sure. I only waited until day 25 until I took them out and opened them up to see what happened (after candling to make sure there was no movement inside) but I had movement on days 20 and 21 so I knew they had to be developed since they were still alive on what should have been hatch day. So sad that they didn't hatch when they were fully formed chicks. Don't know what happened, my guess was not enough humidity on mine but then how did Peep hatch? who knows! Are you using just one thermometer and are you sure it is calibrated correctly. Such a delicate range between incubating and cooking them. I was always worried about that. Were they moving on Day 18? Good Luck! I hope you get some action soon!!

 

[mmjc]

Thanks! Well, i candled the egg last night (day 25) and no movement I opened it up to see what happened and it hadn't absorbed the yolk sac yet. Didn't fully develop. Don't know why. Have 3 more set to hatch tomorrow, fingers crossed it'll be a success. How important is the humidity levels? I've read that alot of people dont monitor that and that the temps are more important then humidity but then others say its crucial for good hatches?

 

[nettifer]

they say if humidity is too high they get too wet and drown, if it to low they shrink wrap in their shells im trying again !

 

[randerson846]

Humidity is very important if it isn't high enough as well as them shrink wrapping the shell will also become to hard for them to get out and the chick won't be strong enough to peck its way out

 

[mmjc]

Thanks! I've heard the pros and cons to both as well. I just have no idea how to keep the humidity level up on the incubator! I have water in the wells, a small bowl of water, and a warm wet washcloth. The humidity levels will rise (when added) and then drop back down. The temps are consistently 99-100 degrees and the humidity is staying at around 40-42%. Is that good enough for hatching? I've got 3 that were due to hatch yesterday and nothing yet. I know they could hatch a little late so I have a couple more days, but I'm really hoping for a good hatch. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[wabbit1964]

Thanks! I've heard the pros and cons to both as well. I just have no idea how to keep the humidity level up on the incubator! I have water in the wells, a small bowl of water, and a warm wet washcloth. The humidity levels will rise (when added) and then drop back down. The temps are consistently 99-100 degrees and the humidity is staying at around 40-42%. Is that good enough for hatching? I've got 3 that were due to hatch yesterday and nothing yet. I know they could hatch a little late so I have a couple more days, but I'm really hoping for a good hatch. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

mmjc I was told to keep the humidity at 50% can you get it up and keep it at that? if its not high enough they can shrink wrap from not enough moisture.

 

[mmjc]

wabbit1964 - I can't seem to get it above 42% or to stay there! I'm so frustrated!! I've added bowls of water, wet washcloth, etc. and it won't stay up. I don't know what else to do. When I first added the wet washcloth it was really warm so the humidity levels went up to about 60% and stayed for about a half hour or so and then dropped back down to about 38-40% where they've stayed. I know you can't keep opening the bator (that was the first time since day 18 that I've opened it) so I can't keep doing that. I just really want a good hatch and I had seen movement and good veins at day 7 & 14 when I candled them. I want to get this figured out before my others get moved into this bator for "lock down". I have two incubators currently - one has all of my eggs (numbered) in an egg turner where they stay from day 1-18 and then I move them to this second one for lock down and hatching. I just don't know what else to do.