Day 22 still no chicks??

[makenzieridgefarm]

This is my first time hatching eggs, and its day 22 and still no chicks. I candled a few this morning with movement in the egg. Is this normal? I have a nice incubator with auto turner every hour. Kept the water bottle full for good humidity. The incubator is in my garage, would that cause the hatch to be delayed?

 

[zazouse]

I would give them a couple more days, low temps can cause a delay in hatch even by 1 or 2 degrees.
good luck and post up some photos when they hatch.

 

[4-H chicken mom]

Is your garage cold? What has the temp of the bator? They are probably just a little behind. I also recommend having the bator in a room that maintains a constant warm temp. If the garage is cold it is sucking the warm air out of the bator. Candle the eggs to see if there is any movement before giving up. Like I said they might just need more time. Most folks will wait at least 25 days before giving up. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[makenzieridgefarm]

The garage is not heated, but it is well insulated. The wether here has been pretty good the past few weeks, but the last few nights it has gotten cold out. I am hoping they are just behind due to the location of the incubator. I could see movement in the eggs when I candled them on day 16. I intend to set more eggs this week, so I will move the bator inside the house. Also, any recommendations on an electronic thermometer with humidity?

 

[Rooster'swife]

The first time I tried using the incubator it took 25 days for my chicks to hatch. I think it was because the weather got cold and the room where the bator is got to cold too. Hopefully this set will work out better now that danger of all the freezing weather here in east texas is over.

 

[mitch324]

Give it a few more days I'm sure your just off a degree or two.

 

[chickpeaz]

Quote:
You're not still turning them, are you? Turning should stop on day 18.

 

[makenzieridgefarm]

I stopped turning on day 18. Still no sign of hatchin this morning. I candled some and it appears there is movement, but not alot. Gonna give it another day or so then try again. This wait is horrible!

 

[chickpeaz]

I would definitely stop candling them if I were you. Every time you open the incubator to take one out and candle it, you're losing heat and moisture...plus, after day 18 they should really not be handled/turned/moved at all. You're not going to see much movement with candling at this late stage anyway, as the shells are so full of chick that there's little room for them to move. Once they're in lockdown, it should be just that -- close that bator and sit on your hands till you have a complete hatch or till day 25-26, whichever comes first!

 

[makenzieridgefarm]

Ok, I have had 2 out of 15 that have broke the egg. One just made a small hole and stopped, the other worked for about an hour and made a pretty good size hole. I could hear it chirping in the shell. But now all movement has stopped. No action for the last hour. Is this normal?