Day 22

[EddieLee]

Just like a lot of others here, I am brand new to the hatching and incubating game. We are on day 22. I candled again last night and I think I have 3 viable hatching candidates. But so far, no pips, no chirps, nothing. I've got my humidity up to around 75, temp is holding steady at 101-102. How long should I wait before considering this a doomed operation?

I think were I messed up the most was in egg storage. I'm not sure how you keep the humidity just right for stored eggs, or even what that humidity level is.

Thanks for any advice!

(The three eggs that look to still be hatchable are EE roo with Barred Rock Hen (x2) and a full EE)

 

[EddieLee]

Man. No love from the masses today

 

[OzarkCountryGirl]

Based on my experience, as soon as I saw the temps, the first through that ran through my mind was, Oh no! You cooked them!, as I've never hatched out eggs with that high of a temp. I shoot for 99.5°F with fluctuation of air temp inside the incubator very briefly going down to 99.0°F and up to 100.2°F, while still maintaining the internal temperature of the egg as close to 99.5°F as possible with very little, if any, fluctuation. The other thing is the humidity. Has it been 75% all along? High humidity for most of the incubation period tends to drown developing embryos right in the shell. You don't want the humidity over 50% until the last three days before they hatch. I try to keep the humidity at around 25%-30%, then boost it to around 65% the last three days. To keep the humidity from getting too high, make sure to keep the holes/vents in the incubator open.

In saying that, I'd give them another day anyway, and hopefully you'll still end up with a couple that hatch.

 

[EddieLee]

I thought you wanted to add a degree or two the last three days and get the humidity up above 70%. The temperature only got that hi for maybe an hour or two. I was trying to get the temp up without making it skyrocket and it stayed right at 100. I candled them again, but there was no movement whatsoever. I'll wait until tomorrow evening (which will put me past the 23 day mark) to officially throw in the towel. So frustrating to go this far and make an error like that right at the finish line! I've got some eggs ready to go for round two...