Do you refill the incubator's water container after the chicks have begun to hatch?

[ohnoicantfly]

Hello! What should you do if/when the incubator's water container gets too low while chicks are hatching? Should you just leave it be and hope the hatching eggs will keep humidity up? Or should you risk humidity dropping while the chicks are hatching and refill? Thanks!

 

[ohnoicantfly]

Also, does lockdown begin on day 18, as in should I stop turning eggs, raise humidity, etc. on day 18? Or day 19? Thanks.

 

[mcdze]

some bators have a strategically located hole to refill with a squeeze bottle without opening ... but get water level sorted at first pip, use warm water, be quick about it .. thats the lockdown point .. pipped eggs are vulnerable to being chilled and exposed to dry air, so again, 123, make it snappy ..

 

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

Hello! What should you do if/when the incubator's water container gets too low while chicks are hatching? Should you just leave it be and hope the hatching eggs will keep humidity up? Or should you risk humidity dropping while the chicks are hatching and refill? Thanks!

I’m still a novice, but in my experience, with a regular hatch, the humidity never had a chance to drop because of the hatching eggs. I did have a staggered hatch one time, and in that instance I did add water to keep the humidity up.

 

[casportpony]

Hello! What should you do if/when the incubator's water container gets too low while chicks are hatching? Should you just leave it be and hope the hatching eggs will keep humidity up? Or should you risk humidity dropping while the chicks are hatching and refill? Thanks!

When the humidity in mine drops, I remove the lid and add warm water.

 

[LTAY1946]

Warm water & do it quickly without spilling it were is does not belong. Shrink wrapping is deadly.

 

[ohnoicantfly]

Thanks for all the great advice!
One more question: when lockdown time comes and I have to remove the egg turner, do I take it out and just try to move the eggs as little as possible while doing so? And should I only move a few eggs at a time over a 10-15 minute span of time (there would be about 12 eggs in the incubator) to ensure that the humidity and temp don't drop too much? Thanks again

 

[LTAY1946]

Thanks for all the great advice!
One more question: when lockdown time comes and I have to remove the egg turner, do I take it out and just try to move the eggs as little as possible while doing so? And should I only move a few eggs at a time over a 10-15 minute span of time (there would be about 12 eggs in the incubator) to ensure that the humidity and temp don't drop too much? Thanks again

Tonight I set the turner out of the incubator with the eggs in it and put them back in the incubator in less than a minute. At the same time I filled a water channel to increase the humidity. Right now I'm cruising at 71% humidity and about 99.5° I have 38 eggs hatching. 12 eggs should be ok to move all at once I think.

 

[ohnoicantfly]

Tonight I set the turner out of the incubator with the eggs in it and put them back in the incubator in less than a minute. At the same time I filled a water channel to increase the humidity. Right now I'm cruising at 71% humidity and about 99.5° I have 38 eggs hatching. 12 eggs should be ok to move all at once I think.

Thanks! So it's not the end of the world if humidity and temp drop a bit, is it?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hello! What should you do if/when the incubator's water container gets too low while chicks are hatching? Should you just leave it be and hope the hatching eggs will keep humidity up? Or should you risk humidity dropping while the chicks are hatching and refill? Thanks!

What does your incubator look like? How do you add water? Not all incubators are the same. That has never been a problem for me but I have a Hovabator 1588 with different water reservoirs in the bottom. I prepared for this possibility by cutting and taping some accordion straws together so I can bend it into a lot of shapes to reach each reservoir. I put water in the straw using a syringe I got at the feed store, one in the medical section. I go in through the vent hole in the cover of the incubator. I have no ides if that would work with yours.

I understand that there is a risk in shrink-wrapping a chick by opening the incubator at that time. I've done it so I do understand there is a risk. But it happens very seldom. If I have an emergency I will open it and take care of the problem but I don't blindly and blissfully open it just because I can. I personally don't believe in taking unnecessary risks but I will take necessary ones. Never having faced the situation you are talking about I'm not sure how I would react, but I have an alternative.

Also, does lockdown begin on day 18, as in should I stop turning eggs, raise humidity, etc. on day 18? Or day 19? Thanks.

An egg does not have a full day's worth of development the instant it goes in the incubator or under a broody hen. It takes 24 hours for an egg to have a full day's worth of development so when you are counting you say "one" the day after you start the eggs. An easy way to check your counting is the day of the week you put them in is the day of the week the 21 days are up. If you start them on a Friday the 21 days are up on a Friday.

Not all eggs hatch on 21 days though. It is not unusual for eggs to hatch 2 days early or late, whether in an incubator or under a broody hen. That's why we increase the humidity after 18 days' worth of development. If they hatch early we want the humidity to be up by the time they pip. That's the goal, have the humidity up by the time they pip.

You don't have to be that precise in when you stop turning and raise the humidity. The eggs need to lose a certain amount of moisture so they can hatch. How much moisture? There is a wide window of what works. Many people count the days wrong and lock down after 17 days of development. That is usually not a problem. As long as the humidity goes up before they pip 19 or even 20 days is not usually a problem. It all depends on how much moisture the eggs lost though. There is a wide window but there are limits.

when lockdown time comes and I have to remove the egg turner, do I take it out and just try to move the eggs as little as possible while doing so? And should I only move a few eggs at a time over a 10-15 minute span of time (there would be about 12 eggs in the incubator) to ensure that the humidity and temp don't drop too much? Thanks again

Don't worry about it. I understand your concern but you are overthinking this big time. When I go into lockdown I unplug the incubator and turner, move all of my eggs to a shoe box using a towel to soften where I set them down (usually 28 eggs), remove the turner, fill the water reservoirs, make sure the wire screen that goes on the bottom is in place and held down by the clips provided, candle the eggs and lay the eggs on the floor of the incubator as I candle them, put the top back on, and plug the incubator back in. There is no reason to be in such a hurry that you drop or bang an egg. Don't vigorously and violently shake the eggs, just be steady. You have enough time to do it safely. I don't even think about putting them down in the same orientation they were in. In my turner they are upright, when hatching they are laying down.