Don't know what to do.

[Rudkin]

I have one egg in my incubator. The temp is between 99.8 and 101. humidity was at 52% the first 18 days and it is at 68% right now. I am not sure if I put them in the incubator on Feb. 2 or Feb. 3rd. I haven't heard anything. But I have a 2 and a half year old that is very loud. I don't know if I should candle the egg and check for movement or if I should leave it alone or if I should crack it open and see if it is dead. PLEASE HELP!! This is my first time hatching eggs.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

You think your on day 23 or day 24. I'd wait till end of day 25 then candle. If it's in doubt you could do a float test. There are stories of chicks hatching as late as day 30 but not many. Day 25 is a good day to call it quits but candle and float test first. If it is really hatching this late then your temp was low by a degree or two.

 

[JoshU]

Your thermostat could be off and the reason for a long hatch. Do you know for sure it is a fertile egg? Has your egg moved on its own at all? Another day or two won't hurt it. I also don't think that candling it would hurt it at all either if you can be quick and get it back in the bator quickly if it is alive.

 

[Rudkin]

How do I do the float test? When I candled it on day 18 it looked like it was supposed to. I haven't noticed it moving.But I haven't been paying close attention for movement.

 

[JoshU]

I don't know what that is. Never tried it. By now you should definitely see movement if you candle it.

 

[Rudkin]

I did the float test. about 1/4 of a inch was sticking out of water. the egg was moving around the bowl after the water settled. So is that considered a low floater = live embryo moving inside the egg?

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Absolutely. That's a low floater and if it was moving in still water the chick is moving inside. It should hatch any day and that means your thermometer was off. Next hatch use the same thermometer and hatch at 102-103F instead of the 99-101F you just did. There's not a need to buy a lot of thermometers only to calibrate the one you have and this is a viable way to know it's reading about 2 degrees low.

To check you can make ice water, wait for the ice to almost melt then pour out 2 cups, mix that with 1 cup boiling water. It should read 92F exactly.

 

[Rudkin]

So today is day 25. If it doesn't hatch by the end of the day should I crack it open or should I wait a few more days?

 

[Egghead_Jr]

If it's still moving I'd wait. You could always do another float test to see if moving and alive if you don't see any movement candling. Also when candling if the air sac is no longer visible then the chick piped into it, that's a good sign it's ready to pip the shell. If the air sac is unchanged then it's not made progress. Like stated some have had chicks hatch as late as 30 days. Which is an indication of very low incubating temperature.

And remember to have water temp at 100F when float testing.

 

[Rudkin]

Ok, I candled the egg and I can still see the air sac. I put it back in the incubator to get water to do the water test again. It is still a low floater but it is just going around in a circle. I didn't see it rocking back and forth like I've seen on youtube videos. If its not moving does that mean its a Dud?