DRY INCUBATION and AIR SAC MONITORING!?!?

[AmyLynn2374]

Oh noooooo! I candled today and it appears that 5 out of the 9 developing cream leg bars I had have developed half blood rings?? Or could this be something else? WHAT gives? My buffs that I received local are all doing great and developing right along. Could it have been the fact that the legbars were shipped is why the blood rings? Do I throw them out, or wait?

Are you sure it isn't a "blood island?" - That's a good thing, a sign of life.... I have one or two like that, I don't think it's a blood ring, because it doesn't go all the way around the shell, so I'm keeping them for a while... as long as they don't smell, it stays!

xs 2. One of the first signs is a vein circle atop the yolk also known as the "blood island" and that's a good thing. I can't remember how far along you are and I can't go back to look. But I would definitely not throw any thing out until at LEAST day 10 (unless it smells or leaks.)

Now, just FYI, shipped eggs are more prone to being early quitters or even developing to lockdown and not making it, so if that does happen, know that shipping probably played the bigger roll.

 

[n8ivetxn]

Thank you! I'm holding onto hope for this batch

, no matter what! ......

Since I candled last night, my temps fell to 97 - 95, so I bumped it up, and it went too high - I just keep readjusting that stupid thermostat. I think I have it stable at 102 now. I didn't touch anything last night, don't know what happened, but wish it didn't!

The RH jumped up a little, but not enough to worry (40% max)....

 

[BlessedCountry6]

I had that happen to me. Mine were fine. I encourage you to make sure the lid is on securely. Once or twice I noticed my lid was not put back on correctly and the numbers were a little off. Hope that helps.
Yay! It's so exciting to see the veins!

SOMEONE please tell me I didn't mess up my hatch?!?  I decided to candle this am as I am going to be more of a hands on hatcher.  I put eggs in at 7 am on the Sep 10th.  I did have a few I could see veins in already!  (One that was developing was from a shipped egg with a really wonky air sac, too!) ANYWAYS - my humidity had been holding at a consistent 23-25% but noticed this am that it had dropped to the teens BEFORE I opened the lid.  So, after I was done candling, I put a couple teaspoons of water in and HOLY HUMIDITY!  It jumped to 53% then 60%!  CRAP - what do I do?  Did I mess up medling?  Should I just have left it alone since I'm doing the dry hatch method?  Where do I go from here?!?   Aaahhhh

 

[BlessedCountry6]

One of the times I took the lid off and set it down something hit the little fan. I was so worried it broke. I turned it off and looked but it was fine. I didn't want that to happen again so I unplugged it. So from now on I will have a clear desk to place the lid on.

Can I ask why you unplug it while you candle?

You can relax and breath. Dips and spikes in humidity does not compromise the chicks. Humidity is important, yes, but as an average. It's not like temps where a drastic spike can kill them right there. With humidity you have lots of  area to play with. The importance of humidity is that it allows the eggs too loose enough moisture over the period of incubation.  I don't like my humidity dropping down into the teens either. I only run dry normally if I can keep it up around 25%, I prefer 30%, but as long as it does't drop into the teens or stay below 25% for days, I don't freak out. Now, if I need to add a little moisture to get my humidity up out of the teens, I add a wet sponge. Just one kitchen sized wet sponge. I don't ever put water in my wells for the first 17 days. Even a small amount of water in the wells in going to spread out and increase the water surface. Some people use like a top of a pill bottle, something small so the surface area stays small. I find the sponge works perfect for me I.  I also add sponges at lockdown after filling the wells. It helps me get that high humidity and since my sponges are placed at egg level it makes it easier to rewet the sponges and add them back in when I need to refresh the moisture instad of fighting to get to the wells.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

One of the times I took the lid off and set it down something hit the little fan. I was so worried it broke. I turned it off and looked but it was fine. I didn't want that to happen again so I unplugged it. So from now on I will have a clear desk to place the lid on.

Gotchya! I've hit the fan before too on mine. With my hand, on something when I set it down and cringed wondering if I killed it...lol I wish the fans had a separate off switch. Especially at hatch. I've had chicks stretch out under them after hatch and been hurt.

 

[n8ivetxn]

I had that happen to me. Mine were fine. I encourage you to make sure the lid is on securely. Once or twice I noticed my lid was not put back on correctly and the numbers were a little off. Hope that helps.
Yay! It's so exciting to see the veins!

Yes, I think that's sort of what happened - I have a glass piece siliconed on top for a viewing window and I think the silicone broke lose, so it's sucking air. It took me a while to realize it was coming loose, but I got it stable at 100 - 102F and 33 - 36%.....

Gotchya! I've hit the fan before too on mine. With my hand, on something when I set it down and cringed wondering if I killed it...lol I wish the fans had a separate off switch. Especially at hatch. I've had chicks stretch out under them after hatch and been hurt.

Did that too! I was adding a foil baffle to the lights and before I knew what happened that little fan sucked the foil in and my hand bumped into it.... surprised me! ..... I tried to mount everything high enough that the chicks can't get into it before I remove them all (yes, all, I'm being optimistic that I'll have more than one!). Next time I'll get one with a guard on it.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Yes, I think that's sort of what happened - I have a glass piece siliconed on top for a viewing window and I think the silicone broke lose, so it's sucking air. It took me a while to realize it was coming loose, but I got it stable at 100 - 102F and 33 - 36%.....



Did that too! I was adding a foil baffle to the lights and before I knew what happened that little fan sucked the foil in and my hand bumped into it.... surprised me! ..... I tried to mount everything high enough that the chicks can't get into it before I remove them all (yes, all, I'm being optimistic that I'll have more than one!). Next time I'll get one with a guard on it.

I never had a problem until my third or fourth hatch with chicks getting hurt in it. Then I swear, I've had one on each hatch at least hit it in some way. I kept thinking I'd make a cover for it, but instead I just take my chicks out as they become active and put them in the brooder...lol