Eggs in Incubator..count down to May 21!!

[Smith farm]

36 on lockdown as of 9 am. along with 6 d'uccle bantys.

HOping they continue to do as good as they did the first 18 days. Temps an humidity are lookin good 70% and 99!!!

 

[jywel417]

its so hard not to open the incubator to look and make sure there aren't any pips I can't see. Yes, I know it is too early for any but still. . . . .

 

[wowmanacat]

I got 9 in but only think 7 are going to make it. I worked on the incubator today so that I could get more water in there and still have room for all the eggs that are in there. I don't have a turner at all so I turn by hand. On hatch day I will not turn my other 24 eggs that are due on the 4th of June, for last time I had two or three shrink wrap so this time I have it fixed so I don't have to open the door at all.
AS of now we are in lockdown, only open long enough to turn my 24 eggs till the 22 then it is closed for the day.

 

[wowmanacat]

Quote:
On hatch day we all watch "incubator TV" as that is what my 21 yr old son called it the last time I hatched 11/13

 

[Mahonri]

Guess my hen is in lockdown. She has 7 eggs, 1 marans, 6 ameraucanas... she keeps kicking out the marans so I imagine it's dead.... I'm going camping Friday so I hope she makes it. She's looking realy thin...

 

[florasbell]

im watching very closely in case i see that wiggling eggs this is hard

 

[Smith farm]

I've been checking my hatcher about every hour even though I know that it's still too early lol I can't help myself I'm so excited to see whats gonna happen!!!

 

[florasbell]

ill second that

 

[Smith farm]

Good luck ya'll can't wait to see all the pics we will have

 

[vanalpaca]

Remember, you can warm up the water in a bowl to 100 degrees (I have a reliable dial meat thermometer I use) and put an egg into it. Then if the egg kicks/it is the heartbeat of the chick.

I did this with all of my eggs going into lockdown.

I immediately dried off each one and put it back in the bator, too.

So if that egg is getting kicked out by the hen, you could go test it. I have dark brown Welsummer eggs and it is very hard to find out what's happening with candling alone.

So I have 7 that had heartbeats back in. Lockdown is day 18 and that is tomorrow night.

They are all in the egg turner and it is a staggered hatch. I could just leave the turner on for day 18, day 19, and if/when they start pipping, unplug the turner?

Suggestions on how to do this? I'm new at this and REALLY WANT all seven eggs to hatch! I'm thinking of taking them out of the egg turner and removing it from the foam bator.
Then setting the other two sets of eggs into an egg carton with the bottoms cut out for air circulation. I can just turn both cartons by lifting one side up and then the other, but that means I would still have to open the 'bator during lockdown, plus having to adjust the temps or the heights of the egg cartons to the same as they were in the turner.