Update 6/10: Yesterday (6/9) at 10 PM I shut down the incubation. The last 4 chicks didn't make it.
The tape sealing the cover had dried out and I didn't notice that until 7. But I had struggling to get the humidity back to 70% for the 24 hours after the last chicks were dried and removed.
The tape looked closed and I thought it was sealed, so I didn't know why injecting water wasn't working. I couldn't get it above 50% RH. I had no idea it was wide open along the front.
The chick that had pipped was chirping around 7pm when I finally discovered the breech and repaired the tape. I must have been really tired not to realize the humidity problem had gone on for 24 hours by then! I thought it would be okay to let the RH come back up and keep checking on her, like the last difficult chick. But her shell membrane dried out and she deceased. She wasn't talking to me when I called to her and didn't move, so I opened the box.
I suspected the other late eggs were gone, too so I candled them and they weren't moving. One was pouring around and turned out to be decomposing. All of the membranes had dried in the un-pipped eggs.
These were also the in center of the rear row of eggs and I hold their position to be suspect. I had kept the eggs in relatively the same positions they were in while being incubated in the dehydrator. I didn't really take note of which eggs was where, but those may have been directly in the flow of the air from the fan.
High incubation heat causes embryos to absorb their yolk sacs too fast and it's used up before they're developed enough to hatch. It also retards their development. I had been tempted to place a barrier behind the eggs to shield them from the brunt of hot air from the fan.
I shut the dehydrator off at 10:30 pm. The house felt empty without that annoying roar I had lived with for the past 23 days. After a large bowl of ice cream I cheered myself on. I have 7 very healthy and clever chicks to enjoy, and boy have we been having fun!
Today was very warm, so I have had them out on the lawn in an enclosure made from a beehive super box, with a protective greenhouse shelf over them and I rigged my sweater over that to create partial shade. I tossed their crumbles on the ground. They were so focused on pecking and exploring, micro-napping, and signaling to each other of every little curious thing they discovered that I didn't see any picking or pecking at each other. I couldn't just throw them into the warming box under the red light all day with nothing to do but wait to grow up.
Three of the oldest already have the beginnings of wing feathers showing. The other chicks would occasionally give the white showing a test peck. They learned to scratch the ground looking for more crumble that might be hidden under the grass. They go so much exercise, education and nutrition on our outings over the last two days. I hope I've done almost as well as a mother hen would for them.
Town is getting loud. Summer is heating up and cars are roaring, hammers are ringing, and people are letting off firecrackers. I'm worried the sudden loud explosions might frighten them so badly they die. I already had to unfreeze a couple chicks from the first banger ignited while we were out. They locked up tight and I had to offer a drop of water to snap them out of it. None of them froze with the second firecracker, so they might be ok with it now, but I don't want to chance it. The 4th of July comes earlier every year. It might be quieter at the farm. I wanted to work with them more here. But I can always go there a few times a week with good weather and take them on outings.
I have been requested to hatch more chicks out. I'm going to continue my search for a good incubator. I just don't know what size I'll need in the future. But I think a proper incubator will not be as annoying or heat the house like the dehydrator does, and will be a good investment.
So this closes my story on the dehydrator-turned-incubator thread. I hope it was informative and educational and helps anyone in the future who may choose to try incubating eggs this way. I've had a lot of late nights and early mornings, and fed my inventive tendencies. Now the chicks sleep mostly through the night, and I maybe I can again, too! (So looking forward to a solid night's sleep!)
Happy hatching and good night!
