First hatch and it's happening TODAY! Few minor questions from nervous guy...

[Faso]

Hello,

Sooooo...This is my families first hatch ever. I've gleamed so much from all of you even if you haven't seen me post often. Thank you for that! This is truly a great forum and the amount of knowledge which is shared here is amazing!

Last night I started my lock down. The counter said "2" on my brinsea mini advance. 2 means 2 days until hatch day so it's technically 3, I think.(I started it at 21) So my 6 year old and I carefully removed the eggs, filled the water on both sides(which is how the humidity is raised in this little gem!) and removed the auto turn tray. As I removed the eggs I felt MANY were heavier and something moved inside. It was probably the coolest thing since my kids were born! lol (Does that make me weird? oh well)

Then we heard chirps! It's just unexplainable, really...So i hurried and got them back in thinking I would have something in 2 days...

Well this morning, We had 2 pips!(I think that's what the first pecked hole is called around these parts!) My Brinsea kept a steady 99.5-99.6 since day ONE! I never got the low temp alarm once and i checked it about a million times a day.(I work from home two days a week!)

Is everything OK? I don't know if early is bad or if it just happens and give or take 48 hours isn't a big deal...Did I startle them last night or did i just happen to raise that humidity right at the perfect time?(Maybe I'll never know?)

My plan is to leave them in there until they fluff up and are standing on their own which I read could mean 24 hours but also could mean 8-10 hours...AND not to take any out if there is a pip in another egg! I hope I'm doing this right!

Any info is truly appreciated. I've read so much and feel like I know what to expect but it means a lot being that my daughters are involved. We DID have the conversation on "all eggs don't make it" and all hatched chicks don't "always" make it either.

Thank you all! Any info is good info!

Mike

 

[Ridgerunner]

First let’s talk theory. That’s usually different from real life. In theory, it takes 21 days of development for a chicken egg to hatch. An egg does not have a full days’ worth of development 2 seconds or 2 hours after it goes into the incubator. It takes 24 hours for it to get a full day’s worth of development. An easy way to check your counting is that the day of the week you put them in is the theoretical day of the week they should hatch. If you started them Saturday, they should hatch on a Saturday.

In reality, there are a whole lot of different things that can affect when the eggs actually hatch; heredity, humidity, how and how long the eggs are stored before you start, and just basic differences in eggs. Some eggs have thicker whites while others are more watery, for example. Smaller eggs tend to hatch a bit earlier than larger eggs.

A really big difference maker can be the average incubating temperature. If the average incubating temperature is a bit low, they can easily be quite late. If the average incubating temperature is a bit warm they can easily be a couple of days early. When I first got my incubator the first two hatches had eggs pipping when I went into lockdown. Those all hatched OK. I then lowered the temperature setting on the incubator about a degree and usually get hatches about on time. But since then, I have had eggs hatch two full days early both under a broody hen and in the incubator after it was adjusted. Some people have reported the eggs hatching more than two days late, even under a broody.

In a lot of my hatches, the hatch is pretty much over within 24 hours of the first one coming out, even with the hatches where they were two full two days early. But I’ve had some that stretched out more than two full 24 hour days. It’s not exact and can be frustrating.

They can go three days without food and water since they absorb the yolk just before hatching. That’s why they can be mailed. You don’t have to be in a hurry to take them out.

I’m not sure how accurate that thermometer is on your Brinsea. Because of manufacturing tolerances they are not always exactly dead on. If yours are much more than a full 24 hours early you can try tweaking that setting a bit, but I’d suggest maybe trying one more hatch to see how consistent it is before you start to mess with it. With all the variety of when they can hatch, I consider a hatch within 24 hours of theoretical exactly right on. You can also calibrate that thermometer, maybe use a medical one that you know is right and see how close the two reading are.

That chirping you heard means they had internal pipped. They poked their beak into the air cell and learned how to breathe air instead of living in a liquid environment. They can’t chirp until they are breathing air. When you moved them you caused them to start talking to their future Mama. The hen and chicks talk to each other during hatch. One purpose is due to the eggs not all hatching at the same exact time. If a chick is chirping inside the shell, Mama knows more chicks are on the way so she does not abandon the nest too early. Once they have internal pipped you can sometimes get them to chirp by pecking on the incubator.

The purpose of raising the humidity for lockdown is to get the humidity up before they external pip so the membrane around the chick doesn’t dry up and shrink around them so they can’t hatch. That membrane doesn’t always shrink but it can so it’s good practice to not open the incubator when you have an egg pipped. The reason we normally do that three days before the hatch is because of what you are seeing. Sometimes they pip early.

Good luck with it. Sounds like you are on the way for a good hatch.

 

[Faso]

Awesome! Thanks so much! Can't wait to get home today! I have a 2 hour commute so I can't even rush it...

 

[Faso]

Soooo, yesterday when I got home(or actually while i was at work)...My wife and kids called before I left work...2 were out and running around. By the end of last night 6 out of the 7 were out and running around. So, only 1 didn't hatch. I left them in there because technically today was the last day and maybe that last guy was an on time hatch...lol Nothing this morning. I'm going to put all the chicks in the brooder tonight and keep that 1 egg in there until Saturday night. I want to let it do it's thing. I would hate to know it could have hatched if i let it go full term.

All seem very healthy and active and this morning they were all fluffed out. BUT, with a small chance of a pip on number 7, I wanted to wait. Everything I read says 24 hours to 3 days is fine. Some said leave them in there no matter what for 24 hours.

I saw the temp go up a little since there were 6 living chicks in there generating more heat...So, i lowered the temp about 1.5 degrees. I also thought it would ease them closer to 95 or so when in the brooder tonight. Hope I'm doing everything right.

Thanks!
Mike

 

[lazy gardener]

Congratulations Mike. It sounds like you are off to a wonderful start. I had one chick pipped this morning. She's occasionally talking softly, and rocking her egg, otherwise, not much happening. But, I didn't set them until 8 PM on the 14th. There are 25 viable eggs in there, so there could be a lot of activity over the next 24 hours!

 

[czoellner]

Sounds like you are having a BLAST!!! I've hatched 2 batches now and am totaling HOOKED! I love the experience, the feeling of knowing I am bringing a life into the world. We have a 6 year old and our fist hatch had 3 eggs that pipped and then died. We had 1 chick hatch that was lame and died. The other 15 were perfect and are now 4 1/2 weeks old.

I have my next batch that is 10 days old and another batch in the incubator for Easter hatch right now!

Typically, I've waited for the chicks to be able to walk, hold their heads up and not falling down all over the place before I pull them out and put them in the brooder. The first batch, they weren't drying off and fluffing up and realized that the humidity was high enough to keep them wet. They were soooo much happier when I took them out and put them in the dry brooder with the light and water and feed. They all tasted the water and feed on the 2nd day and most took to it immediately! They started investigating the box and each other and really enjoy being picked up and held.

I usually keep a bottle of warm water to spray LIGHTLY on the eggs whenever I have to open the bator. It really does help and as long as it's warm water, clean and not drowning the chicks it seems to help keep that moist air going and not allow the chick to get shrink-wrapped in the egg if it dries out.

Those chicks are the 4 1/2 weeks old ones and doing FANTASTIC! In a couple more weeks I will be introducing them to the big girls (their mothers) and see how that goes.

Good Luck!

 

[Tumbleweed Farm]

Sounds like everyone is having good hatches! I was up all night with hatching chicks--4 came out between midnight and 2 am. I have 2 more cheeping in the bator but they have not piped yet.

I don't keep mine in incubator after hatch. I heat up a heating pad and put a down throw over it, fold it over so both top and bottom warm. I pull chicks out as soon as they get out og their shell and put them in their little down nest. I don't leave the heating pad on, it's way too hot even on low--I just use it to warm things up. My birds conk out and rest deeply after all that hard work from hatching. I don't like the stressful cheeping and banging around they do in incubator, I do think it's very unnatural and stressful for them. Mine are quiet as a mouse. I leave them in their nest from 5-12 hours. After 12 hours I put them in brooder so they can work their little legs.

 

[Faso]

Our final was in fact 6/7. We couldn't be more happy because I was expecting 4-5, with 5 being a GREAT hatch. Number 7 never pipped. I didn't candle the eggs so it's possible there was never a chick inside and it had nothing to do with me.(which is my main worry)

I took a video of us opening the incubator for the first time with the 6 chicks coming out. It is priceless. My daughters faces and sheer happiness was something I won't ever forget. We held them for a few minutes and put them in a shoebox to bring them to the brooder. I was worried that they wouldn't know how to eat and drink but I put a few near the food and then the water and within a few hours they just follow each other. So, it seems that even if you don't grab each chick and show them, they copy each other.

Before I went to bed on that first night, after my wife and kids went to bed...I went to check on them one last time. They looked happy and playing and just walking around. One ran a little and fell on his face(sounds mean but it was so cute). Another chick then came over and bit him on the leg! haha I laughed out loud and it scared all 6! hehe

I plan to take weekly pictures to keep the memory of our first hatch going. I WISH I knew males from females but I'll figure it out as they grow, I HOPE...

I am extremely happy with the brinsea mini advance. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to try this. The auto turner worked perfectly for me and the temp was stable for 21 days. Never a spike either way! My hatch seemed a day early but I got these eggs from someone who lives 10 minutes from me. Her Hen sat on them for a day before I got them...SO, I think that got them going a little.(started the official cycle, if that's what you call it)

My next venture is to do a presentation at my wife's school for the children, leave them with the incubator and eggs and then my wife will take it from there. So, I'll end up with more chicks after that. then my sister is also a teacher and would like me to do the same for her class. I want to try and educate people on chickens and the fact that you don't NEED a farm or even 5 acres to raise and own these wonderful birds. I've owned a lot of pets but chickens are by far the coolest!

Mike