first incubation

[kimismurf]

hey guys, this is my first incubation. I have 12 eggs in the incubator that I put in there Tuesday night. I don't know how to tell if they are fertile, but I got them From somebody locally on Craigslist. From what I read I should be able to see a dark spot called a bullseye in the center of the yolk but when I can candle them I don't know what I'm looking for and I don't see anything but yoke. One of the eggs that is white I did think that I saw a dark spot in the middle but I wasn't real sure. I know that I shouldn't be candling them until at least day 5 but should someone as inexperienced as myself be able to tell for sure if it's even a little. Can you really tell if an egg is fertile or not or is it really just a guessing game. I guess I'm just worried that she just gave me an egg that she thinks is fertile.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Okay, I opened the eggs. They were all fully developed, three of them had absorbed the all of the yolk, and 4 of them had not. It seems as though something had happened to them all at the same time. One time the humidity had gotten up to 82, and one time the temperature had gotten up to 104. I don't know if this was the cause or not. There were no internal pips. If I can get more eggs I will try again with a better incubator for lockdown.

The humidity spike shouldn't be a factor. Humidity is a killer when you speak in terms of average, not at any given moment. The 104 could have depending on how long it was at that temp.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Monday night was lock down for me. On day 20 I have one that has hatched(still in the incubator). Tonight will start day 23. I haven't seen any pips or anything. I candled all eggs before lock down and all had movement except a couple that I could really tell because of the egg color. I know that I need to get the hatched chick out soon and into the brooder, but what about the remaining eggs? Should I candle or try the water test? I have read so many stories about not opening the incubator, but obviously I have to to get the 1 chick out.

First, opening the bator w/o any pipped or zipped eggs does not carry a risk. Opening the bator during hatch only carries a small risk providing that you have adquate humidity, you are timely and your incubator recovers the humidity quickly. I remove my chicks during hatch as well as clean out shells and assist if I need to. All w/no ill effects to the pipping/zipping chicks.

I do not believe that a chick should go 3 days w/o food and water. While they say they can, you have to take into consideration that the chick can be dehydrated at hatch which would decrease it's chances of thriving if they have water with held for an extended time. Yes, by all means, move him to the brooder.

Now, for the others. You have no external pips, candling them is not going to hurt them. Chance are after this long the other's aren't viaable, but there's always hope. I would candle and see if there are any internal pips and movement. If not then I would consider eggtopsies if you are comfortable. You can also give them another day or two. It all depends on what you are more comfy with, but I would move the chick to the brooder.

 

[kuchchicks]

If you are talking about the bull's eye on the yolk to check fertility that is seen by cracking open the egg. Once your eggs are in the bator wait until about day 7 and candle them. You should be able to see blood vessels (veins). This is pretty easy with white or light brown eggs. The dark shells (dark brown, blue, green, etc) are difficult to candle. At this point I would probably just leave your eggs in the bator and treat them like they are fertile (ie keeping your temp and humidity set at the right levels). Wait a few more days and then you should have your answer. Good luck!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Thanks, I don't turn down help. I made the incubator myself. The humidity is at 55 and the temp is 100. I have been turning them 3 times a day. I picked a candling flash light on clearance yesterday and was going to use it Saturday night. I'm just stressed that the lady sold me eggs that aren't fertilized.

Can I make a suggestion? Don't run humidity that high during the first 17 days. I believe anything higher than 45% is pushing it. IMO low humidity incubation is the way to go, but definitely monitor the air cells for confirmation no matter what humidity you run at. I use this method (http://letsraisechickens.weebly.com...anuals-understanding-and-controlling-humidity ) and if you have a tested accurate thermometer/hygrometer and a fairly steady incubator I swear by it. If you don't have a fan, 101-102F (taken near the top of the eggs) is recommended. I hope you find they are well fertilized and see some growth here soon.

Oh, and kuddos on the DIY incubator.

I'm too scared to try to make one myself....lol

 

[scflock]

Can I make a suggestion? Don't run humidity that high during the first 17 days. I believe anything higher than 45% is pushing it. IMO low humidity incubation is the way to go, but definitely monitor the air cells for confirmation no matter what humidity you run at. I use this method (http://letsraisechickens.weebly.com...anuals-understanding-and-controlling-humidity ) and if you have a tested accurate thermometer/hygrometer and a fairly steady incubator I swear by it. If you don't have a fan, 101-102F (taken near the top of the eggs) is recommended. I hope you find they are well fertilized and see some growth here soon.

Oh, and kuddos on the DIY incubator.

I'm too scared to try to make one myself....lol

+1 on everything Amy said

3 days is early to see development, but by 7 days the veining will be obvious. I strongly agree with Amy on humidity. 45% is the highest I would run for the first 18 days

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Is there not a limit to how much you can put in that novel on your signature?

Yes, there is. I'd most likely have to take my excuse for typos out...lol

 

[coleson12]

xs 2
The only way you can see the bullseye is by cracking open an egg before incubation. Then you would be looking for the bullseye which would look like this:



The only way you can tell if an egg is fertile during incubation is by seeing developement. I can usually start seeing veining by day 3, but that is not neccessarily when everyone sees them and it depends on the egg coloring as well to what you will or won't see when. Usually you can detect veining first around the edge of the air cell. If you'd like a good candling guide, check out this thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...g-candling-pics-progression-though-incubation (keep in mind they are bantam eggs and easy to see into.)

If you put them in Tuesday night (May 5th) Day one will start Wednesday night (May 6th) So your lockdown date would be late Saturday May 23rd-24th with expected hatch day being late Tues May 26th-27.

If you'd like help or tips with incubating, let us know and we are happy to help. (FYI please do not follow incubator instructions-especially if you have a styrobator- for incubating eggs as their temp instructions for the still air and their humidity instructions are not good.) You will find a wealth of knowledge (and many different philosophies) here on BYC that can help you.

I wish you lots of luck on your hatch.

If anybody has questions, amy is the person to ask! I think I speak for us all... THANKS AMY!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

WVduckchick, they were all okay before lockdown. I could see movement and blood flowing.

AmyLynn2374, this is my first time so of corse I have to believe what I read until someone experienced tells me otherwise. I'm glad to know the chances of a good hatch aren't lowered from opening the bator. Is it okay to candle them tonight, on day 22? Also the vent has since been closed since I removed the hatched chicken last night. They are enjoying their MHP, jumping, eating, running, all that good stuff.

I will have to research the float/wiggle test. When is it okay to do that? What exactly will it t well me?

The float test is usually done any time after hatch time. You just get a bowl of warm water (100F) and put the egg in it. If the egg floats AND wiggles independently then you know there's movement in the egg signifying life. Usually sinkers and floaters w/no movement signify non viable eggs, but it's not 100%. And should only be dones after a standard candle to make sure there are no pips in the eggs.

Candleing is fine. I always have mine candled within 24 hours after the last hatcher so I can access if there is any more viable eggs.

I hope that didn't come off as overly assertive to you. I certainly didn't mean for it too. I get frustrated that articles and other hatchers make newbies scared to death to open the bator and gives them undue stress. Some people make it sound like certain death if you open a bator after lockdown and that's just not true. I'm not saying there is no risk. But what risk there is is small to begin with and with adequate humidity the worry should be little. I personally believe that a lot of hatching deaths are contributed to "opening the bator" when in fact that is not the case. Granted if you are running 60% humidity and opening your bator, you have a much higher chance of causing complications to your hatch. If you are at 75% and opening the bator and you replace that humidity in a timely manner the chance that your hatch is compromised is miniscule. How long it's open, how dry the air is that is that is hitting exposed membranes, how fast an incubator replaces lost humidity are all things that are going to have an impact when opening the bator. While every hatcher should do what is comfortable to them, and if that is leaving the bator shut, great, but no one, especially a newbie, should have the added stress of thinking they are going to be the cause of certain death because they have or they need to open the bator. That's what get's my goat.

 

[lazy gardener]

Yeah, that would work, but, I test with the inside of my wrist. Think: baby bottle warm.