First Time Egg Candler Scared!

[AmyLynn2374]

Here's something very off topic and not like yesterdays not so helpful off topic in the middle of a crisis replies. But I was scrolling through the thread listings and I saw one post maybe this one but i am not sure yet. Had 210 replies and 1905 views. Really 1900 people read the thread and what? decided not to say anything or didn't see what they needed in the responses or did see what they needed but, didn't say thank you? That is craziness.

1790 of them are guests just looking for their answers.

 

[scflock]

1790 of them are guests just looking for their answers.

I prefer to think it's our adoring fans waiting for us to sing

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I prefer to think it's our adoring fans waiting for us to sing

Nice...lol My ovations aren't working AGAIN today....augh.

 

[sideWing]

the excess moisture can find it's way into the air cell via the pip hole where the chick would aspirate on it.

The flip side of that is if the air cell grows too big (due to too little humidity), the membrane can collapse and "shrink" (due to dryness) around the chick and effectively "shrink wrapping the chick

Ok, so here is my thinking. Excess moisture is likely only a problem if it's enough to cause condensation since it's condensation like accumulation that can make the chick aspirate after pip. Yes/no?

It sounds like shrink wrapping is a bigger and more difficult to reverse problem.

So if I bring the humidity up to 65%-75% on day 18 (to avoid shrink wrap) and I'm careful not to have any condensation, then it should be fine if they come out a day or two late.

 

[sideWing]

I'd like to know Amy mythology of incubating. I obviously did not get a good incubator for the first time, a still air, and it is hard to regulate the temperature and humidity. Again, first time in bator and I bought the expensive eggs from EBay. You learn the hard way. I do...the only one to hatch was one of mine. Didn't understand why the others I bought didn't hatch. Almost but something happened at lock down...sad....Would love to hear what I am doing incorrectly...I have three thermometers and two hydrometers. All say something different...sad again..

I would not judge an incubator from shipped eggs. How many of "yours" did you start with? Out of my 13 shipped eggs 12 are dead. I also put in the 14 local eggs and 13 look great at this point. If I had judged my incubator from only my shipped eggs I would be throwing it out. Mine seemed to have 4 degree temp swings according to a digital thermometer, but when I use the temp gun on the eggs they are 100.1 at the middle of the egg constantly.

 

[sideWing]

What happens if the eggs cool while your doing candling?

I read a research study that cooled the eggs a few times during incubation and the report showed a higher hatch rate. Nature FTW!

I also read about a guy that was incubating ducks for balut (let's not get into that) and took them out mid incubation to sell them. He left them boxed up in his business, ready to get picked up for two days. The buyer never showed so he put them back in the incubator and 75% of them hatched. That was a cool down to at least 70 degrees for 2 days he estimated.

 

[sideWing]

What are BLR's? and the other as well? I too paid $35 for 12 eggs and $15 shipping to have none hatch. My fault, first hatch.

Looks like Amy beat me to the Blue Laced Red Wyandotte and Silver Laced Wyandotte.

What kind of eggs were you trying to hatch?

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Ok, so here is my thinking. Excess moisture is likely only a problem if it's enough to cause condensation since it's condensation like accumulation that can make the chick aspirate after pip. Yes/no?

It sounds like shrink wrapping is a bigger and more difficult to reverse problem.

So if I bring the humidity up to 65%-75% on day 18 (to avoid shrink wrap) and I'm careful not to have any condensation, then it should be fine if they come out a day or two late.

No. excess moisture is a problem if the egg hasn't released enough moisture during the incubation process. That moisture is already in the egg, it's not coming from an external source. The drowning is taking place BEFORE the external pip. When the chick internally pips into the air cells. The moisture that the egg hasn't released, the liquid w/in the shell can aspirate the chick before it even taps through the shell. Condensation at hatch is too much humidity yes, but that's not the cause of chicks drowning that compromises the hatch.

Shrink wrapping, in my opinion, isn't as common after pipping as people seem to think. I think most of those cases that people think their chicks were shrink wrapped were more likely glued in chicks. I believe the higher amount of shrinkwrapping comes from too low humidity during incubation causeing the air cells too become too big and drying out the membrane.

This is a truely shrink wrapped chick. My two silkies from the last hatch that the air cells doubled between days 18-20. When you candled at day 20 2/3 of the egg was air.






Overall to answer your question, yes, if you raise your humidity at day 18 they should be perfectly fine even if they hatch out a day or too late. (The exception would be if you already had too small air cells from lack of moisture loss during the incubation period.)

 

[scflock]

No. excess moisture is a problem if the egg hasn't released enough moisture during the incubation process. That moisture is already in the egg, it's not coming from an external source. The drowning is taking place BEFORE the external pip. When the chick internally pips into the air cells. The moisture that the egg hasn't released, the liquid w/in the shell can aspirate the chick before it even taps through the shell. Condensation at hatch is too much humidity yes, but that's not the cause of chicks drowning that compromises the hatch.

She beat me to this, too. This is exactly what happens. It's happened to me

 

[WVduckchick]

My last 2 that didn't hatch were shrinkwrapped also, but I don't believe it happened until late day 24. I had candled them at 22 and 23 as I removed other chicks and they were fluid.

This was late day 24 after water wiggle test failed