First time Incubator...

[lazy gardener]

Hopefully you'll be able to buy a new heat lamp by the time they hatch. I wouldn't plan on using the incubator for a brooder. They can be incredibly messy, they need more air circulation after hatch, and less heat. Where will you be brooding them? If you're brooding them in your house, a standard 100W bulb will most likely provide enough heat. How many eggs are you incubating? Will you be able to buy the chick starter for them?

 

[Sidhe13]

The 100w bulb i can do! Thanks!

 

[Sidhe13]

Ok so it is Day 18 tomorrrow...and I just candelled and the air cells look waaay smaller than in the pictures... like they haven't moved down the sides of the eggs....and are only a tiny bit bigger than they were at Day 12...

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Ok so it is Day 18 tomorrrow...and I just candelled and the air cells look waaay smaller than in the pictures... like they haven't moved down the sides of the eggs....and are only a tiny bit bigger than they were at Day 12...

What has your humidity been for the incubation period? If you have water in I would remove the water and run dry today and tomorrow and either lockdown at the end of day 18, or if there's no pips and they still look real small, lockdown on day 19 instead.

 

[Sidhe13]

Humidity for the first few days was high...50-70%. It was recommended I drop this because it was so hard to keep stable, so it was 28% for most of the incubation. Day 14 I had to go away so put a little extra water in to keep the humidity up while I was away...came home yesterday (Day 17) and it had been holding steady at 42%.

I have removed all water, and the turner, and set the eggs on a paper towel on the base plate. The incubator is stable at the room ambient humidity of 22%. Is this low enough?

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Yes, definitely. I try to keep my humidity above 25% from day 1, but if your air cells are way small then that shouldn't hurt it. I'd check them near the end of day 18 and see if they've grown any. If you hear any chirping or see any pipping before that though, get the humidity back up. If they still look significantly small and there is no pipping you can wait and lockdown early on day 19.

 

[Sidhe13]

Can you give me a quick guide as to why we lockdown and why is the higher humidity needed?

 

[venymae]

I am also interested in why the humidity is higher on the last few days. I never understood it.

 

[lazy gardener]

When the chick hatches, he has to break through the membrane and shell. The membrane, if it dries out, will adhere to the chick, and become very stiff, essentially locking him into a straight jacket that he can't break out of. So, the trick is to keep the humidity LOW during the first 17 days. This allows the egglet to loose moisture, creating a nice large air cell so the chick will have plenty of air to breathe after he breaks through the membrane into the air cell. (It is then that you may hear the egglet chirping!) He will rest, and work his lungs, until he's strong enough to break through the shell. If there's too much moisture in the egg, he will break into the air cell, and it will fill with liquid, so he will drown. Also, an egg that is too humid with a too small air cell may result in a chick that grows too big, and can't move around to position well for hatch. So, you keep things on the dry side through day 17, raise the humidity day 18 - 21, and monitor the air cells to keep them developing at the right speed. Sally Sunshine has an absoulutely fascinating article on the physiology of hatching.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Can you give me a quick guide as to why we lockdown and why is the higher humidity needed?

We stop turning the eggs so that the chicks have easier time to get into position. As Gardener said, we raise the humidity at lockdown so that it is higher for the actual hatching of the eggs. (The purpose of "not opening the bator" is so that the humidity stays up and the eggs are undisturbed to allow them time to position.) W/O the higher humidity chances are that the membrane would become dry stuck to them and this would make it tougher to pip and hatch from as well as causing the chick to suffocate. Imagine yourself completely wrapped in plastic wrap with your hands at your side and you'll get the idea of what "shrink wrapping is to a chicken.