Great hatch! (stats and pics)

[Apriljc]

So, my second hatch went great!

My first was last year--set 6 eggs, 2 made it to hatch day, one pipped below the air space and died and the other chirped but never put a mark in the shell

This year I set 12 eggs, one was either infertile or had a very early embryonic death (no evidence of development), 1 died at the end around 15 days, and 10 hatched without any help over the course of 20 hours.

My humidity was 53 to 55% for the first 15 days with a gradual decrease on day 15, humidity in the 20s for days 16, 17, and much of 18 to increase air space size, then up to 40% and increasing over day 18 when I notice membranes changing. Held at 66 to 75% humidity during the hatch.

Temp varied between 99.3 and 100.3.

First pip was a few hours before the day 19 mark, hatching 12 hours later. They finished a few hours before the day 21 mark.

Even though they were early, they came out strong and all look normal. Although I was worried about the humidity, they dried fine with no major messes in the shells.

Here they are:

3 black,
4 brown/blonde,
3 blonde/brown

Many have feathered feet like their papa.







Thank you all for your advice! I will keep them warm and fed for a day or two and then send them home to their parent flock

 

[shardean]

What do you mean "send them home with their parent flock" ? They need a heat lamp for a few weeks!

 

[Apriljc]

One of my childcare families gave me the fertile eggs. When they take them home, they will put them in their brooder with the other day olds they recvd today via mail--they will be under a heat lamp What I mean is they are going back to the home their eggs came from and eventually will become a part of the parent flock

 

[Goblnfvr]

Congrats on a good hatch!!!

 

[rosiethechicken]

I wish I can control humidity so closely . Congrats.

 

[farmerRyan]

Nice hatch. What did you use for an incubator?

 

[Apriljc]

I used a Havobator 1588 preset forced air; hand turning.

I turned them 3 times most days, two days only turned 2x and a few days several times.

I candled every day, sometimes more than once!

I filled one channel plus a bit for humidity. Because I was worried it was high, I set each egg horizontally, large end a bit higher, and rotated so the apex of the long side of the air cell was up. Nearly all pipped in the spots that I predicted; my hope was that it would limit leaking fluids into the space if the pip was as up as possible.

I'm just so glad it went well after they all died last year.