GRRRR. Three Pips in +/-54% Humidity

[latebloomer]

i woke up this morning to one chick and three pips but humidity had dropped into the mid-fifties.

the last two nights i woke up in the middle of the night to check on the humidity level, it didn't drop, that's why i didn't wake up to check i last night.

i promptly added warm water via a liquid baby medicine dropper and funnel through a vent hole, it's back up to the high sixties.

now i'm worried about the pipped eggs. should i just pop open the bator, and pick off a bit of shell so at least my guys can breathe in their shells? or leave them be.

i want to leave them be, but am second-guessing and hand-wringing.

there are another 17 eggs in the bator that have no pips of progress, one of those, isn't likely to hatch (based on candeling) but i'm not sure on the rest, i didn't candle everyone.

these are shipped eggs, so i'm already looking at a low percentage of hatching.

it's the old "bird in the hand" debate, except i don't know that if i opened up the bator, chipped open the pip to confirm breathing, if the eggs would be more, or less likely to hatch, versus just leaving them be.

advise appreciated.

 

[jvls1942]

first thing to do is RELAX !! they do not need the high humidity until they actually start to pip.. at 54% you are still fine.. go back to bed..

 

[maureen9962]

I would not open the bator. This is the voice of experience after having done so many times only to have to deal with shrink wrapped chicks. 54% is ok for a bit I think, If you are in a northern climate this AM the air is very dry and humidity will not recover quickly enough.

 

[Jake1297]

Mine pipped and hatched when I had humidity between 50% and 60%. I never had it higher. During the days in the turner before lock down the humidity was 30% or higher. I didn't try to control it. It worked for me.

 

[kstaven]

Back away from the incubator. When the chicks externally pip the humidity will rise of its own accord.

 

[latebloomer]

thanks for the hand-holding, sometimes that's exactly what's needed.

i'm at work, i left them to do their own thing for bit. i'll see how things are doing at about 11:30.

glad to see a little black chick this morning.

locked down twenty-one bbs orpingtons, hoping for more of the blacks and blues than the splashes but happy to see anyone come out to play.

 

[latebloomer]

went home at lunch and found one more had hatched, and one zipped, while i was standing there, she hatched.

there were a total of eight pipped eggs when i left.

so of the twenty-one that went to lockdown i have three chicks, eight pips and ten other eggs with no progress so far.

one of those eggs i didn't think was going to do anything but decided to leave it in with the others, and one other has a crack in it that has scotch tape on it.

the three hatched chicks are dark colored