Hands on hatching and help

[WVduckchick]

Blooie, personally, I'd put them all in the Brinsea for the rest of the time and hatch them there too. But if you feel good enough with the FI, then Ken has a point.

Have you tried any tests with the FI with higher humidity, like will be needed for the final 3 days? If not, you could move all the eggs to the Brinsea, and use this time to test the FI, and decide if you want to hatch in it or not, since its bigger and may offer better viewing as they hatch.

 

[Blooie]

Thank you both. Putting them all in the Brinsea and then cleaning the FI out and using the time it's empty to test for humidity seems like a good plan......no reason not to hatch them in the Brinsea if I don't like the results of the "test" run in the FI. Thanks again. I already have more eggs with happy moving around little dancers in them than it looked like I'd have last week so I sure would have hated to mess things up at this point. But I do have a few too dark to see into well, so I'm counting those as "questionable" and they stay. Obvious blood rings, clears, and the one that is so porous it looks like an ancient Roman mosaic are out of here!

 

[pipAchick]

Okay, thinking along these lines I'm noticing temp differences in my FI 4200 all of a sudden, and the mass thing is making sense to me.  I know I have eggs in there that need to come out,and the same in the Brinsea.  Just to refresh memories, I ended up with 28 eggs I didn't expect and they wouldn't fit in the Brinsea so Ken bought the FI so we could divide the eggs up between them.  I have 3 eggs that are doing well in the Brinsea, and so far 6 that are looking great in the FI.  These are shipped eggs that have had air cell troubles from the start. Seems kind of stupid to me at this point to keep 9 viable eggs split up between two incubators.  But Ken planted this little seed of doubt when I was going to put them all in the Brinsea last night...."The eggs that are going well are used to the conditions in the incubators they're in...why mess with it?"  So now I am not sure whether to leave things alone, knowing that have at least some viable eggs in each bator, or move them all to one really stable incubator, clean out the FI, and just use it for a hatcher because of the additional room it has in it.  Suggestions?

Bitting nails over here lol! I'm sorta with Ken(if it ain't broke why fix it?)

What if you drop one when moving them? Plus if one goes completely wrong you sorta have a back up,,,if you put all the eggs in same one&something cruds out on you your up creek with no paddle.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Thank you both. Putting them all in the Brinsea and then cleaning the FI out and using the time it's empty to test for humidity seems like a good plan......no reason not to hatch them in the Brinsea if I don't like the results of the "test" run in the FI. Thanks again. I already have more eggs with happy moving around little dancers in them than it looked like I'd have last week so I sure would have hated to mess things up at this point. But I do have a few too dark to see into well, so I'm counting those as "questionable" and they stay. Obvious blood rings, clears, and the one that is so porous it looks like an ancient Roman mosaic are out of here!

Sounds like a plan! Can't wait to see what you hatch. Remind me, how far are you now?

 

[pipAchick]

Regaurdless what you decide send pics of cute chicks soon! (fingers crossed) @Blooie

 

[Blooie]

Today is Day 13, Amy. @pipAchick that's also a very valid point....doggone it.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Today is Day 13, Amy. @pipAchick that's also a very valid point....doggone it.

Go with what feels right.

 

[pipAchick]

@Blooie- flip a coin?

 

[BigWeenMachine]

You do have vents open right?

I have one vent open of the two. It's a lil smaller than a marble. The instructions said to open one vent when they hatch and then both once they are hatched to dry them. Not sure how much fresh air it needs. Should I open the other one too?

 

[RubyNala97]

I've hatched out quite a few more porous eggs without a problem. Don't feel bad!

Good luck!!!

I'm pretty sure that we are over-cautious and crazy. Heck, I'm one one the biggest meddlers, but I still keep humidity up for precaution, but I honestly honestly believe that for so long people have warned against this and that  and most of it is BS. I've seen people have chicks hatch early that hadn't gone to lockdown and had no problem hatching in 30% and I don't care what anyone says, I do not believe that you can shrink wrap a chick in 60 seconds, dry out some goo and stick em, sure, but shrink wrap??? That's a long process. I literally cringe every time a newbie asks if they will really kill their chicks just from opening the bator or one is scared to add water because they have to open the bator. Older, stricter hatchers have scared up and coming hatchers so bad that they can't even enjoy the hatch because they are scared they are going to cause certain doom.

Yup, that was me on my first lockdown. But then one got stuck zipping. 2 plus hours I waited...finally I had to go against all the warnings of opening and help the little girl out! She's my favorite chicle today!

Just woke up and ran to the hatcher to check.  No progress on any of the 3 eggs.....  Yes these are local eggs out of my coop.  I don't know what to think now.  The egg that pipped had not actually made it all the way through the shell yet, you could just see where he he had started pecking at.  It was a small obtrusion on the egg.  That still counts as pipping right???  Or should I have waited until he pecked a hole right through???  Now I am worried He just started pecking cos the humidity was too low on my bator since I was trying to dry those sacks down.  I'm second guessing myself and thinking I may have doomed them...

Yes, that is a pip! And it pipped ONLY because it's ready to hatch. They are ok!

And to make matters worse, the 2 thermometers that read the same temp for the last 3 weeks are now glaringly reading different in the FI incubator I'm using for a hatcher.  One is reading right on with the FI incubator's digital reading while the other one is reading 94.8.  Man I hate that FI incubator as I dunno what is going on with all the different temp readings inside of it....

Follow this and calibrate them, at least you'll know they are accurate.
http://www.thermoworks.com/blog/2010/10/making-a-proper-ice-bath/

Maybe I should just walk away and find something to keep my mind off the duckies today...

Yes, this is exactly what you should do!!!

I'm so torn on what to do with my staggered hatch!  I went looking for another bator to use as a hatcher (after testing the new FI still-air styro and not liking the results!), but couldn't find one locally, and I'm almost out of time. So I kept the FI and I'm going to try to get it stabilized with water this evening, to try to use as a hatcher.  But it scares the crap outta me. 

I have 2 good lav orp eggs and 7 tiny golden sebright eggs, and 4 old English game bantam eggs on day 17 today.  Then last Monday, I added 6 more lav orps, and 4 mutts (light brahma over golden comet).  Looks like all 4 of the mutts are developing, and at least 4 of the LO's, so I don't want to lose them.  I could put them in the styro, just until the others hatch in the Brinsea, then move them back, but I think I'd rather hatch in the styro.  

So with that few eggs, if I decide to hatch in the styro, should I concentrate them in the center square, or scatter them out?

Suggestions... anyone?

Staggered hatches are giving everyone a run for their money!! Lol. I would use the styro has a hatcher.

Okay, thinking along these lines I'm noticing temp differences in my FI 4200 all of a sudden, and the mass thing is making sense to me.  I know I have eggs in there that need to come out,and the same in the Brinsea.  Just to refresh memories, I ended up with 28 eggs I didn't expect and they wouldn't fit in the Brinsea so Ken bought the FI so we could divide the eggs up between them.  I have 3 eggs that are doing well in the Brinsea, and so far 6 that are looking great in the FI.  These are shipped eggs that have had air cell troubles from the start. Seems kind of stupid to me at this point to keep 9 viable eggs split up between two incubators.  But Ken planted this little seed of doubt when I was going to put them all in the Brinsea last night...."The eggs that are going well are used to the conditions in the incubators they're in...why mess with it?"  So now I am not sure whether to leave things alone, knowing that have at least some viable eggs in each bator, or move them all to one really stable incubator, clean out the FI, and just use it for a hatcher because of the additional room it has in it.  Suggestions?

Put them all in the brinsea and use the styro as a hatcher. I hate hatching in the brinsea! Are you hand turning them or are they in auto turners?