JillZ
In the Brooder
- Mar 3, 2016
- 59
- 12
- 31
Yep my Hova is consistently lower every time. In my house, ambient humidity is usually 45-50% on average so we're kind of low to begin with. When I am first heating up the bators before adding eggs, the Hova is usually 35% then goes up to low 40's when I add the eggs until after about 7-10 days it will drop into the low 30's then I add a sponge. I incubate Marans a lot so I run lower humidity with them, otherwise the air cells are too small at lockdown.
Well we are pretty close then! My husband is from WVHe lived in the Mannington area back in the day when he was in high school lol.
Can't wait to see your babies! Any activity in the bator this morning?
Aww what a cutie!!
That's amazing all the shipped silkie eggs are developing!! The others sound very promising too!
I've had mixed results with shipped eggs. Some hatches I had several left in the bator that looked viable at lockdown but never pipped. Others I had excellent hatch rates that you would never know they shipped 1000 miles. It appears to me that some eggs are just tougher than others. They withstand shipping stress better and are stronger chicks at hatch. There are so many variables affecting eggs: Age, health and nutrition of breeder birds, how eggs are packaged, how they are handled during transit, temperatures, incubation methods. They all play a big part. Any one or combination of those things go wrong and it can negatively affect your hatch.
Yes it can be very normal to see no activity on day 20. Sometimes they don't do much on day 21 either then you look in the incubator and you start seeing pipsits nerve wracking for sure!!
I think on the responsibility and helping issue there are 3 camps of people: the helpers who say I set these eggs so I will do my best to give each hatchling a chance. I personally cannot stand by and watch any animal struggle or suffer. Before staying home with my kids I was a Vet Tech for many years so I can't imagine not helping lol.
Camp 2 are your people who just don't know what to do or how to do it. They've either been scared by Camp 3 to not help or haven't educated themselves yet.
Camp 3 are people who are strictly hands-off. The motto is only the strong survive. They believe weak chicks shouldn't be in the flock so you shouldn't help if they don't hatch. They don't splint spraddle legs or fret over the incubator.
So yes, what you're feeling is normalI was a nervous wreck my first hatch but it does get better! I still have nose prints on the incubator lol but the more you hatch, the more confidence you'll have.
Ha! You made me laugh with the nose prints thing. I think I probably have a million too! So we are at day 21.5 here and a lot has gone on since last night. 2 of the shipped BLRWyandottes have hatched!!! WOOOOHOOOO! And they are hilarious. Thinking about calling them "Willy" and "Nilly". I've had a really sad thing happen though. The first little one to pip, pipped at the wrong end. I had such a terrible hatch last time, that I didn't want to open the bator because the other two had also pipped and were working pretty furiously. The upside down one is no longer doing anything and has been still since 3 am. So I am Totally second guessing myself. Should I have gone in and assisted the upside down pipper and risked a no hatch for the other two? Argh. The last hatch when I opened the incubator everything turned into one disaster. So . . . that is 3/10 of the shipped eggs that have pipped. 2/10 made it! Since early this morning I have had 3 more pips from the shipped eggs, but seems to be no progress since then. The two chicks that did hatch seem to have that yellow concretey stuff on them. They are only partly fluffy. Not wet, just like something is on them that won't let their down fluff.
Help Please. Any advice appreciated! I have 3 hygrometers in and they are averaging around 69 right now. It had gone up to about 75 after both chicks hatched, but now seems to have settled back down.
Should I really try to boost humidity right now to help the pippers? Or am I just being impatient and it may take quite a while for the other 3 pips to start zipping? The membranes from the two hatched chicks in the shells is really looking hard and crusty yellowish. Does that mean that all of the membranes on the ones that have pipped have turned hard now since it's taking a while and they can't get out anymore?
BTW< I am hatching in a forced air styro bator.
You can't be sick. Not allowed!! Hope you feel better!! Was wondering where you were! Your fertility was awesome on the ones you sent me!!! Only one showed no signs at all of developing and that could hae been shipping for all we know!!
nervous here. Thanks
