Hands on hatching and help

[oregonkat]

That's the great thing about little tidbits like that one - you can file it away, and then choose whether to pull it out or not! But it's handy to have around!

Agreed Blooie, if I try Marans again, I will be referring back to this info. I wish I had as much beginners luck.

 

[salsss]

Thanks for the reply!!
It is now day 20, no pips. At least I think so...every little spot on the eggs looks like it might be...I'm not sure. Can I candle? It's a teeny incubator...I'm afraid to open it even though I know I have to in order to refill the water. I'm dying to look!

 

[salsss]

Oh PS Amy I went to the St. Lawrence county fair last summer near you and checked out the chicken barn--it was my first county fair! Loved it!

 

[Blooie]

Don't be afraid to open the bater to do a quick candle if you really feel you need to. You don't have to do every egg...just a spot check, mark the egg with a dot or some such so you know you did that one, then put it back. Do that with a few. Put the lid back on the bater when you take each one out, candle quickly (but carefully) then slip it back in. Yep, it will take a bit for the incubator to come back up to temperature, but the mass of the eggs holds heat and they won't cool off as fast or as much as the incubator itself does.

It can sometimes be very helpful to know if there are any internal pips happening, and they don't always hatch on exactly day 21~

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Thanks for the reply!!  
It is now day 20, no pips. At least I think so...every little spot on the eggs looks like it might be...I'm not sure. Can I candle? It's a teeny incubator...I'm afraid to open it even though I know I have to in order to refill the water. I'm dying to look! 

You're talking to someone who candles all the way through hatch...lol If you don't have any pips it poses no problems. If you have pips and open the bator you need to make sure humidity recovers quickly and keep an eye on membranes around the pips. I can tell you how many internal pips I have...lol just don't ask how many times I've candled since lockdown...lol

 

[Blooie]

Doggone it, Amy...I was gonna say that too about the humidity. But I forgot. <sigh> Now you stole my thunder!

 

[salsss]

Quote:

Which brings up another question...how to do this? I had a sick chicken last year and tried this but was afraid to put the solution into her lungs--I dripped it along the side of her beak and didn't get much in.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Doggone it, Amy...I was gonna say that too about the humidity. But I forgot. Now you stole my thunder!

Sorry! Lol

 

[Pyxis]

Pyxis, I just looked at your candling photos of the chick development day by day and I have a question.  I noticed that you candled through the air sac end for all the photos, so on day 17, if you had looked through the pointy end of the egg, would you have seen any liquid substance at all or would it all be chick?  Thanks for the article, excellent info.

Thanks, I'm glad you liked it! For the most part it would have been all chick if candled from that end. Maybe some space if the chick is a small one

Which brings up another question...how to do this? I had a sick chicken last year and tried this but was afraid to put the solution into her lungs--I dripped it along the side of her beak and didn't get much in. 

I usually very gently open their beak, put the drop at the very end, and then let go so they can tip their head back and drink it on their own.

 

[rossfam06]

Well with my old hatcher...I had have 10 out of 15 that I locked down! Happy with these numbers!!!

About to lockdown 3 more eggs later tonight!