Hatch-Along - Eggs set in November, due December, anyone?

[AlivianAcres]

I wish my still air was that dependable! It's driving me crazy these last few days..  That would be awesome if they hatch for the kiddos to see! I will wake up my kids in the middle of the night to catch one coming out of the shell hehe. " Oh, sorry he's a little tired today teacher. We were studding science in the middle of the night! "

i have been pleasantly surprised that its held so well....we have had a couple off days but nothing of significance. rofl! Well being that its our first hatch I probably would do that too...at least with my 4yo. I am homeschooling so he could take a nap the next day hehe...

 

[melina90]

My mom is a teacher on college, and 20 days ago one of her students came up to her with 10 fertilized maran eggs from his grandmothers hens(he knows we run a chicken coop and I guess he needed a lift on his grades

). Now, we didnt have an incubator for them, but an optimist like my mother didnt stop without trying. She decided to make her own - wich is fair enough - except she couldnt find a thermostat for it and had to adjust the heating manually. I said to her on day 1, if a chicken turns out of this project I'll do the dishes for the entire month of January.

Now I might have alot of dishes to do next month, because one little bugger has survived everything from improper turning to huge variations in temperature (I've seen everything from 25-42 centigrades in there) and a very varying humidity. I guess it's safe to say we allow Darwin's law to rule here, lol.

Hatch day is tomorrow, and I catch myself really hoping the little chick survives the hatch and turns out normal. If not, we'll have to try this again - with a real incubator, because even if this wasnt a really serious attempt I found myself truly enjoying the process!

 

[katsdar]

This is as bad as waiting in the delivery waiting room.

 

[katsdar]

Melina90 You will have to let us know how it turns out. And if the kid passed.

 

[poule de luxe]

Well.... went into lockdown this morning. Right now, humidity reads 80%....In the brinsea pamphlet, they just mention 65% or higher... but is 80% too high????

Good luck to everyone still waiting like me....

 

[katsdar]

I found this reference to the RH. Relative humidity should be 60-65% for the first 18 days of incubation, and 70% for the last three days.
retrieved from http://sp.uconn.edu/~mdarre/4-hpoultry/help_inset.html

How far do you have your vent open on your Brinsea?

The moisture level in the incubator should be about 50 to 55 percent relative humidity, with an increase to about 65 percent for the last 3 days of incubation. Moisture is provided by a pan of water under the egg tray. The water surface should be at least half as large as the surface of the egg tray. Add warm water to the pan as necessary. If more humidity is needed, increase the size of the pan or add a wet sponge. Humidity adjustment can also be made by increasing or decreasing ventilation. retrieved from http://www.howtoincubate.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=50&Itemid=65


Incubation Relative Humidity Range and Variation

The maintenance of consistent relative humidity is more difficult during incubation and can only be maintained constant by ventilation rate, using adjustable ventilation apertures and by surface water and water sprays during incubation. The tolerances to different ranges of humidity are greater than temperature, but there are negative consequences observed with humidity below 40% and above 90%. Good hatchability is maintained by maintaining relative humidity at approximately 50-65% until the last 3 days of incubation and should then increase to between 70-90% just prior to hatching. retrieved from http://www.poultryhub.org/physiology/incubation/

I hope this stuff helps good luck will be in your shoes soon,

If it was me and seeing all of the information I think I would leave it alone, anybody else have an opinion?

 

[chicknlove]

Melina90 You will have to let us know how it turns out. And if the kid passed.

 

[chicknlove]

So my first chick is on 24 hours...halfway out but the little guy seems so tired

Have 3 more pips and it's day 21.
Still can't get humidity over 55...I have 3 jars with sponges in there. I can only hope it's enough for them to hatch properly ;( any ideas?!

I don't know if its too late now, but the only way I could get more than 55% was to just run a washcloth under warm water and stick it in there. It takes up a ton of room though. DO you have your troffs full and the jars have water in them.. Can you add more water with a straw from the outside? I bought a wash bottle for that reason.

 

[3Dchicken]

First off- GO CANDYMAN GO!!! Woot!

Congrats on the pips, and keep us updated! So excited!

Can't wait for pictures of the little guys!

Snowpetals907, Try focusing more on surface area rather than the amount of water if you can. If there is enough room, place a big tray of water in there somewhere.

poule de luxe, I would try to get the humidity down to 70% myself. 80% might be a bit too much. :3

By the way, today is the start of lockdown for me, so I have to figure out how to get the humidity up in my incubator, and possibly candle them one last time. Taking pictures while candling is a bit of a hassle if you only have two hands, and I want them to be out of the incubator for as less time as possible, so I might or might not take any pictures of them before I officially "lock them into" the incubator until hatch day. I feel so doubtful about this hatch, even though I saw movement the last time I candled...

I guess I'll know when they arrive :3

I am off to raise the humidity in my incubator~~~

 

[chicknlove]

First off- GO CANDYMAN GO!!! Woot!

Congrats on the pips, and keep us updated! So excited!

Can't wait for pictures of the little guys!

Snowpetals907, Try focusing more on surface area rather than the amount of water if you can. If there is enough room, place a big tray of water in there somewhere.

poule de luxe, I would try to get the humidity down to 70% myself. 80% might be a bit too much. :3

By the way, today is the start of lockdown for me, so I have to figure out how to get the humidity up in my incubator, and possibly candle them one last time. Taking pictures while candling is a bit of a hassle if you only have two hands, and I want them to be out of the incubator for as less time as possible, so I might or might not take any pictures of them before I officially "lock them into" the incubator until hatch day. I feel so doubtful about this hatch, even though I saw movement the last time I candled...

I guess I'll know when they arrive :3

I am off to raise the humidity in my incubator~~~

Good Luck 3D! I'm still hopeful! If you can't get us a pic of the candling can you take a pic of your lock down set up? I'll be there on Friday! We're so close!