Hatch-Along - Setting eggs on 2/8/13 Anyone want to join me?

[Crisses]

Are you sure your temperatures were good? if they were low that delays the hatch. Have you tried talking to them or singing to them? Here's a new one...carefully place a closed jar of water on top of the bator and sit real still...then try talking to the eggs and see if the water starts to shake if you hatch in cartons they may not move, but the water is sensitive to the slightest movements in the box....

actually, that works for me with a styrofoam based bator...may not work on something really solid like wood or heavy plastics...

 

[seeda]

I think temps were good except once right after lockdown when bulb broke and temp dropped to 83 while i changed bulb. We tried the water on top of the incubator and there is no movement

 

[Crisses]

I think temps were good except once right after lockdown when bulb broke and temp dropped to 83 while i changed bulb. We tried the water on top of the incubator and there is no movement

Was that minutes or hours? If minutes, the actual eggs didn't drop much in temperature...even a drop for 6 hours on day 18 is good...but delays hatching. You may want to wait til tomorrow and carefully check an egg... Did you candle before lockdown? Were all moving?

 

[ajneal30]

I haven't seen sibling bowling since I hatch in cartons but it sounds hilarious and a little nerve racking.

Great discovery on the possoms before they caused any more problems. Varmits are so sneaky and determined.

Your babies are quick ones, all mine seem to take their own sweet time.

I used cartons when I hatched mine last year. One of them climbed on top of the eggs in the carton and got his hea stuck in between the roof of the bator and the heating element! I saved him before the heat came on and cooked him, but I might have shrink wrapped the rest of the eggs as I only got the two that were already hatched at the time. Have you ever had problems with the chicks getting into trouble climbing on the cartons?

 

[OR4-hmom]

I used cartons when I hatched mine last year. One of them climbed on top of the eggs in the carton and got his hea stuck in between the roof of the bator and the heating element! I saved him before the heat came on and cooked him, but I might have shrink wrapped the rest of the eggs as I only got the two that were already hatched at the time. Have you ever had problems with the chicks getting into trouble climbing on the cartons?

The worst thing that's happened to me with the cartons was an egg that pipped at the wrong end. Fortunately I saw the shell piece in the carton and could assist my wrong way willie. They climb on the carton, they rest and sleep in the cartons also. They also use them to look out the clear top after they have hatched.

I haven't had anyone get stuck on the heating element, but some have reacted to what I think is the heat of it and moved away for awhile.

 

[seeda]

The drop in temperature was for about 15 minutes. I didn't candle before lockdown because as the chicks got bigger all I have been able to see is a big black blob. I guess I will wait and see

 

[OR4-hmom]

I can't imagine that the egg temperature changed much in 15 minutes.

I did candle at lockdown, I wzas also looking at the size of the yolk sack at the bottom, not just the top. It was a bit difficult balancing the egg and moving the flashlight underneath it-I was afraid to tip the egg.

 

[seeda]

I could barely see anything when I candeled. Maybe i just don't know what to look for. Does everyone just use a really bright flashlight. I have tried several but nothing seems bright enough. I have buckeye eggs so i wouldn't say they are especially dark. At one point we did see the embryo dancing around but every other time couldn't tell much of what I was seeing and I definitely would not have been able to distinguish a yolk sack.

 

[OR4-hmom]

I found a 120 lumens flashlight and put a plastic plumbing fitting over the end to concentrate the light beam. The end of the plumbing fitting is for a 1" pipe, I also got a 3/4" fitting and can swap them around depending on the egg size. I couldn't see enough with most flashlights and they make brighter one but I didn't want to spend 30.00 on a flashlight that my family would hijack and I couldn't find when I needed it.

 

[Crisses]

I found a 120 lumens flashlight and put a plastic plumbing fitting over the end to concentrate the light beam.  The end of the plumbing fitting is for a 1" pipe, I also got a 3/4" fitting and can swap them around depending on the egg size.  I couldn't see enough with most flashlights and they make brighter one but I didn't want to spend 30.00 on a flashlight that my family would hijack and I couldn't find when I needed it.

I use a flashlight I got free at Harbor Freight (9 LED) and some craft foam and black electrical tape. I'll make a video some time. I make a rectangle of foam, wrap it in black tape, then I can slide the light around the egg at almost any angle without yilting the egg or being afraid of scratching it. I candle in a dark room at night.