Hatching chicks in incubator

[Miss717]

Actually, this sounds fine. 30% is what I keep mine at for the first 18 days, and if the humidity stays at that point without me adding water, then I don't add water. Any higher than that and it my area my embryos would drown. How do the air cells look? Did they develop well?

80% might be a touch high. Personally I'd drop that to around 65 or 70% if you can. Higher can make it harder for the chicks to dry off after hatching and isn't really necessary.

If today is day 19 or 20 and it was only at 30% humidity on day 18 and possibly day 19 I was wondering if 30% humidity is too low for one and maybe two lockdown days. So a little extra humidity for a day or two might not hurt. Just wondering. Hope you can follow that.

 

[Pyxis]

If today is day 19 or 20 and it was only at 30% humidity on day 18 and possibly day 19 I was wondering if 30% humidity is too low for one and maybe two lockdown days. So a little extra humidity for a day or two might not hurt. Just wondering. Hope you can follow that.

I get what you're saying! 65% should be good - the high humidity for the last three days isn't so much to keep the egg from losing more weight/moisture, it's to make sure chicks don't dry out when they try to hatch. Keeping it higher won't put moisture back in the egg, so keeping it higher won't really do too much, in this case.

 

[Miss717]

Ok I understand. I didn't realize that the higher humidity wouldn't put moisture back into the egg.

 

[Smanwaring]

Update, none of my eggs hatched over the weekend. My egg candler just came in so I decided to candle 3 eggs quickly and this is what the eggs looked like. I Googled and it's hard to tell what point me eggs are at. I took the egg turner out cause I thought they were day sue to hatch last Friday or Saturday. My question is how far along do the eggs look and round can i put the egg turned back in and do they Still have a chance of hatching?

 

[Pyxis]

If you set them all at the same time, they shouldn't be on day 12 - it's very possible that those are late quitters

 

[Pat Mcaffee]

If you set them all at the same time, they shouldn't be on day 12 - it's very possible that those are late quitters

Just curious- how do they look like they're on day 12. I am not an expert by any means, so I am just hoping you will explain. I am hatching a bantam myself and don't understand.

 

[Pyxis]

Just curious- how do they look like they're on day 12. I am not an expert by any means, so I am just hoping you will explain. I am hatching a bantam myself and don't understand.

I didn't think they did - the post above mine said that the OP thought they did before the OP edited it.

 

[Smanwaring]

Sorry they look farther along then 12 days. The one photo I looked at on Google wasn't a very good photo. After I posted this I Googled 12 day incubated eggs and my eggs look father along then 12 days.

 

[Pyxis]

Sorry they look farther along then 12 days. The one photo I looked at on Google wasn't a very good photo. After I posted this I Googled 12 day incubated eggs and my eggs look father along then 12 days.

Do you see any movement when you candle them? If not, I would suspect they are late quitters, unfortunately.

 

[Pat Mcaffee]

I didn't think they did - the post above mine said that the OP thought they did before the OP edited it.

Now I understand what you are saying.