Hatching day advice! Should the eggs be moving?

[Lochloosachicks]

My eggs are in Day 20. My incubator is homeade. I locked down on 18, but had to open on day 19 to switch the bulb bc temp was dropping to 97 all night long. I had a lot of fluctuations to keep temp up for the first day of lockdown. Nothing was for too long. I hope it didn't cause problems. I candled the eggs before lockdown and all looked good.
My eggs are not wiggling like others say they will, I did here chirping early this morning. Of course I can't tell if it's from one or multiple. I have them propped with sponges because I couldn't stabilize them in a good spot without doing that. I use a straw to re-wet the sponges when necessary. This is a pic of my lockdown set-up. Is it okay? Does this all sound right? I wish I could see movement. The chirping is exciting, but makes me nervous too.

 

[WVduckchick]

First, you won't likely see any movement with the eggs resting on the sponges. Too stable, they don't jerk the egg quite that hard. So don't be alarmed if you don't see them move. You might see a slight jiggle, but i doubt it..

Secondly, the damp sponges really shouldn't be touching the eggs, but it's a little late to worry about it now. Use dry ones next time, or something else. Dampen ones that aren't touching the eggs.

If you hear cheeping but don't see any pips, then you at least have some internal pips. So hopefully you will see some external ones real soon!

Good luck!

 

[Lochloosachicks]

Thanks! These dry out pretty quickly so I can just leave them dry next time. It's difficult to keep the humidity as high as I need it without wetting them. Should I risk opening a small door to slip a separate one away from them in before they externally pip or is it too late?

QUOTE="WVduckchick, post: 19416774, member: 327564"]First, you won't likely see any movement with the eggs resting on the sponges. Too stable, they don't jerk the egg quite that hard. So don't be alarmed if you don't see them move. You might see a slight jiggle, but i doubt it..

Secondly, the damp sponges really shouldn't be touching the eggs, but it's a little late to worry about it now. Use dry ones next time, or something else. Dampen ones that aren't touching the eggs.

If you hear cheeping but don't see any pips, then you at least have some internal pips. So hopefully you will see some external ones real soon!

Good luck![/QUOTE]

 

[Lochloosachicks]

Also, I could possibly move them away with my straw. It may cause them to roll though.

 

[WVduckchick]

If you have room for others, I think i would add some different ones. If not, don't worry too much about it. I don't have any evidence to say its bad, just a preference and a feeling that it's not a great idea.

So many things that we hear are terrible get mistaken as gospel, just because someone said so. Like all the warnings not to open a lid because of shrinkwrapping. I open mine many times thru the process, and have great hatches. But proper humidity is still required, so anything can be risky.... or maybe not. Make sense? Lol Probably not, I'm just saying from my experience, I don't like wet eggs.

What day did you trace your air cells? They look a little small.

 

[Lochloosachicks]

That trace was from day 14. I checked again at Day 18 and they had grown a lot.

It does make sense. It's hard not to freak out about every little thing. I hope I have quick hatches or I may lose my mind, lol.

 

[WVduckchick]

Ok well those aren't as small for day 14.
It is stressful and exciting at the same time. Those last few days just seem to drag!

Do you happen to have any rubber shelf liner? That's what i use on the floor of the incubator. It's safe on their feet and kinda helps keep the eggs from rolling too easily.

 

[junebuggena]

It's better to open the incubator to add water than it is to let it go dry. Fill up all those little cups of water and put the sponges in them. It will help increase the surface area and the sponges will hold the water longer.

 

[Lochloosachicks]

Is it okay if the eggs touch each other? I can remove the little sponges and put 2 larger sponges off to the side that won't touch them. I don't see any pips but I should probably make changes pretty soon I would think. Is it okay if they are moved a little at this stage?

I don't have the shelf paper. I used the small grid wire so their feet wouldn't slip through. I can't remove it to get to the cups now so the sponges will have to be up top with them.

 

[lazy gardener]

You WANT the eggs to touch each other. In a natural setting, they would be touching each other under the broody hen. This is how the chicks in a clutch communicate with EACH other to encourage all to hatch at the same time. I would open that bator up, and get those bits of sponge out of there.

Is there a place where you can put sponge in a cup that will be out of reach of the chicks? Any sponge or other moisture source should be out of their reach. In my home made bator, I put sponges under the wire mesh. Then use a straw or a length of aquarium tubing to keep the sponges wet. I sometimes screw a sponge to the wall of the bator if other options are limited! Hey, in a home made bator, the designer gets to be just as unconventional as she wants to be! No matter how you address your humidity needs, it's important to keep the eggs from getting wet, and to not allow the chicks to drag their umbilical stumps over a wet sponge or paper towel.