Hatching eggs/lockdown

[Cocosgym]

I am putting my eggs into lockdown today! I have 10 eggs in my incubator. If I put a humidifier in the room my incubator is and raise the humidity in that room. Could I open the incubator if needed to assist or to remove the chicks that hatch first?

 

[nuthatched]

You can open the incubator, contrary to popular belief, they won't immediately shrink wrap.
As long as you don't take the lid off and go make a sandwich, they'll be ok.

 

[LikeTurkeys]

You can open the incubator, contrary to popular belief, they won't immediately shrink wrap.
As long as you don't take the lid off and go make a sandwich, they'll be ok.

I agree with this. After all, even a hen sometimes gets up off her eggs.

 

[kattabelly]

You can open the incubator, contrary to popular belief, they won't immediately shrink wrap.
As long as you don't take the lid off and go make a sandwich, they'll be ok.

Obviously not recommending this but I live somewhere fairly damp and I've accidentally left the incubator lid open a bit overnight during a hatch and still not had any issues.

 

[Cocosgym]

Obviously supposed to open the incubator minimally during lock down but can I check the eggs like once a day to see if they have internally pipped or should I just leave them?

 

[kattabelly]

Obviously supposed to open the incubator minimally during lock down but can I check the eggs like once a day to see if they have internally pipped or should I just leave them?

You'll probably start to hear peeping once they've pipped internally!

While it's not likely to do any harm, it is best to just leave them be - especially if, like me, you really really really want to know what's happening and would have the incubator open every five minutes to fiddle with something if it wasn't a bad idea. I limit myself to only checking if one is late or I'm worried about it for some reason.

 

[Susan Skylark]

Open as needed, you won’t kill chicks every time you crack the lid (contrary to urban legend!). I add a little warm water a few minutes before opening to spike the humidity just in case, but shrink wrapping is a fairly rare phenomenon though it gets blamed for most near term deaths or failure to hatch, when other issues are far more likely to blame (incubator temp fluctuation, cold or heat exposure preincubation, shipping trauma, old eggs at incubation, genetics, nutrition…). Just be efficient, calm, and do it infrequently and you’ll be fine.

 

[Debbie292d]

I'm trying not to be a fuddy-duddy, but they don't call it a 'maybe-lockdown'; it's called a lockdown for a reason.

Have I opened it during lockdown? Yes. Did I shrink wrap any? No. But I know someone who did, who had reached out to me to help her get it out. She said she waited 24 hours before getting in touch with me and sent this picture. It couldn't get out because the membrane dried, was hard and shrunk. (It's a shipped egg (from me) and pipped in the middle.)



When do I open it during lockdown?

I've cracked the incubator lid on each side for a few seconds when they're hatching, and it starts literally raining inside the incubator.

I see one pipped at the wrong end for hours and making no progress. I hatch a lot of shipped-in eggs, so I've had to assist several times. I roll up a paper towel and get it wet, then place it inside near the edge (so I can easily remove it later). I grab a bunch of shells at the same time as the one that needs help, then shut it. Create a plan before opening it, so you know exactly what you're going to do and can do it quickly and safely.

Otherwise, I just let nature take its course and never open it until they're all fluffy and running around. Chicks can live for up to 72 hours without food/water as they're living off the yolk they absorbed.