Hatching Guinea Eggs, Day 30 no pipping.....

[jywel417]

Hey everyone!!

I am hatching some guinea eggs, am on Day 30 and have no pips yet.....when should I get concerned??

 

[PeepsCA]

Yah, I'd be a little concerned by day 30... 26-28 days is the normal time frame it takes for Guinea eggs to hatch

I need more info tho... what brand/model of incubator are you using, what's the temp, what's the humidity and has it been stable the entire time? Have you candled the eggs at all? Maybe they are not fertile?

 

[jywel417]

Home made Miss Prissy type incubator w fan. Held between 99 and 101 with humidity. 5 days ago the bulb died and we went 2 hours in the.middle of the night but yesterday I candled and saw movement in the 6 remaining eggs I hatched a ton of eggs in one I made like thos a few years ago so I know the style works......

 

[PeepsCA]

That's weird they are taking so long, but you are seeing movement. 101 is a little high for circulated airincubation, but if anything it would cause them to hatch a little early, not late. I doubt th 2 hrs with the light out caused the delay tho.

Make sure your humidity is nice and high (70% or higher), and hopefully you see some hatching going on soon.

Good luck.

 

[organicAGchick]

Ok.. I need help. It is day 30 of guinea keet incubation. (my first time) & my hens 1st lay. I am using a journal to record temp, humidity(to the best of my knowledge) & keep tedious track of days. I candled them once a week until DAY 25 & watched the embryo grow as well as some twitching movement, so they were all fertile before day 25 when I removed the automatic turner & placed them on burlap with wet sponges to keep the humidity up. I have a unfinished room on the side of my house that I use as a "workshop" shed and that's where the incubator is located. I live in S.C and today it is 95 degrees and making its way up to over 100. I have a little giant incubator. Last night (day 29) I hear one single chirp. For the last three days when I look for a while I see a slight rocking (very slight) in only 2 or 3 of the 14 eggs. Both vents are open. I am confused & worried they won't make it. Slight movement seen from 1 today (day 30) so I don't want to give up. I need all of the advice I can get. I have 14 more hitting day 25 in 4 days & whatever I have done wrong I need to fix it before. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[JLeigh]

OrganicAG, I'd give it a couple of more days. The day you set your eggs, did you count that as day 1 or the next day as day 1. For example, if I set my eggs on Friday the 1st, then the day to start counting from is Saturday the 2nd. You may not be as off as you think. Regardless, I'd give it more time.

Have you been monitoring the humidity with a hygrometer? If so, what's the % been, and what is it now? It should be, like Peeps says, 70% or higher. The temperature should stay very stable at 99.5 degrees F from day 1 to hatch completion. The ambient temp can affect the incubator temp, but it's the temp in the incubator that counts.

If the hatch fails, don't be too distressed about it. Hatches are often not successful, or very successful the first time we try it. My first hatch was dismal, but my second hatch was four out of six eggs. Third hatch was excellent, fourth hatch average...

I'm in now way an expert though, and I'm sure the pros will pitch in and give more advice. Good luck! Let us know!

 

[they'reHISchickens]

Is 60% high enough for guinea hatching humidty? The chicken eggs are popping but the guineas are at day 28 and nothing yet. LARGE Old cabinet incubator that holds temp and humidity like magic, but not sure what to do to get higher humidity than the low 60s. I use lots of sponges already.

 

[PeepsCA]

Is 60% high enough for guinea hatching humidty? The chicken eggs are popping but the guineas are at day 28 and nothing yet. LARGE Old cabinet incubator that holds temp and humidity like magic, but not sure what to do to get higher humidity than the low 60s. I use lots of sponges already.

You might get away with 60% RH for hatching your Guinea eggs... but the higher the RH for hatch, the better, IMO/IMIE. Guinea egg shells and membranes are thick and tough, so the extra humidity helps the keets hatch easier. I've been hatching everything at 75-80% RH this season in my GQF cabinet hatcher, and everything's hatching great (Keets, Silkies, Peachicks and tons of Turkey poults).

Can you add a pan of water to your hatcher in addition to the wet sponges? You can cover it with hardware cloth or something if it keets might possibly go for a swim in it... the more surface area of the water exposed, the moe RH you get.

I also open up my hatcher and mist my eggs with a fine mist spray bottle a few times a day (I shut the fan off before I open the door tho).

 

[they'reHISchickens]

Reporting back to say they have been hatching the last three days. My humidity went up to the mid 60s. the last two were shrinkwrapped and I helped them a lot but made them take the last wrapping off themselves after soaking it soft. Last baby is still drying off but appears ok.
Makes me wonder what the next hatch will be like in 3 weeks when the outside nest pile of 42 eggs starts popping. We found the nest and moved them to the incubator. Of course, they have had a week of 60% humidity now after a night or two of soaking rains.
I will keep humidity in the 35-40% range and see what happens. Thank heavens we are using an old fashioned huge wood incubator that holds temp and humidity.

 

[JLeigh]

Bump that humidity up to 70-80% during lock-down and they won't shrink wrap as much. IMO, 60% for hatching is too risky. What's your temp?