Hatching without a Hydrometer!

[itsmissbrianne]

Hello! I am hatching chicken eggs for the very first time. I have been incubating them in the HovaBator and am now on day 20. I have candled them a total of three times (On days 4, 10, and 18) and all but two of the eggs had a fully grown chick in the egg on day 18. None of the eggs have started pipping, rocking, or chirping. I am concerned that I do not have enough humidity. And as many would say to check the hydrometer, I do not have one! Again, this is my first time and I did not think everything through. For the first 18 days, I added 1 cup of water 2 times a week. And on the 18th day, I added 2 cups of water for Lockdown. Does that sound like enough water? Should I add more? If so, how much? And is it normal for the chicks to not be pipping yet?

 

[COsteveo]

It's hard to say without knowing the volume of the incubator, the surface area of the water, and the ambient humidity. At this point the best thing to do would be to just ride it out - having no pips on day 20 isn't too unusual.