Having no luck :( *A few possibly graphic pictures*

[JessB]

My humidity is at 55-60% !!! And the eggs are up to 36.5 ! They're going in the right direction


Is it okay to have both eggs in "lockdown" like that? even though one is supposed to hatch monday/tuesday and the other wednesday/thursday?

 

[Silkies~Polishes]

Yup it's fine. It's just as if a set of eggs is due to hatch a certain day, but some are later than others.

 

[lizanne]

Yeah! Just make sure that you have holes in the incubator so the eggs get enough oxygen. As for the hatching dates. You start "day 1" when you start incubating them, not when the hen laid them. So if you collect eggs for a week, then put them all in, they are all on day one.

 

[Partyfowl]

Interesting... A challenge for sure. Looks like your doing a great job!

 

[JessB]

Ok. so! I was in a rush yesterday to make it to the comic expo, so didn't have time to post. But! When I checked them yesterday morning, the humidity was holding at about 60%, one egg was at 37.9 (the one that laid April 11) and when I candled it, there was movement, so I put him RIGHT back where he was. The other was at 42.5 I'm thinking it's because he was too close to the middle of the heat lamp, but when I candled him last night there's movement, but it doesn't look like its "alive" movement. It looks pretty dark and gooey.

This morning I checked them again. I had sprayed the towl down last night, and this morning the humidity is sitting at 65-70%. A11 egg still has movement, so I'm going to attempt 'lockdown'? Where I don't touch him? He was perfect at 37.6, the othe egg, A9 also read 37.6 finally! But I worry that he might have passed and turned to goop. When I candled the egg it looked like the blood vessels were parting away from the top half of the egg, it was very strange to see. But there also seems to be a LOT of clear liquid in the egg. I'll have to try to take a picture when I get home, it just seems so strange.

Anyhow, wanted to give you guys an update.

Thanks so much for your support and encouragement, and advice! You guys are great

 

[lizanne]

Ok. so! I was in a rush yesterday to make it to the comic expo, so didn't have time to post. But! When I checked them yesterday morning, the humidity was holding at about 60%, one egg was at 37.9 (the one that laid April 11) and when I candled it, there was movement, so I put him RIGHT back where he was. The other was at 42.5 I'm thinking it's because he was too close to the middle of the heat lamp, but when I candled him last night there's movement, but it doesn't look like its "alive" movement. It looks pretty dark and gooey.

This morning I checked them again. I had sprayed the towl down last night, and this morning the humidity is sitting at 65-70%. A11 egg still has movement, so I'm going to attempt 'lockdown'? Where I don't touch him? He was perfect at 37.6, the othe egg, A9 also read 37.6 finally! But I worry that he might have passed and turned to goop. When I candled the egg it looked like the blood vessels were parting away from the top half of the egg, it was very strange to see. But there also seems to be a LOT of clear liquid in the egg. I'll have to try to take a picture when I get home, it just seems so strange.

Anyhow, wanted to give you guys an update.

Thanks so much for your support and encouragement, and advice! You guys are great

That's great!! What day did you start incubating the eggs? I would leave all the eggs in during lock-down (unless they are smelly or leaking) just in case. Some times they look dark because the chick is so big that you really can't see anything.

 

[JessB]

I put the one egg that I think has passed in April 9, same day it was laid. The other was put in April 11, same idea. Same day it was laid. There's clear liquid rolling around and mixing with dark liquid in the A9 egg, sounds awful: but it reminds me of when rain drops rush into a murky puddle and the 2 different liquids mix around. It reminds me of that. The other one I think is doing well. The blood vessels look like they're starting to pull away from the wall but there's one VERY big vessel that I can see attached to the shell wall and moving inside, so I think that might be the one attacked to his belly? I'll try to get pictures, but the iPhone just doesn't do justice

 

[JessB]

Okee Doke. So.. The picture quality is awful. I really wish iphones or even cameras for that matter would take pictures the way we see them. But I tried to show how in A11, the blood vessels are pulling away from the pointy end of the egg. The last couple pictures are of the air pocket.

Thoughts? I can still see him moving around inside although not nearly as lively as he was. AND I should point out he was hardly moved/rolled at all, the iphone apparently changes which way it thinks is up so it looks like I'm holding him on the air sac when really he's lying flat on his side.

 

[lizanne]

I think they look fine. There is clear fluid (egg white), yolk, and a chick in there, so you are going to see dark and light. A blood ring inside the egg would tell you the chick had died. It looks like you're doing a great job!!

 

[JessB]

Sigh. So the egg was fine last night. Now, nothing. No movement, now vessels, no feathers, just liquid. I don't understand what's happening. The humidity has been at about 60-65 for the past 3 days. And his heat was 37.5, but I increased to 39 cause I heard that's what you're supposed to increase the heat a bit in the last few days... Did I melt this one? I think I better leave these eggs to the chickens. I'm clearly not meant to be a chicken mama.