Help! Advice needed please.

[KittyCat13]

Hi, I could really do with some advice please!

I've had some fertile eggs under a broody light sussex and all seemed to be going well, a couple of the eggs started pipping yesterday afternoon so I was hoping for chicks this morning when I checked on her.

Sadly she had crushed and killed the two chicks halfway though hatching It was horrid and I feel awful. I don't think she did it on purpose, she's a big, heavy bird and it was her first time brooding eggs.

The trouble is, there were two eggs still under her, one of which I can hear very loud peeping coming from. I've got a little Brinsea mini advance incubator which I've popped then in, but it's already got 7 Brahma eggs in and they have only been in there since Monday!

I've turned the auto-turn off, added more water and put the hatching disk in, but I'm guessing the incubator needs to be on lockdown now. Will my Brahma eggs be ok with increased humidity and not being turned for a day or so? It would be a shame to lose them but the ones close to hatching need to come first!

 

[LaurEliz]

I would think that the Brahma eggs would be okay for a short while with increased humidity. Also, in all honesty, I have opened the incubator to assist a chick that was completely stuck in its shell (it had zipped the egg fully but the membrane had dried, even though all other eggs in the same condition did fine on their own, no drying issues, the incubator hadn't been opened at all at that point, had monitored humidity all day and it was fine, no idea what happened) and three other chicks hatched just fine after the incubator was opened and two had hatched before it, still in the incubator, and they were fine too. I think if you work quickly and nobody has pipped in the moment you open the incubator, you could probably still turn your Brahma eggs.

I've heard that for the most part humidity is just about keeping it a good level on average over the span of the entire incubation, so I don't think that a couple days with higher humidity would be too bad.

 

[KittyCat13]

I would think that the Brahma eggs would be okay for a short while with increased humidity. Also, in all honesty, I have opened the incubator to assist a chick that was completely stuck in its shell (it had zipped the egg fully but the membrane had dried, even though all other eggs in the same condition did fine on their own, no drying issues, the incubator hadn't been opened at all at that point, had monitored humidity all day and it was fine, no idea what happened) and three other chicks hatched just fine after the incubator was opened and two had hatched before it, still in the incubator, and they were fine too. I think if you work quickly and nobody has pipped in the moment you open the incubator, you could probably still turn your Brahma eggs.

I've heard that for the most part humidity is just about keeping it a good level on average over the span of the entire incubation, so I don't think that a couple days with higher humidity would be too bad.

Thank you for replying that gives me hope for the Brahma eggs, fingers crossed!

I can't hear any cheeping coming from the eggs any more but hopefully they are just having a break, hatching must be so tiring! I've hatched chicks under broody hens before but this is my time using an incubator. I'm having to resist the urge to just sit staring at the eggs all day!

 

[LaurEliz]

Thank you for replying that gives me hope for the Brahma eggs, fingers crossed!

I can't hear any cheeping coming from the eggs any more but hopefully they are just having a break, hatching must be so tiring! I've hatched chicks under broody hens before but this is my time using an incubator. I'm having to resist the urge to just sit staring at the eggs all day!

I only heard cheeping from one of mine before they stuck their little beaks through the shell, so hopefully yours is still fine too. I know they definitely take many breaks between hatching. It is quite the tiring process!

 

[KittyCat13]

Both eggs have now pipped hopefully we'll have some chicks soon!

 

[KittyCat13]

Not the best photo, but we have a chick! It's a silver Dorking x Indian game, just waiting for the light Sussex x IG now, it's pipped but isn't in such a hurry to make an appearance.

The little chick is doing it's best to turn the other eggs for me by storming round the incubator!