Help! Day 18 troubles...

[chickyrookie]

If it looks steamy in there i would say your humidity should be high enough... but i’m new, so what do the rest think of this?

Are any of them pipping yet? If not, can’t you check egg by egg to see which one is the stinky one? You don’t want that thing exploding and contaminating your incubator...

Crossing my fingers for a successfull hatch anyway!

I would check them out but everything I read says, "DON'T open the lid." If you think I should, I will. I hope I could sniff out the rotten egg.

 

[Pyxis]

I would check them out but everything I read says, "DON'T open the lid." If you think I should, I will. I hope I could sniff out the rotten egg.

Oh, you can open the lid. The hysteria around not opening the lid ever is totally unfounded. I am in and out of incubators all the time during hatching. It never causes trouble. If the humidity goes back up after it's opened, then it won't cause any problems.

Opening the incubator will not instantly ruin your hatch and kill your chicks. While you shouldn't be opening the incubator willy-nilly or for no reason at all, if you have a good reason to, like an injured chick or the humidity has gotten too low and the troughs need to be refilled with water, or to remove chicks to the brooder, then by all means open it. Just make sure that the humidity goes back up quickly afterwards. To facilitate this, you can place a warm wet paper towel in the incubator after you close it. And try to be quick when opening the incubator for any reason.

The only thing opening the incubator may cause is the chicks getting stuck in the eggs because the membrane dried to them. While this is best avoided, it is not fatal if proper help is given to the chick, and there's very little chance of this happening if you open the incubator quickly and get the humidity right back up afterwards.

And until your chicks actually externally pip, there isn't even a danger of the above happening.

So I would open it, find the source of the stink, and if it's an egg, remove it immediately. The last thing you want is a rotten egg exploding in your incubator during lockdown, and that is a distinct possibility.

 

[Hyroler]

Easiest way to increase humidity wet a cloth and spread it out on bottom of incubator.You can set eggs right on top of cloth.make sure water is very warm

 

[happyhouse3]

We did our first hatch last year and had a similar experience. I was sooo stressed out! We were turning them twice per day by hand, moving them from this end to that end of the incubator until the fan arrived, the humidity was a complete guessing game, etc. We lost some, but we could tell which ones were stinking. With the temp going below minimum so often from constantly turning and trying to keep heat exposure even, I thought for sure no one was coming out of those eggs! So, I bought chicks from Tractor Supply... Then the eggs hatched! I'm wishing you luck, chickyrookie. How the heck a bird does it outside is beyond me! Please let us know how it goes!

 

[chickyrookie]

I'm wishing you luck, chickyrookie. How the heck a bird does it outside is beyond me! Please let us know how it goes!

So, I added some more water to the sponge and I splashed some drops on the eggs. Is that going to be okay? Also, how will I know which egg is stinking? Will it smell even if there doesn't seem to be a leak or crack?

After all my efforts, my humidity is only 42% I mean, seriously, I ducked tape the sides and added a humidifier next to the darn thing.

I'm going to try adding a wet towel and search for Mr. Smelly. Wish me luck. It's day 20.
Should I see small movement with my eggs as chicks get into position? Assuming that they're alive in there.

 

[chickyrookie]

So I opened lid, searched for Mr. Smelly, and added two soaked towels. Let's keep fingers crossed. It's day 20, so it's probably too late.

I think I found the smelly egg. I picked them all up and they had an odor from Mr. Smelly sitting in there. One in particular was quite stronger. I took it out and set aside outside. I hope I'm right, or else I just murdered a potential hatchling. This is so stressful.

 

[lazy gardener]

So I opened lid, searched for Mr. Smelly, and added two soaked towels. Let's keep fingers crossed. It's day 20, so it's probably too late.

I think I found the smelly egg. I picked them all up and they had an odor from Mr. Smelly sitting in there. One in particular was quite stronger. I took it out and set aside outside. I hope I'm right, or else I just murdered a potential hatchling. This is so stressful.

You have done the right thing by checking and removing the smelly egg. Did you check each and every single egg? When doing the sniff test, it's best to only do a few at a time, and sniff a pleasant aromatic scent between testing for stinkers. I use lemon or mint essential oil. This helps to get the stink out of my nasal passages before moving on to the next egg. Obviously, if you have sniffed 3 or 4 and not found a stinker, you can proceed. But if you find a stinker, clear your nasal passages before moving on to sniff the rest of the clutch.

I am concerned about your humidity and your equipment. Did you candle all eggs and mark air cells before going into lock down? How did they compare to the air cell charts?

Exactly how did you calibrate your thermometer and hygrometer? No matter why you buy your thermometer and hygrometer, or how much you spend on them, even if they are built into your bator, you can't consider them to be accurate until you've done a calibration. I calibrate all thermometers against a known guaranteed accurate medical grade thermometer in water at 100*F. Salt test needs to be done for your hygrometer. My eggs are incubated at 30 - 40* humidity. I use jars of water with sponge in the water. (home made bator) Even if I was using a purchased bator with troughs, I'd not choose to use the troughs through the incubation period b/c IMO, they can be a huge source of bacterial growth.

 

[chickyrookie]

I am concerned about your humidity and your equipment. Did you candle all eggs and mark air cells before going into lock down? How did they compare to the air cell charts?

Exactly how did you calibrate your thermometer and hygrometer? No matter why you buy your thermometer and hygrometer, or how much you spend on them, even if they are built into your bator, you can't consider them to be accurate until you've done a calibration. .

Calibrate? I just followed what the manual said, so I guess I didn't calibrate. I have an electric temp/humidifier in the mail, but I'm going to Tractor Supply to get one now. It's day 20, so it's probably too late.

I candled the eggs often, but did not mark the air sac (now I know). I know they were developing b/c I saw the veins and growing air sac and it got to where I couldn't see inside anymore. I just don't know if they're still viable. Ahhhhhh!!

 

[lazy gardener]

Before you attempt incubation again, please read ALL of "Hatching Eggs 101" in the learning center. It's a lot to read, and IMO, it should be required reading for anyone attempting to incubate eggs. IMO, the material that comes with your incubator would best serve it's purpose by being tossed in the wood stove. Especially when it comes to recommended humidity levels. The compilation of articles in HE101 is a lot of reading, but it is research based. While there may be a few articles that don't pertain to you, you will find that by reading ALL of it, you will glean so much useful knowledge. I've been hatching for 5 years in home made bators. Every single spring, before I plug in a bator, I review that material, and refer to it often during the incubation process.

 

[WRXFamily]

Before you attempt incubation again, please read ALL of "Hatching Eggs 101" in the learning center. It's a lot to read, and IMO, it should be required reading for anyone attempting to incubate eggs. IMO, the material that comes with your incubator would best serve it's purpose by being tossed in the wood stove. Especially when it comes to recommended humidity levels. The compilation of articles in HE101 is a lot of reading, but it is research based. While there may be a few articles that don't pertain to you, you will find that by reading ALL of it, you will glean so much useful knowledge. I've been hatching for 5 years in home made bators. Every single spring, before I plug in a bator, I review that material, and refer to it often during the incubation process.

I cannot agree with this more. I read the BYC guide to incubation and it was a lifesaver. It should absolutely be required. I would also highly recommend
https://www.raising-happy-chickens.com/
Both were a total life saver while incubating. It sounds like a lot of this could've been avoided by researching before starting.