How bad did I mess up?

[BarrettHatcheryNC]

I cannot believe what I did! I put eggs on the incubator and then a couple of days later while O was doing 10 other things I wrote out my hatching dates on my calendar - but I wrote them WRONG by 3 days.

So now - in my head I’m at day 21 but I just realized I’m at day 18. Which means I stopped turning at day 15. When I realized my mistake I turned and candled and I just don’t know for sure if I’m looking at live chicks in there.

How bad did I mess up? What are the chances any of these will hatch at this point given that the humidity has been high and they’ve barely been turned since day 15!?

Anyone have thoughts on this? Help and guidance would be appreciated.
Thanks!

 

[Kiki]

Turning isn't that important near the end so I wouldn't worry about turning AT ALL.

What is important is the temp and humidity.

Do not trust the reading of your bator next time get a Govee.
This 3 pack is worth the cost.
https://www.amazon.com/Govee-Hygrom...c4ad6f54c63c327eb6c11a03e7c6ba30&gad_source=1

 

[BarrettHatcheryNC]

Thank you! Buying it now

 

[Chicken_tiger_catt]

I cannot believe what I did! I put eggs on the incubator and then a couple of days later while O was doing 10 other things I wrote out my hatching dates on my calendar - but I wrote them WRONG by 3 days.

So now - in my head I’m at day 21 but I just realized I’m at day 18. Which means I stopped turning at day 15. When I realized my mistake I turned and candled and I just don’t know for sure if I’m looking at live chicks in there.

How bad did I mess up? What are the chances any of these will hatch at this point given that the humidity has been high and they’ve barely been turned since day 15!?

Anyone have thoughts on this? Help and guidance would be appreciated.
Thanks!

Do you have pictures of the eggs being candled?

 

[Debbie292d]

I always do a 5-day lockdown, but this batch, I'm doing a 6-day lockdown. The last week isn't important; it's the first two weeks that matter.

I wish you a great hatch!!

 

[BarrettHatcheryNC]

Do you have pictures of the eggs being candled?

I don’t but I can take a couple photos in the morning. When I candle I see a small air sac and the chick takes up a lot of the egg. I see veins and feathers here and there for sure

 

[BarrettHatcheryNC]

Here are some photos of two candles eggs. Two photos each. Today they have been on the incubator 18 days

 

[Chicken_tiger_catt]

Here are some photos of two candles eggs. Two photos each. Today they have been on the incubator 18 days

Oh, you should be fine. The second one is a little questionable, but the first egg is definitely still alive, and looks alright for a day 18- 19 egg.

 

[BarrettHatcheryNC]

Great! Thank you

 

[Ridgerunner]

while I was doing 10 other things I wrote out my hatching dates on my calendar - but I wrote them WRONG by 3 days.

I can appreciate that. Mistakes are easy to make though you will probably never do that again. Next time an easy way to check your counting is that the day of the week you start them is the day of the week the 21 days are up. If they go in the incubator on a Monday, the 21 days are up on a Monday.

How bad did I mess up? What are the chances any of these will hatch at this point given that the humidity has been high and they’ve barely been turned since day 15!?

During the first part of incubation turning is fairly important for a few different reasons. But after two weeks most of those reasons are no longer valid. I had a poultry science professor that specialized in chicken reproduction (a real expert) say that after 14 days chicken eggs do not need to be turned.

Anyone have thoughts on this?

The other part of lockdown is that you raise the humidity. It is important for the egg to lose a certain amount moisture before it hatches. Eggs lose moisture as they are being stored before incubation starts as well as during incubation. How much moisture they need to lose is a pretty wide window. You do not need to be that precise.

I don't know what your risk is to your specific eggs. Most, if not all, will probably be in that window and you will probably be OK but I can't give you any guarantees. Besides there is nothing you can do about it now anyway. It is what it is and you are likely to cause harm of you try to adjust anything.

Let us know how it goes. Good luck!