How do you survive the last few days?!

kg5

Hatching
Jun 4, 2017
13
5
9
I'm on day 20 (as of 4pm) and my nerves are shot!
This is my first hatch and I am SO nervous. Was my temperature and humidity right? Is it still right? Did I candle too much? Too little? Should I have weighed them or trusted the candling? Are the air sacs the right size? Are they going to drown or be shrink wrapped? SO MANY VARIABLES. When I candled on day 18 they were all on track. I haven't heard any peeping or seen any movement, but I'm also not staring at it ALL day. I know that time will tell but this is so hard!
 
I'm on day 20 (as of 4pm) and my nerves are shot!
This is my first hatch and I am SO nervous. Was my temperature and humidity right? Is it still right? Did I candle too much? Too little? Should I have weighed them or trusted the candling? Are the air sacs the right size? Are they going to drown or be shrink wrapped? SO MANY VARIABLES. When I candled on day 18 they were all on track. I haven't heard any peeping or seen any movement, but I'm also not staring at it ALL day. I know that time will tell but this is so hard!
Sounds Normal for a first timer. I just leave them alone and wait for them to hatch. As far as weighing----I have hatched around 10,000 in the last 3 years and have Never weighed one, BUT I do keep my moisture in check. If your incubator temp is correct and today is day 20, you should be seeing some pips through the window. I usually have several hatched late day 20 and the rest early day 21 and maybe a few late ones a little later on day 21. If you counted the day you set them in the incubator as Day "0" and the next day as day "1" you are on track.
 
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They went in around 4pm on May 16th. This is the chart from that one recommended website...



Sounds Normal for a first timer. I just leave them alone and wait for them to hatch. As far as weighing----I have hatched around 10,000 in the last 3 years and have Never weighed one, BUT I do keep my moisture in check. If your incubator temp is correct and today is day 20, you should be seeing some pips through the window. I usually have several hatched late day 20 and the rest early day 21 and maybe a few late ones a little later on day 21. If you counted the day you set them in the incubator as Day "0" and the next day as day "1" you are on track.
 
So wait, according to the chart it's day 20, but if the day they went in was 0 it's actually only day 19?


Sounds Normal for a first timer. I just leave them alone and wait for them to hatch. As far as weighing----I have hatched around 10,000 in the last 3 years and have Never weighed one, BUT I do keep my moisture in check. If your incubator temp is correct and today is day 20, you should be seeing some pips through the window. I usually have several hatched late day 20 and the rest early day 21 and maybe a few late ones a little later on day 21. If you counted the day you set them in the incubator as Day "0" and the next day as day "1" you are on track.
 
So wait, according to the chart it's day 20, but if the day they went in was 0 it's actually only day 19?
Most all of "US" go by full days, some charts do say you are in the first day but it does not become a Full day until 24hrs has past, So---if you put them in at 1pm---the next day at 1 pm is a Full day, the next day at 1pm is 2 full days. So you might want to go by what we most all use so we can be on the same page. If today is day 19 then----look and listen tomorrow evening and hope you see some pips and some beginning to hatch. Good Luck
 
So that means I stopped rotating and increased humidity on day 17. Oops!
 
They should still be OK. But yes - if you put the eggs in on let's say a Monday, then Day 1 would be Tuesday. I just mark it on my calendar when I set my eggs (under a broody hen these past few years - much easier than an incubator). If I set my hen on Monday, I count three Mondays, and the third should be my hatch date. The same with an incubator, but those have more chances of variations in temperature, so there is more chance of a hatch happening a little earlier or later.
 
I bought a dozen ? fetilized eggs ove rthe internet and got a Hovabator. I set them all in (excluding cracked) 24 hrs after they arrived. I candled, and determined there were definitely some fertile ones. i had trouble seeing through the dark ones. I then determined at about day 14 that I should get rid of the unfertile ones . I made this mistake and opened one fully formed beautiful but too small chick embryo ( I was pretty upset at myself) . Last Wednesday was day 21 . No chicks. Finally 1 chick day 23. Another started day 24. ( I had not increased humidity - I think this was a fatal error) after 30 hrs, she could not get out - needless to say she died today. So now I have one beautiful loud little chick, one gone too early at my hands , and one that was fully formed but too weak. I have seen two other 10 eggs move- and I have now increased the humidity. Today is day 25 - is there hope at all? What should I do?
 
:welcome

With the slow development you're describing, I think your temperature was too low during incubation.

Under ideal circumstances (just right temperature and humidity), the chicks will start hatching around day 21 and all that are going to hatch will have done so within about 24 hours. (This is more likely when using a broody than an incubator. After all, she's preset with perfect temp and humidity.) If there are no more signs of life - peeping coming from the eggs, pips or rocking eggs I would dispose of them. Whether you open them or not is up to you. This far past the hatch date, I don't think any more will be hatching.
 

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