Humidity question - unsure of how far along exactly eggs are

[ashbequick]

We came across so many chicken eggs on accident. My husband picked up some farm eggs and turned out (when making breakfast an hour later ) many of them were developing embryos so we of course lost the one that made us discover this.

We had always talked about raising chickens on our property but never pulled the trigger to make it happen. Now, it’s fallen in our lap.

Completely new to this, we did our research… safe to say it’s been trial and error. We for sure have 7 viable embryos and movement with each of the 7. We picked up an incubator from TSC.

As far as hatching day… we don’t know for certain how far along the chicks are. We took our best guess based on websites and photos but surely could be off by 1-3 days. We believe today to be Day 13 (& have the incubator set to that) but could also be day 16.

Right now the incubator is set to 99.5* and 52% humidity.

I understand day 18 is supposed to start *lockdown* but what if we’re off by 3 days?

Thank you!!

 

[IvysAnimals]

Chicks take 21-25 days to hatch if everything is done correctly. By seeing what you're saying, the chicks are probably somewhere between 1 and 1/2- 2 maybe hitting 3-ish weeks. the temp can be 99.5-100.5 degrees F. The best is to keep it at 99.5 or 100. F. Humidity should be around 50% and bumped up to 60% the last three days before the hatch date - day 21. If you're able to candle them and get pictures, that would be very helpful in saying about lockdown! Make sure to get an egg turner or manually turn them 3-8 times a day so they don't stick to the egg. In the last 3 days ( lockdown day ) you need to stop turning them and put them on their side. DO NOT open the incubator on lockdown, until most have hatched and none are pipping. You can put a bowl of water inside so humidity doesn't drop. Chicks can stay in the incubator for up to 72 hours but should be no more than 48 so they won't get dehydrated. Make sure no chicks are pipping and all hatched chicks are dry before you take them out and into a brooder. The chicks brooder should be a heat plate specially made for chicks or a heat lamp. Be careful with heat lamps, they can catch things on fire, especially when you have wood chips and chicks in a brooder. Make sure the brooder is close to them, but not burning them. As they get older, you can then move the lamp or heat plate further away and eventually take it out when they have almost all their feathers. Use pine shavings as their bedding and provide them with warm water ( cold can shock them and possibly kill them ) and chick starter feed. As they get older, they will try to fly more so you might need a small hole wiring around the area but be careful that it's not big enough for them to get hurt to stuck in. Make sure to do more research on their behavior and what it means since you'll definitely see lots of it, when they can go outside, the right and proper coop for them, their adult feed, egg info, male to female ratio, any possible problems with them as chicks and adults, predator proofing areas of the coop to keep them safe, and more! Good luck!!! I wish well on everything for you guys and the chicks!

 

[Josh_M]

ashbequick -- waiting on pics and and update!