humidity ?

[5fowl]

I will admit after reading about all the things that can go wrong while hatching out I got a lilittle nervous about trying it. But now that I see those awesome candleing pictures I am all excited again. I have read that it is not necessary and possibly not good to be candling the eggs everyday. Is this true?

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I will admit after reading about all the things that can go wrong while hatching out I got a lilittle nervous about trying it. But now that I see those awesome candleing pictures I am all excited again. I have read that it is not necessary and possibly not good to be candling the eggs everyday. Is this true?

It's not neccessary, no. Like many things in incubating people have their own opinions as to wether or not you "should". I am a addicted candler. No matter how hard I try not to, I end up candleing, even if it's just 4 or 5 of the eggs...lol. I was told that as long as you are washing your hands before handling and are not keeping them out of the bator more than half an hour, you should not compromise your hatch even if you candle every day. The first week I only candle two or three times to check air cells, cause there's not really much to see. Once they start veining though, I can't help myself. I would say, I candled almost every night with my last hatch. I didn't candle every egg every night, but I needed a small fix...lol Plus I use the excuse: I do the dry incubation and need to keep an eye on my air cells.

Out of the 16 that went into lockdown 13 hatched I only lost two eggs to blood ring prior to lockdown and 1 refridgerated egg (experimental) that quit around day 5 or so.
Some people don't candle after setting them. Some do the recommended 10 days/14 days/18 days at lockdown. Some people feel you set the eggs and leave them alone until they all hatch. I'm a meddler. I'm impatient. I have to have a peek at what is going on!!!! I won't interfere with a hatcher unless I feel it's really neccessary, but I don't believe in not trying to help if I feel it's neccessary because nature should win out.
The facts are that every time you take an egg out of the bator you risk bacteria compromising the egg, the possibility of dropping the egg or dropping something on the egg. There is also a chance of handling to rough if a person is not gentle enough. Just like every time you get in a car you risk causing an accident or being in one, or getting the flu from someone in the store. There are more possibilities of something happening when you are "interacting" with the eggs, but that doesn't mean it will. You will find your comfort zone and what "risks" you are willing to take or not as you go along and you will find what is right for YOU and YOUR chicks.

 

[5fowl]

Okay I totally just feel like I got a Christmas present knowing I can candle everyday, just not every egg every day and if I remember to keep things sanitary, short and unbroken!!
Maybe I misunderstand this but I thought a blood ring happened early on in development. Maybe that is what you meant too. There can't be too much wrong with you takin a few extra peeks as a 81% hatch rate sounds pretty darn good to me!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Okay I totally just feel like I got a Christmas present knowing I can candle everyday, just not every egg every day and if I remember to keep things sanitary, short and unbroken!!
Maybe I misunderstand this but I thought a blood ring happened early on in development. Maybe that is what you meant too. There can't be too much wrong with you takin a few extra peeks as a 81% hatch rate sounds pretty darn good to me!

Yes, the two with blood rings were in the first 10 days, actually the first week I believe is when I found and removed mine.

 

[ChickenLegs13]

I dry hatch and when the humidity drops into the teens I add water. I don't know if I really *need to* or not, just the way I do it.
I don't measure or check the air cells because I hatch too many eggs for that to be practical.
I don't candle quail eggs but I try to candle chicken eggs around day 10 or so and toss the bad ones then again just before lockdown and toss the bad ones again. I don't want to take any chances with a stinker busting and fouling my hatch. Notice I said try to because lots of times I load the bator and forget about it until I hear chicks peeping and realize the turner is still on and the humidity is still at 40-50%. Low humidity during lockdown doesn't seem to affect the hatching process but it will dehydrate the chicks if they're not quickly removed from the bator, especially tiny quail chicks. I like to leave chicks in the bator for at least 24 hours.
If your chicks are crusty I'd say the humidity was too high the first 18 days. When they hatch they will be wet but shouldn't be slimy & gooey.