I should not open my bator while the hatch is going on?

[william9792]

in my wal-mart they are in the hardware section

 

[OrpingtonManor]

Quote:
I always wondered this when reading the threads on hatching. This is so helpful. thanks!!!

 

[Chicken Woman]

u don't need to open bator even if you are habd turning. You should be turning at least 4 times in 24 hours. if you put eggs in carton you can put something under the edge of the bator maybe 1 1/2 inchs to elevate and swith it to the other side 4 times a day istead of opening bator and turning individually.
In order to do this and not have water slosh out of trays you can lay paper towel in the trays to help hold the water.
After day 18 I do not open the bator until at least until day 23 or when you are SURE the hatch is finished.
Do you candle on day 18 to see if they are progressing. If you do then you will have a pretty good idea which ones you are deffinalty expecting to hatch.
Monitoring Hum. is just as important as monitoring temps.

 

[jvls1942]

I should not be hard to not open the bator after day 18 if you keep in mind that you are effectively killing those chicks that you just waited 3 weeks to hatch.. sure, you are excited , but what possible good reason is there to feel like you have to open the bator???

You have 18 days to make up your mind to not open the bator...

The reason that you found dead in the shell might be that they did not get enough oxygen..

Open all the air holes you can and still maintain temperature.. actually I do not have any of those plugs left..

in a couple of my bators, I even drilled extra holes..

to help keep temps up, do not set the bator directly on a concrete floor.. concrete draw heat out of anything..

just watch someone working with steel that heats up.. I and they just put it on the concrete floor to cool it quicker..

 

[warmfuzzies]

I had to open the incubator several times to maintain humidity, I had not gotten prepaired with a settup to add water through the top hole. I will be fixing that before next time!!

What do you do, a squirt bottle with a piece of tubing on it?

 

[Chicken Woman]

I made a very small whole in the side of the bator. Put small aquarium tubing thru it and layed it in the water tray . Layed paper towels rolled up in the tray and slipped the tubing in it. Each time I need ti add water I add warm to hot water with a syringe connected to the tubing on the outside of bator. You can buy the tubing(pet dept) and syring(pharmacy dept) at walmart for a total of about $5.

I always recalibrate my hygrometor several days before a hatch. I keep 2 combination temp/hygrometor in the bator and always put new batteries in them before each hatch.

I elevate bator on 2 wood pieces so that it is 2 inches off the table. The holes in the bottom of the bator can then draw in fresh room air.(thats what there in the bottom for.

It does help keep temp evenly distributed throughout the bator if you have a circulating fan. Then you will not have eggs in cool spots.
I also keep a humidifier on in the room as it is very dry climate in Montana. I keep a thermostatically controlled portable heater that comes on and off as needed to keep the room at 70. Having room temperatures going up and down will effect the temp in bator and your hatch.
Sounds like a lot of work but it's not as I get it all set up ahead of time and during the incubation and hatch i don't have to bother with much.
There's nothing wrong with using a cheap styrifoam bator as long as you set up the proper conditions. With shipped eggs I usually get anywhere from a 60 % to 80% hatch rate.

I keep my hum at 30-35 first 18 days and 60% to 70% after that.

I candle day 11 and 18.

Hope your hatch does well.

 

[Akane]

There is no harm opening the bator before day 18. I've candled daily and had high hatch rates. If I lose an egg after the first few days and before hatch I believe I did something wrong. They all usually make it and I open my bator 3 times a day to turn plus candling them frequently. It's only after day 18 you have to worry because the chicks are breaking the membrane and shell. If you don't keep the humidity up the membrane will be too hard to break or they will dry to the membrane and get stuck.

Humidity level is partially opinion, partially based on your incubator, and partially based on your climate. It takes a few hatches to know what works. Some people hatch fine after 30% humidity while incubating. Some hatch fine incubating at 60%. I found 45% is best for mine. Under 40% air cells were too large making it difficult for chicks to position and over 50% I have more that die before pipping the membrane from the extra moisture left in the egg. I usually raise humidity to 60-65% on day 18 and during hatch it will go up to 70% which is when I start pulling the vent plugs.

 

[tinners204]

Oh my gosh I have just had a hatch and i forgot to add water to raise the humidity for the last 2 days. I had a hatch rate of 85%, could have been better if I had been paying attention.I had not put any water in the incubator at all. So that means I dd a dry incubation.I had to get some of the chicks out of the shell because it was too dry but I still got a good hatch rate. I think everybody worries to much about all the basic's of hatching. You have to remember the hen get's off the nest to take care of what she has to do like eating and drinking.

 

[warmfuzzies]

What about if you have a chick die? You just leave it in there? My hatch has lasted four days and still going. Wouldnt it get yucky?

Also, I read on one of the university websites in the sticky on this section, that you should not leave the chicks in for more then 24 hours after they hatch. Not because they need to eat, but because they will get to hot and it harms the down.

That happened to one of mine, it is missing down on its back and their is more falling out. I think that is why. Sorry for all the questions, I just want to get this right!

 

[Chicken Woman]

I have left mine in for 36 hours as the hatch was long but I had to open the bator and sneek the 6 out because they keept getting thie back feathers snatched by the fan. One of them had a little bald spot that filled in quickly.