Im a newbie to it all HELP!!

[Widderpincess12]

OK I have a few questions....Im so new to this...I put my eggs in the incubator on Sunday the 22nd. I don't remember how many I put in there I think close to 12. most are Rhode Island reds and sex link hens, my rooster is a frizzle hah gonna be fuzzy chickies I hope....

We want them for eggs and such and as pets....my question is lastnight my kids and I candled some eggs, I saw like 6-7 and I can see the chick and the red blood vessels and in others I can see a darker spot but no blood vessels....should I be worried??? I put them all in at the same time my incubator is a little giant, its not a auto turner so my kids and I have been turning them 3 times a day, they are on their sides....is that a issue?? my temp is 99.5-99.8 however one day is got to 110 for a an hour or so, before my bf caught it and fixed it, my humidity is a 50-55%. would today be considered day 6? or day 5?....

are my chicks ok to hatch in the incubator?? I work 8-5 mon thru fri so If they hatched at home while im working I wouldn't know.....my bf works graveyard so hes home but sleeps...
another question, when they are starting the hatch whats the difference between PIP? and hatching??? Why can you not open the lid until they are completely done hatching???

thanks so much and sorry for all the questions...this is my first batch lol

 

[ChickenCanoe]

As long as you have an accurate thermometer, which it seems you have, don't worry too much. The 110 for even a brief period would worry me. The chicks can stay in the incubator for up to a day or so - again, no worries.
You don't count the first day so they're on day 5. A full day of incubation is day 1. That means if you set them on a Friday, they hatch on a Friday.
Hatch is completely out of the egg. An internal pip is when they penetrate the inner membrane. A pip is the first crack in the shell. It will be a tiny bulge.

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Hi

Here are some candling pics for you to take a look at to compare your eggs too https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=230

The ones with no blood vessels could possibly be infertile and you may only be seeing yolk. Turning as you are is perfectly fine an odd number of times per day. The 110 temp could be an issue too high and it can kill an embryo very quickly. Thankfully it was only an hour and hopefully your eggs should be ok as you caught it. The usual incubation temps are 99.5f for a forced air (fan) incubator and 101-102f for a still air with the temp being measured at the top of the eggs for still air.

I like 45% humidty day 1-18 and at least 65% at lockdown for hatch. Humidty needs to be an average over the entire incubation period in order for the eggs to lose enough moisture and the air sac to grow large enough. Short term variations should be ok as long as the average ok.

You are on day 5 day 1 starts after a full 24 hours of incubation. So day 1 would have been the 23rd for your eggs.

Chicks are fine to hatch in the incubator and are ok to stay in for upto three days or till hatch is complete. They live of the yolk they absorb prior to hatching.
Opening the incubator affects humidty and could shrink wrap the chicks in the egg. This may or may not happen they are your eggs and you have to decide. They need high humidity to hatch.
A pip is a small crack in the shell they make to let more oxygen in. From this little crack/hole they can be upto 24 hours before zipping round the egg and hatching.

This is a pip in the above pic

This is a zip as the chicks is just about to hatch.

Hope this helps you a little and feel free to ask any more questions. Everyone here to help.

 

[dorpersheep]

Hi and welcome to the madness!!!!

I let my humidity during incubation travel a range from 20%-50% (I am in middle of a very dry Australian summer so our air is super dry right now). If I didn't keep topping up water almost daily during incubation it would drop to about 5% on its own. When I add water it reacts strongly and rushes up to 50% or more, so I just let it cycle back down, it is the average that counts. Then during 'lockdown' (day 18-end) I fill the channels in my hatcher add a small tub of water as extra, and shut the lid. That gets it up to about 75%, once chicks start hatching it goes over 80% most times.

Your eggs sound good the ones with obvious veins at day 5, I would not drop the others until day 9-10 if they are still not showing any clear development, it is likely they were not fertile, or stopped developing almost straight away - this is normal and does happen all the time, it's not that you've done anything wrong. I usually don't worry about candleing until day 10 or so as it is much clearer then what is going on - but it is SO hard waiting that long!!!

They will be fine in the incubator at hatch, remember to stop turning them on day 18 or thereabouts, they can go easily for 2-3 days without food or water when they emerge. When hatch is done and you take them out you need to give each chick a drink then pop them in the brooder, they will soon work out how this food & water thing works. Amazing how fast they are self-reliant (about 5 minutes!!) Just make sure you have a very shallow dish for water at least early on, it seems half our hatches think they are ducks and try to go swimming in their water bowls for the first few day.....or maybe they are just complaining about our hot weather and are trying to cool off?

Again, welcome aboard, ask all the questions you have - it's a pretty sure bet there is someone reading in the background who wants to know the exact same thing!!

Cheers, Cate

 

[Widderpincess12]

As long as you have an accurate thermometer, which it seems you have, don't worry too much. The 110 for even a brief period would worry me. The chicks can stay in the incubator for up to a day or so - again, no worries.
You don't count the first day so they're on day 5. A full day of incubation is day 1. That means if you set them on a Friday, they hatch on a Friday.
Hatch is completely out of the egg. An internal pip is when they penetrate the inner membrane. A pip is the first crack in the shell. It will be a tiny bulge.

thank you so much!!!

 

[Widderpincess12]

okay fantastic!!!

Yeah I was freaking out because my humidity would drop to 40% and id rush and try and put a sponge in for a few mins LOL is that okay if it drops like that??? I just want my first time to be successful LOL ....I started with 4 hens, than got 4 more and we had them just for eggs, now I have 17 hens and 1 rooster...LOL....we have them for eggs but my friends want chicks now so Im hoping I can get some healthy batches and allow my friends to have some chicks...my kids already each claimed one each...

another question, if I get a rooster is it OK to keep him with my other hens, what if he breeds his mom? However I don't know what hen laid what egg...
is that a issue??? cause I planned on keeping a Rooster, also how can you sex the chicks? how soon can you and when?

so what your also saying is leave them all alone until like day 23 and than open the incubator to play with the chicks??? because of shrink wrapping them???

thanks so much!

my boyfriend thinks im crazy LOL my incubator is in my kitchen on a stand so I keep a close eye on them...than chickies will go in my bathroom with a light and such....

thank you everyone so much!!

 

[phishless13]

Glad people are helping and giving advice but try googling your questions. They have all been asked and answered before. I know this because I also had alot to learn. Most times when you google your questions you will notice the answers are more often than not, found on BYC with the link. Keep reading and let the obsession begin....

 

[Widderpincess12]

Okay I put my eggs in Feb 15 which means they are due to hatch March 16th....Correct? I can see my chicks moving around in there!!! So fun!!! and exciting., So when I do Lockdown.....and I have to pump up humidity how do I do so without opening the incubator? I have to put a sponge in there...and do I leave my plugs out??? or in ? when is it SAFE to open the incubator and should I put water in there for the chicks????? im so excited~~~

 

[Widderpincess12]

Sorry Feb 22nd is when they went in LOL not the `15th

 

[farnorth]

Okay I put my eggs in Feb 15 which means they are due to hatch March 16th....Correct? I can see my chicks moving around in there!!! So fun!!! and exciting., So when I do Lockdown.....and I have to pump up humidity how do I do so without opening the incubator? I have to put a sponge in there...and do I leave my plugs out??? or in ? when is it SAFE to open the incubator and should I put water in there for the chicks????? im so excited~~~

On day 19, which I think for you will be about March 13.....put in some small jars of water with sponges sticking up out of them or something similar. It's okay to open the bator to put this in. Don't put in any water container that a chick will be able to climb into and get wet....they stumble all over the place just after they hatch and you don't want them drowing or spilling water everywhere....I use 2 little jelly jars with a sponge sticking up out of them...I put these in 2 corners they are heavy enough and tall enough that the chicks can't move or spill them or climb into them.

No you don't have to put drinking water in the incubator for the chicks. They don't actually need food or water for 2 to 3 days after they hatch they are still absorbing the last of their yolk inside their stomach. .

I give them their first food and water after I bring them out of the incubator and into the brooder though even though they don't technically need it the first day...they will eat and drink if it's provided.