I'm so nervous

[Henriettta]

Midnight marks day 21 w/chickens. I have 1 external pip, but no zipping yet. Oh how I want to check on them all. I've never used this incubator before.
Im so anxious. I saw some of the eggs rocking back and forth yesterday and today, which honestly I've never seen before. (In any eggs!)
It's been 12 hours since the first external pip, and no movement since then.
I have no idea what to expect. I normally just let my ladies brood (shrug), but I wanted an incubator for a long time.

Now I think back to everything I did wrong, haha. Like candling them so much & humidity fluctuations in the beginning.
AHHH

Would y'all wait with me? hahah

 

[TwoShepherds]

Hatching eggs is so fun (and exciting and stressful at the same time). I've hatched one set of quail eggs last Thanksgiving and just hatched my first set of chicken eggs last week. Good luck with your hatch! Be sure to post pictures!

 

[Henriettta]

Hatching eggs is so fun (and exciting and stressful at the same time). I've hatched one set of quail eggs last Thanksgiving and just hatched my first set of chicken eggs last week. Good luck with your hatch! Be sure to post pictures!

I'm watching this one like a HAWK (but not literally) hahaha

 

[Henriettta]

& to be clear, it is okay to open the lid to add water, correct? Like 5 seconds tops.

 

[Ebony Rose]

Twenty-four hours between pip and zip is not uncommon.

Breaking out of their shell is a lot of work, and the poor lil peepers often take long naps between their hard labor and also sleep quite a bit for a day or so after they finally break free of their shell.

Listen to their cheeps, confirming that they remain vigorous and strong and not dwindling off into a quiet murmur of exhaustion. Don't help them at all while they sound strong, and consider helping them if they become weak.

It's been my experience that helping chicks hatch often leads to a bird that remains weaker throughout their lifetime. If they're a meat bird, that might not be of too much concern as they're often processed between 6 weeks to 6 months of age, depending upon their breed. If however you're brooding these birds for eggs or to further breed for chicks in the future, you'll need to determine if you anticipate having the extra time to give extra attention to a bird throughout their lifetime when it is prone to illness or weakness.

 

[Henriettta]

Twenty-four hours between pip and zip is not uncommon.

Breaking out of their shell is a lot of work, and the poor lil peepers often take long naps between their hard labor and also sleep quite a bit for a day or so after they finally break free of their shell.

Listen to their cheeps, confirming that they remain vigorous and strong and not dwindling off into a quiet murmur of exhaustion. Don't help them at all while they sound strong, and consider helping them if they become weak.

It's been my experience that helping chicks hatch often leads to a bird that remains weaker throughout their lifetime. If they're a meat bird, that might not be of too much concern as they're often processed between 6 weeks to 6 months of age, depending upon their breed. If however you're brooding these birds for eggs or to further breed for chicks in the future, you'll need to determine if you anticipate having the extra time to give extra attention to a bird throughout their lifetime when it is prone to illness or weakness.

Great advice! Thank you! Is it okay to remove eggs to listen to chirps for a few seconds? Or only if there seems to be a problem, example: late external pip/zip?

 

[Artichoke Lover]

Great advice! Thank you! Is it okay to remove eggs to listen to chirps for a few seconds? Or only if there seems to be a problem, example: late external pip/zip?

Personally I would leave them unless there is a potential problem. Also once zipping starts it should be pretty quick none of mine took over an hour with zipping.

 

[Henriettta]

A baby!!!

 

[Henriettta]

None of my other eggs are even externally pipped yet, this must be my cheerleader

ETA: I was too quick to speak! I do have 1 that's externally pipped

 

[Aapomp831]

None of my other eggs are even externally pipped yet, this must be my cheerleader

ETA: I was too quick to speak! I do have 1 that's externally pipped

With each batch we did this year, one always hatched at least 24 hours before the others. Thank you Mother Nature for the yolk sac lol I was so stressed until these helpful folks explained to me that they can and should stay in there for at least 72 hours or until fluffed up