Incubating and hatching eggs

[Cjsmamacita]

Help please. My broody hen decided on day 20 she didn’t want to sit on the eggs anymore. So I quickly made a homemade incubator with a box and heat lamp using a video I saw on YouTube. Last night one egg pipped and the chick was hatched this afternoon. There are 4 eggs left. In 2 I definitely hear the chick and I think a third as well. It’s been about 28 hours since the first egg pipped. Should the others have started by now? I’m worried that I hear them in there and maybe they can’t get out. Temperature is staying around 90 and humidity is bouncing between 53-60. I just added an additional dish with a wet paper towel to try to raise humidity a bit more as I read 60-65 is best. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I know it’s had to do it this way but I couldn’t stand that they were 1 day out and am hoping my efforts are worth it.

 

[R2elk]

Help please. My broody hen decided on day 20 she didn’t want to sit on the eggs anymore. So I quickly made a homemade incubator with a box and heat lamp using a video I saw on YouTube. Last night one egg pipped and the chick was hatched this afternoon. There are 4 eggs left. In 2 I definitely hear the chick and I think a third as well. It’s been about 28 hours since the first egg pipped. Should the others have started by now? I’m worried that I hear them in there and maybe they can’t get out. Temperature is staying around 90 and humidity is bouncing between 53-60. I just added an additional dish with a wet paper towel to try to raise humidity a bit more as I read 60-65 is best. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I know it’s had to do it this way but I couldn’t stand that they were 1 day out and am hoping my efforts are worth it.

Try to get the temperature up around 98° to 99°F. Ninety is too cool and can cause the hatch to drag on and is not good for the chicks. It is not uncommon for chicken eggs that have been set on by a chicken to hatch over a period of days since they aren't all normally laid yet by the time she starts sitting.

If you manage to get the temperature up closer to where it should be, it will require more surface area of water to keep the humidity up.

Good luck.

 

[Cjsmamacita]

Try to get the temperature up around 98° to 99°F. Ninety is too cool and can cause the hatch to drag on and is not good for the chicks. It is not uncommon for chicken eggs that have been set on by a chicken to hatch over a period of days since they aren't all normally laid yet by the time she starts sitting.

If you manage to get the temperature up closer to where it should be, it will require more surface area of water to keep the humidity up.

Good luck.

Thank you! I will work on that.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Agreed. Your issue may be the heat source. Heat lamps are infrared which heat what they are aimed at and not the ambient air. You need either an incandescent or halogen bulb that will emanate heat to the whole box.
They are obviously fully developed but 90 is way too cool even at this stage.

 

[Cjsmamacita]

Agreed. Your issue may be the heat source. Heat lamps are infrared which heat what they are aimed at and not the ambient air. You need either an incandescent or halogen bulb that will emanate heat to the whole box.
They are obviously fully developed but 90 is way too cool even at this stage.

Thank you.

 

[Cjsmamacita]

I lost my first chick in the night last night, but woke up to another pipped egg. It has been about 19 hours since first pip with hardly any change. I can hear peeps from in the egg. Is there anything I need to do? I don’t want to assist unless it’s necessary as I know it’s best not to. I have the temp up to 97 with 59-61 humidity. I’m tryin fro get the humidity up some more. I read 65 is optimal. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Whatever you can do to increase surface area of the water/moisture will raise humidity.
A gallon of water with a surface area of a 4 square inches won't increase humidity by nearly as much as a cup of water with 8 square inches of surface area.
Sponges work.
Keep in mind, that the smaller quantity will need to be replenished much more often than the larger quantity because it is evaporating and increasing humidity.
97 F is better but still a bit low.
It goes back to my suggestion that chicks incubated at less than ideal conditions will be of poor quality with low vigor and survivability.

 

[Cjsmamacita]

Whatever you can do to increase surface area of the water/moisture will raise humidity.
A gallon of water with a surface area of a 4 square inches won't increase humidity by nearly as much as a cup of water with 8 square inches of surface area.
Sponges work.
Keep in mind, that the smaller quantity will need to be replenished much more often than the larger quantity because it is evaporating and increasing humidity.
97 F is better but still a bit low.
It goes back to my suggestion that chicks incubated at less than ideal conditions will be of poor quality with low vigor and survivability.

 

[Cjsmamacita]

Thank you for this information. I am doing everything I can to make this work and every bit of info helps. I am up to 98-99 temp and 65-67 humidity. A second chick has now pipped.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

That temperature is now perfect for hatching.