Incubating questions

[stout517]

Sorry for all the questions but as I've said this is my first time and I'm worried I've screwed it up. I've combed through this forum and done searches but haven't been able to nail down the answers to these questions. My first would be on day 21 is it normal to not hear any peeps or see any egg movement if the eggs are in cartons. Made the mistake of trusting the bator therm. And hygr. Which were both off I've used 3 oral thermometers and one hygrometer thermometer combo and think I've got the temp & humidity pegged. My last question is when is it safe to use the float test and is the egg 100% for sure a dud if you perform the float test and there is zero movement?

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Sorry for all the questions but as I've said this is my first time and I'm worried I've screwed it up. I've combed through this forum and done searches but haven't been able to nail down the answers to these questions. My first would be on day 21 is it normal to not hear any peeps or see any egg movement if the eggs are in cartons. Made the mistake of trusting the bator therm. And hygr. Which were both off I've used 3 oral thermometers and one hygrometer thermometer combo and think I've got the temp & humidity pegged. My last question is when is it safe to use the float test and is the egg 100% for sure a dud if you perform the float test and there is zero movement?

It's not abnormal (in cartons or not) to not here peeps or see movement before they hatch. If your thermometer was off and the bator was cooler than normal on the average, you may see a delay in the hatch. I wouldn't recommend the float test until the end of day 22 and then only after a candle and make sure no one has internally pipped. (If no one has internally pipped you know there shouldn't be any pips to the outside of the shell, sometimes it's hard to tell that. Plus there is no reason to put a known internally pipped chick through a test.) No, nothing is 100% sure. If it sinks then (unless you have extrememly small air cells) chances are pretty good it's not viable. If it floats and wiggles (independently from water movement) you know it's alive. If it floats and you see no movement, chances are that it is gone, but it's not 100%.

 

[stout517]

I thought I had done enough research before hand that I knew exactly what I was doing. WRONG. Thank you fur the information! I'm afraid I've cooked the poor things. My bator therm. Was running low so the actual temp when I had the bator set on 101.5 was anywhere between 104-109

. I'll try the test tomorrow night and let you know what I find. Already gathering eggs for another hatch though so we'll see!

 

[lazy gardener]

If your temp got up that high for even an hour, chances are good that your hatch is lost. Also, before doing the float test, give the eggs a very good inspection for any pips, while most pips are in the air space, a malpositioned chick could pip anywhere. Personally, I've never seen any benefit of the float test.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I thought I had done enough research before hand that I knew exactly what I was doing. WRONG. Thank you fur the information! I'm afraid I've cooked the poor things. My bator therm. Was running low so the actual temp when I had the bator set on 101.5 was anywhere between 104-109

. I'll try the test tomorrow night and let you know what I find. Already gathering eggs for another hatch though so we'll see!

Ouch. That's even worse.

If your temp got up that high for even an hour, chances are good that your hatch is lost. Also, before doing the float test, give the eggs a very good inspection for any pips, while most pips are in the air space, a malpositioned chick could pip anywhere. Personally, I've never seen any benefit of the float test.

It's such an "iffy" test imo. But it is what it is.