Incubator Humidity

[Knobby]

This is my first time ever incubating, so I guess I’m just a little crazy, and extra prepared

Its fun and exciting, and a great learning experience!

 

[Brylea]

I was getting nervous because I kept seeing everywhere that they are supposed to pip on day 20, but I’m glad other people have experienced it later

 

[Brylea]

It’s fun and exciting, and a great learning experience!

I’ve loved every part of it so far, but it’s these last couple days that have been stressing me out lol

 

[Knobby]

I’ve loved every part of it so far, but it’s these last couple days that have been stressing me out lol

I know what you mean..I was pacing the room, like when I was at the hospital waiting for my first born child to arrive. I was up at 1:30 AM to welcome the first chick, and at 3 AM to welcome a few more..hehe

 

[Knobby]

These are some pics of my latest hatching..

 

[Brylea]

I know what you mean..I was pacing the room, like when I was at the hospital waiting for my first born child to arrive. I was up at 1:30 AM to welcome the first chick, and at 3 AM to welcome a few more..hehe

I can’t say that won’t be me lol, yesterday I was kept checking the incubator constantly waiting for a pip. Now that I know they can pip a couple days late I’m going to have to wait even longer

 

[Airyaman]

When does your first pup usually happen? I’m on day 20 and still have about 7 hours until day 21

It depends on many variables, so you may not see a pip until day 21 or it may come a day or two earlier. I have a batch (Australorps) in the incubator now and I see three eggs with the first hole on day 20.

 

[R2elk]

I was getting nervous because I kept seeing everywhere that they are supposed to pip on day 20, but I’m glad other people have experienced it later

If your temperature is correct, internal pips should happen on day 20 and external pips should happen on day 21 for most varieties. If your incubation temperature is running high, you can see external pips earlier and if your temperature is running low, you can see external pips later.

Most cheap incubators have temperature sensors and hygrometers that are not accurate thus the need to add your own calibrated sensors.

 

[Brylea]

Update- 4/5 have pipped

 

[Ridgerunner]

Congratulations on those pips!!!

Thank you I will have to try that! Also how long does it usually take a chick to pip on day 20?

That is just a target. In the real world it is not that unusual for an egg to hatch one or two days early or late. Average incubating temperature has a big part to play in that but heredity, humidity, how and how long an egg has been stored and other things can play a part. Some people think smaller eggs hatch earlier than larger eggs but when I experimented with that I did not see any difference. With the eggs from my flock they tend to hatch a full day or more early, whether under a broody hen or in my calibrated incubator. I think it is because of heredity.

The other part of this is how long does it take for them to hatch after pip. Chicks go through three stages of hatching. They internal pip, external pip, and then zip. They have a lot of work to do as they hatch. They need to absorb the yolk, dry up the blood vessels in the membrane around them, and take care of a few other things. Some do a lot of this between internal pip and external pip. I like these because they usually hatch a few hours after external pip. Some wait until after external pip to do a lot of this so they can go 24 hours or more between external pip and zip. These can be really stressful as we wait for them. It can be hard to be patient.

It sounds like you are on your way to a successful hatch. Let us know how it goes.