Incubator newbie. Refrigerated eggs.

[ChristieB]

3 eggs went into lock down, the cracked one unfortunately stopped developing sometime soon after i last candled.
But this afternoon I could see a pip!!!
The humidity was at 90% so I risked opening for a second to adjust the water vent and candled. All 3 have internally pipped! I might actually have a chick in the morning.

But in the mean time I was a sucker and brought these guys home from my sons daycare. They have a "hatching experience" every 12 months or so, I now have 3 little lohmanns and one black Australorp. I hope they are all hens!

I suspect the lightest one will be a rooster but my 3 year old wanted a white one :/ it wasn't the whitest, it does have red stripes and head so fingers crossed

 

[mobe_45]

Congrats on your fridge eggs developing. I had a 50% hatch on some coturnix quail eggs I had kept in the fridge for a couple weeks.
The dark spot egg will most likely explode if you let it go full term. The dark is bacterial growth.
I have fixed cracks in eggs with white glue lightly smeared over the crack and drying it quickly. The eggs hatched.

 

[RubyNala97]

Op, sorry about the cracked egg. But good luck with the rest of them!! Pips are very exciting!!

Congrats on your fridge eggs developing. I had a 50% hatch on some coturnix quail eggs I had kept in the fridge for a couple weeks.
The dark spot egg will most likely explode if you let it go full term. The dark is bacterial growth. 
I have fixed cracks in eggs with white glue lightly smeared over the crack and drying it quickly. The eggs hatched.

I have 2/3 cortunix quail eggs developing right now that are 2wks-1 month old and were left outside, unturned. It will be a miracle if they hatch!!

 

[ChristieB]

Waiting waiting waiting, all 3 have pipped now, the first I can see the tip of it's beak moving if I shine a light in, it's been maybe 14hours since I noticed the first crack in the shell so could be another 10! It's 9.45 am better go find some busy work. I see human birth all the time you think I'd be used to the waiting!

 

[KC Rob]

Bummer about the cracked egg. I dropped one during candling once and cracked it on the air pocket. The shell cracked but not the membrane so I kept her going in the incubator. She actually was the first egg to hatch and popped right out ready to go. We call her "Dropsy" and she is 6 weeks old now, a little black sex link pullet.

 

[ChristieB]

2 little ones have arrived. The first one was quick, Around 12 hours from pip to out,

the second pipped last night did nothing all day except make a tiny hole, then this evening just as I was putting kids to bed I checked and there it had just popped out!

The last one was first to pip but shows no sign of zipping, I can still see it moving and breathing, I've had to wet the membranes a few times as they were going brown even though humidity is reading in the 90s since the others hatched. I'm going to sit up and wait, been re reading the assisting article, hope I don't need it but I want to be prepared

 

[ChristieB]

1 and 2, a little photo shoot (sitting beside the incubator to encourage number 3 with their peeping.

I'm a bit biased but I think they are the cutest things ever

 

[RubyNala97]

Waiting waiting waiting, all 3 have pipped now, the first I can see the tip of it's beak moving if I shine a light in, it's been maybe 14hours since I noticed the first crack in the shell so could be another 10! It's 9.45 am better go find some busy work. I see human birth all the time you think I'd be used to the waiting!

Are you an L&D nurse? Whenever my mom knows I have a hatch coming up, she always tells me it's like I'm going through labor again! Lol

1 and 2, a little photo shoot (sitting beside the incubator to encourage number 3 with their peeping.

I'm a bit biased but I think they are the cutest things ever

Not biased. I agree, cutest things ever! How long as it been on that first pip that hasn't zipped yet?

 

[ChristieB]

Are you an L&D nurse? Whenever my mom knows I have a hatch coming up, she always tells me it's like I'm going through labor again! Lol
Not biased. I agree, cutest things ever! How long as it been on that first pip that hasn't zipped yet?

I'm a doula, will be starting midwifery next year. It's crazy how these things being back those memories!

This one pipped around 26 -28 hours ago, I decided to help. I've broken away some shell and wrapped in some wet paper towel. Chicks still alive but seems pretty weak. There's still some hair thin veins in the membrane which by now I think should be receded? I've peeled back some of the outer membrane as it was really dry despite the humidity, I think it's the fan in the incubator. Almost been an hour since I last had him out so I'll check again, see if there's anything more I can do then go to bed I think,

 

[ChristieB]

Well number 3 decided to finally join us, I was up at 630 and there he was, he is the mini brooder now drying off. The other 2 are fully fluffed and finding their feet.
So that's 100% hatch rate on what went into lockdown, 75% hatch in total, and the one that didn't make it was my fault so all in all I think my experiment was a huge success! Not bad for over 2 week old eggs who had 1 week in the fridge!
More photos soon once kids are at school