January 2020 Hatch along

[ShannonsChimkens]

Good idea! Sad that some places wouldn't even consider throwing in a little snip snip.

The incubator is holding temp now, but it’s set at 40.3 C. I can see why people have failed hatches if they don’t have an extra thermometer that they can trust. I know you can change settings for it reading higher than it is, but this incubator evens out its readings after a week. Struggle will be nights.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I'm in. I set 25 black Penedesenca eggs on Jan 8.
I might set eggs more today for the February HAL.

 

[ShannonsChimkens]

Sweet! More little fluffy butts

 

[Rockporters]

How many do you have going again and how long until hatch day?

We have 2 incubating. So, the interesting thing tonight is... I think B might be alive? Or I might be wishful hoping lol. When I opened the ‘bator to give them air and talk to them, I swore B moved. Tried it in the scale and nada. Placed it in my lap and I swear it moved. Odd thing is, it felt like something was moving inside the egg, on the back side where it was touching my legs. Likely, it’s just getting ready to explode lol, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

We saw Egg A move around day 35. Earlier in the process we did the tilt test, both tilted. Both felt hotter at the narrow end. All tests but for the wiggle are a bit subjective. It’s easy to see or feel things that you’re hoping for.. I didn’t put much hope on those as signs of life. The wiggle is an unmistakeable sign.

 

[Rockporters]

Tbh I don’t think consistency matters. I would up the humidity. How far until lockdown again?

Emu don’t need lockdown per se. You just quit turning them. Which we did the other day. They need really good airflow, but people don’t seem to do more than that.

 

[jolenesdad]

Emu don’t need lockdown per se. You just quit turning them. Which we did the other day. They need really good airflow, but people don’t seem to do more than that.

I have no advice or idea, but... if your humidity is dropping I’d say the consistency is not in whether or not it has water, but in how much humidity is in there....

 

[ShannonsChimkens]

I think the hardest part (other than keeping weight loss spot on) is having no idea if they’re even alive!

Mine are so early on in incubation, that I’d be really lucky to see the day 34 egg move. Instead of driving myself crazy, might just do the 2 day weigh ins to watch humidity and TRY to forget.

Rockporters what day is this hatching supposed to happen?

 

[Rockporters]

I think the hardest part (other than keeping weight loss spot on) is having no idea if they’re even alive!

Mine are so early on in incubation, that I’d be really lucky to see the day 34 egg move. Instead of driving myself crazy, might just do the 2 day weigh ins to watch humidity and TRY to forget.

Rockporters what day is this hatching supposed to happen?

So, we did weekly weigh-ins. Although, we did open the bator now and again to let in air and whistle at them.

We are on day 49 or 50. I expect, if any hatch, it will be between day 52 and 60. I’ve incubated around 97 degrees. So, it might be around day 55-56?

I agree that weight loss is most difficult. You’ve had the opposite problem of us, but it’s all frustrating. Never would’ve thought I’d need to run a dehumidifier for weight loss.

Regarding the movement, it isn’t always as pronounced as the YouTube videos. Watch for slight, and short, movements. We didn’t get bigger movement until the last couple of days. Even then, most of the movement is subtle.

 

[ShannonsChimkens]

But that movement is for sure an emu moving inside! It’s funny when you sit still and watch them and you imagine you see something. In reality, it was you breathing, blinking or moving your eyes too fast.

I’ll give it another week before I “sincerely” check again. Second batch of potluck hatching eggs coming in will keep the mind elsewhere.

Good luck! Here’s hoping for some giant, funny looking chimkens coming out in a couple days.

 

[wolfwalker]

And it's a wrap.

last 3 eggs quit and gave up.

Here is the 7 that made it. I can't wait to see what color pattern is going to emerge from this lot. Such a mix of colors.

Silverruds Blue aka Isbar