July 4th Hatch-A-Long?

[CABINHOLLOWNC]

Okay I have a question about one of my eggs it's not looking like it's fertili but I'm on day 11 of 21 should I keep it in the incubator or take it out

Can you post a picture?

 

[CABINHOLLOWNC]

My Avatar is a "Greyslyn" only 2 of her kind, both F. lays "grey eggs."

OK...you have my attention...what exactly is she and where did you get her and can you share a picture of her eggs? She is beautiful!!

 

[goat114]

This is the egg that I think isn't going to hatch or anything

 

[goat114]

Can you post a picture?

 

[CABINHOLLOWNC]

This is the egg that I think isn't going to hatch or anythingView attachment 1052188

Sorry...I can't really tell anything from that picture...when you put the light on the top of the fat end do you see veins? I know it's hard to candle and take a picture at the same time!

 

[goat114]

Sorry...I can't really tell anything from that picture...when you put the light on the top of the fat end do you see veins? I know it's hard to candle and take a picture at the same time!

No I don't

 

[CABINHOLLOWNC]

No I don't

Well...it's your call...if it looks like a clear/not fertile egg you can remove it, but if your not 100% sure you can leave it in a few more days and then candle it again.

 

[goat114]

 

[Maeschak]

Wow, 37 eggs! I only have 18 and that seems like a lot. You mentioned weighing the eggs? I didn't know that was a thing I should do. Can you tell me a little more about it?

I know what you mean about obsessing. It seems like I'm checking the temperature and humidity every five minutes and the humidity is driving me crazy. The directions say to keep it between 58 & 60% until hatching but I've read on the forum people recommending no more than 30% or 40% so I'm not sure what to do. But then again it doesn't seem to matter how much water I add or take away, the humidity sensor has a mind of its own. I finally gave up trying and it bounces between 51% and 57%. I hope I'm not killing my babies. Any thoughts?

Good luck tonight. I hope you have live chicks in those 37 eggs!

Sure thing re weighing incubating eggs: each egg (or a collection of eggs) should lose about 12-13% of weight from laying/setting to hatch date (21 days later). This translates to .62% by weight per day. I think most people use the air sac size to figure out whether or not the humidity is correct (drawing circles denoting the air sac size at day 7, 10 and 18) - Unfortunately, I have never been good at that. I looked at the air sacs, drew it on the egg with a pencil, etc. But for some reason, I have never been good at discerning whether or not the air sac was the appropriate size. So, I have been moving towards the weighing method... I used to weigh each egg individually as I candled but now am weighing them by the whole lot (dont forget to subtract the egg tray weight). By weighing the eggs, you can determine whether or not your humidity is OK. I had tons of hygrometers (humidity checkers) but was never able to get any real knowledge of whether or not the humidity was proper (all my hygrometers seemed to say different things EVEN THOUGH I calibrated them)... In the end, you need a correct air sac size to allow the chick to develop, pip, and break out of the egg and I am finding that it is simply easier to weigh the eggs.

I am still candling the eggs to find duds and to see if the chicks are developing, but as of the other night (9.5 days) I am still unable to see anything in my eggs. It just occurred to me, however, that my eye sight might be the problem and not the eggs! Egads it sucks getting older. Anyway, Im not seeing diddly squat in my eggs (besides the air sac) so I am very happy I am weighing them now.

Re Humidity: I used to obsess over the humidity- checking it a few times a day and adding water, removing the lid if I thought the humidity was too high, etc... I have switched to the 'dry method' of incubation. Which means- I am not adding any water until the last 3 hatching days, or if my eggs are losing too much weight (meaning they are losing too much moisture). I live in MD where the humidity is high and so far have not had any problems with the 'dry incubation' method. I MUST, however, add water for the last 3 days- it helps to slightly soften the shells which makes it easier for the chicks to crack out of the shells.

Hope this helps, but I should note- my hatch rate stinks! I usually only hatch out about 60% or so of my eggs. So definitely take what I am saying with a pound of salt. Figure out what works for you and keep on doing it.

Good luck to you!

 

[goat114]

Question about my incubator I have to take off the lid to transfer eggs back into it and was wondering if know if there's any other way to get the eggs into lockdown I have the auto Turner in and was wondering if there is a another way to do it