June Hatch-A-Long

[Knighstar679]

Please explain. I've only hatched one batch and it was with auto egg turners upright. What's the difference? Is it better for them to be flat? Do they develop stronger?

It depends one what your hatching. For certain breeds of duck if you incubate uptight over laying down you will have a lot more mid to late incubation deaths.

For looks you will see that the veins take on a much different growth pattern.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

It’s kinda hard to explain but from what I’ve seen, I can see development clearer in eggs that are incubated flat. The veins seem to spread out more, where as when incubated uptight, development starts more bunched up

Here’s a flat incubated egg:

(Pointy end at the top for this photo)

View attachment 2178850

Here are two upright incubated eggs:

View attachment 2178853
View attachment 2178855

in the upright incubated eggs, I can currently see no air cell at all, just development bunched right at the tops of the eggs which clear gaps at the pointy end.

With flat incubated eggs there is no gap and the pointy end, development starts in the middle of the egg and I can usually always see some air cell from the start.

To me, I’m confused by it but in person I can see a difference. I’m preferring hatching flat as I can see development sooner.

I've incubated both ways. I definitely prefer incubating horizontally but I think it actually comes down to my preference in the incubators that I have had. All of my preferred incubators have horizontal turners and it's not necessarily because vertical turning doesn't work as well.

I also agree that the developing embryos spread out a lot more and are easier to see when incubating horizontally. My current hatch is incubating horizontally but I noticed that the embryos are developing much like I normally saw when incubating vertically. I'm not sure if it's because of shipping or because they were stored differently before shipping.

I have good hatches with shipped eggs and saddled air cells with horizontal turners but I do feel a definite advantage with the vertical turners is when dealing with detached air cells. I don't think I would have lost the Peachick with the detached air cell in a recent hatch if I had incubated it upright.

 

[FortCluck]

@Mixed flock enthusiast what would you do? @FortCluck?

@CluckNDoodle says she might roll the dice since it’s so close but not really sure.

Hmmm... that’s a hard choice. I personally would break the broody and put the eggs in my bator. I just can’t see chicks being down. Adults can handle illnesses a lot better than a chick.

If the egg has been in contact, can it spread from the shell being exposed? I’m not too familiar with pox. Like when the chick hatches can it’s shell pass it if the chick is exposed the shell. I probably make no sense right now

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Hmmm... that’s a hard choice. I personally would break the broody and put the eggs in my bator. I just can’t see chicks being down. Adults can handle illnesses a lot better than a chick.

If the egg has been in contact, can it spread from the shell being exposed? I’m not too familiar with pox. Like when the chick hatches can it’s shell pass it if the chick is exposed the shell. I probably make no sense right now

You make sense and I was wondering that myself too. If the chicks could already have come in contact with it and whether that would be a good thing or a bad thing...

 

[FortCluck]

You make sense and I was wondering that myself too. If the chicks could already have come in contact with it and whether that would be a good thing or a bad thing...

I’m glad someone understood me

I do not have much experience with illnesses so far. I have just read about them... thankfully

 

[rebeccaH86]

Question: How long after hatch day do you give the rest to hatch ?
I still have 8 more eggs that haven't hatched yet it's been two days since hatch day .

 

[Knighstar679]

Question: How long after hatch day do you give the rest to hatch ?
I still have 8 more eggs that haven't hatched yet it's been two days since hatch day .

I usually wait as long as I can see movement in the eggs. 7-8 days otherwise as long as the egg doesn’t smell.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Question: How long after hatch day do you give the rest to hatch ?
I still have 8 more eggs that haven't hatched yet it's been two days since hatch day .

Take the eggs out, candle them, tap lightly to see if you hear anything. I would wait until day 25 if they're not stinky.

 

[CindyinSD]

So there is a wet bulb & a dry bulb in this incubator. The wet bulb temp is almost always considerably lower than the dry bulb temp. The incubator manual has this handy dandy chart that gives the dry bulb temp on one axis & the wet bulb on the other & the place they intersect is supposed to tell you your humidity. It all sounds very straightforward. BUT I haven’t been able to get the wet bulb temp as low as it’s supposed to be ever.

I believe that would mean your humidity is too low. I could have that backwards, though. You haven't had any condensation, have you? If so, your humidity is definitely too high and you need to remove water. If not, maybe try adding some water and see if that makes the wet bulb temp drop more. I'm guessing you've already tried that, but in case...

Your humidity rises based on temp and water surface area. Sponges have a great deal of surface area, so you might try a squeezed-out sponge in a little ramekin or similar and see what that does.

This is why most people don't use dry bulb/wet bulb systems, though I suspect that (at least with mercury thermometers), it is likely more accurate.

I personally would shop for a separate thermometer or three and a hygrometer, then calibrate both (or at least write down how far off they are, and in which direction so you can do the math and keep your incubator within parameters).

 

[TexasTurkeyMama]

One week into brooding in my snakeproof coop, I discover it is not. All eggs and hens present and accounted for. This time.