Just filled my incubator! due to hatch 5/1 anyone want to join me?

[CranberryCreekFarm]

I think the one who first pipped may have died ( no movement of their beaks or breathing for over 12 hours )

The 2nd one was pipped and zipped within 20 minutes and is now napping in his little egg chair. Then just heard more peeping, looked and I have a 3rd pip! very excited as this is my first hatch and was only a trial run with a few eggs!

Edited to add : 4th pip! last 2 havent broken all the way through but are contently rocking trying to break through. Chick is now laying on the floor of the incubator resting.

 

[lynnemabry]

I was able to check my bator both days this weekend and nothing, came into class today and one had hatched. Yippee!!!!

ee
I was not expecting anything. I have had a lot of trouble with temps th last week and I didn't feel good about traveling with the eggs to and from home over break. I am hoping for one more at least.

 

[basteph1977]

Ok if i wasn't nervous before i am now...our first hatcher (aka peepers) had to have help...he pip great then was zipping the stopped. i didnt open the incubator to turn the egg i used a straw thru the vent BUT i did have to open it today to help him out. He was stuck to the membrain. Did i do this when i movedd him? what about the rest of my babies when i had to help out this one? I was only in the batoer for very short periods of time. 20 to 30 sec then closed it to let the humididty build back up then did it again. Humidity never fell below 68% and the temp went to about 98...is this bad???? Is there any way to tell if the others are in danger?

HELP!!

 

[Avalon1984]

Quote:
Hey Basteph. You may have done that when you helped your chick. In that case all eggs that were pipped may be shrink wrapped. All the ones that haven't pipped yet should be fine. You might want to lower the humidity to about 70-80%. If you have a hovabator you can do this by opening the little vent plug on the top or gently tipping the entire incubator over about 30 degrees and drain some of the water. Keep an eye on your pips and see if they can hatch on their own or if you need to interfere. Good luck!

 

[tigercreek]

Quote:
I was just going thru this thread as I am going into lockdown tomorrow morn at 7:30. I want to put mine in a carton to hatch, and I noticed you are using a foam carton. Did you put any holes in the bottom? Is there a diff in the foam or the paper-type cartons? Another question, do you think the higher humidity on the first day of lockdown is vital? I have to work all day tomorrow, so I won't be home to monitor the humidity. I was going to put a little water in at lockdown and then when I get home around 5:30 will add more if I need to. I have a small tube I put thru a vent to add water. Is that ok? Should I candle when putting them in lockdown? We candled this past thurs, and there was 1 I thought was questionable. Also I didn't see any movement in any but one, but I have about 7 I can't see thru well as they are dark eggs. Should I have seen movement? Sorry for all the questions!!!

But you all are going thru today what I will be going thru this week!! I hope we all make it thru!!! This is very stressful!

Thank you in advance for any help! Happy hatching to us all!!

I'll do the best I can to give you my opinion on your questions. As they say, your mileage may vary. I did not have a good hatch, so take that into consideration. I have used the foam cartons twice and like them, and I cut the bottoms out of them. I don't know if it matters, but my thinking is that it would help air flow. I prefer the foam because it's easier to cut and I have heard that the paper gets soggy with the high humidity. I think you should start raising the humidity at lockdown, but I don't think it is important to have it way up untill you get a pip. It's a must then. I had a lot of them unable to get out and I think it was due to low humidity. Mine was running around 60%. Put all the eggs in the incubator, if they don't hatch, you have lost nothing. They are not going to explode unless they are rotten, and you should be able to smell them if so. I would not candel them again. You may not see movement in a very viable chick and kill it for no reason. Just take a deep breath and let them do their thing! I opened the incubator and did some harm to several chicks. Just leave them alone, hard as it is. Best of luck, go out to dinner when you see the first pip and don't look again for 2 days!!.....stan

 

[OHhappychicks]

Quote:
I was just going thru this thread as I am going into lockdown tomorrow morn at 7:30. I want to put mine in a carton to hatch, and I noticed you are using a foam carton. Did you put any holes in the bottom? Is there a diff in the foam or the paper-type cartons? Another question, do you think the higher humidity on the first day of lockdown is vital? I have to work all day tomorrow, so I won't be home to monitor the humidity. I was going to put a little water in at lockdown and then when I get home around 5:30 will add more if I need to. I have a small tube I put thru a vent to add water. Is that ok? Should I candle when putting them in lockdown? We candled this past thurs, and there was 1 I thought was questionable. Also I didn't see any movement in any but one, but I have about 7 I can't see thru well as they are dark eggs. Should I have seen movement? Sorry for all the questions!!!

But you all are going thru today what I will be going thru this week!! I hope we all make it thru!!! This is very stressful!

Thank you in advance for any help! Happy hatching to us all!!

I'll do the best I can to give you my opinion on your questions. As they say, your mileage may vary. I did not have a good hatch, so take that into consideration. I have used the foam cartons twice and like them, and I cut the bottoms out of them. I don't know if it matters, but my thinking is that it would help air flow. I prefer the foam because it's easier to cut and I have heard that the paper gets soggy with the high humidity. I think you should start raising the humidity at lockdown, but I don't think it is important to have it way up untill you get a pip. It's a must then. I had a lot of them unable to get out and I think it was due to low humidity. Mine was running around 60%. Put all the eggs in the incubator, if they don't hatch, you have lost nothing. They are not going to explode unless they are rotten, and you should be able to smell them if so. I would not candel them again. You may not see movement in a very viable chick and kill it for no reason. Just take a deep breath and let them do their thing! I opened the incubator and did some harm to several chicks. Just leave them alone, hard as it is. Best of luck, go out to dinner when you see the first pip and don't look again for 2 days!!.....stan

Thank you stan! I had to lockdown this morn at 7:30. I went ahead and put them all in and used the paper cartons. I didn't cut the bottoms out however. Just checked them about 10 min ago (5:30) and the humidity is around 68% but my temps were low, ranging 94(bottom of incubator) 96 & 98 at the top. Do you think this will hurt anything? I tweaked the thermostat a hair and will check it in a little while. I'm not the impatient kind. I will leave them alone. Might be glued to them when (or if) they pip, but I won't open it until it is the right time. This is quite an ordeal!!! But I've journaled everyday since setting, so if this one fails I can look back and see what I did or didn't do for next time. Thanks again for your info!!

 

[basteph1977]

Quote:
Hey Basteph. You may have done that when you helped your chick. In that case all eggs that were pipped may be shrink wrapped. All the ones that haven't pipped yet should be fine. You might want to lower the humidity to about 70-80%. If you have a hovabator you can do this by opening the little vent plug on the top or gently tipping the entire incubator over about 30 degrees and drain some of the water. Keep an eye on your pips and see if they can hatch on their own or if you need to interfere. Good luck!

yes my humidity runs about 75% and there were no pips when i helped out the first. I did see one rocking around earlier today so my hope has restored!

 

[OHhappychicks]

Quote:
Hey Basteph. You may have done that when you helped your chick. In that case all eggs that were pipped may be shrink wrapped. All the ones that haven't pipped yet should be fine. You might want to lower the humidity to about 70-80%. If you have a hovabator you can do this by opening the little vent plug on the top or gently tipping the entire incubator over about 30 degrees and drain some of the water. Keep an eye on your pips and see if they can hatch on their own or if you need to interfere. Good luck!

yes my humidity runs about 75% and there were no pips when i helped out the first. I did see one rocking around earlier today so my hope has restored!

 

[Long Last Farm]

well, I think my hatch is about over. I have 6 eggs left in the incubator, but no pips or movement in the last day. I will wait until tomorrow to turn off the incubator.
Final Tally
got 3 shipments of eggs, totaling 40 eggs
when candling, removed 5 eggs which were clear or not developing
2 chicks died almost immediately after being hatched

Got 27 happy healthy chick!

So, I trhink this hatch was a success!
I AM DONE HATCHING UNTIL NEXT SPRING! It has been alot of fun! Now, I am just going to sit back and enjoy my chicks!

So, good luck to everyone still hatching, I hope you all had a good luck! Thanks for all your support!

 

[TK Poultry]

I got my first pip!!! I guess mine are a little late!!!!!