Little Giant Incubation Experiment - Day 21 - Hatch Day!

[bpetry]

Hello I am new here. .. I am also a first time chick hatcher. I have what I believe is the 9200 model pictured above. I purchased 12 eggs(3 different species) and started them on April 6th... so I think today is day 12 right? Anyways I candled them this morning and 8 look good, 2 the shells are green and I can't see through them, 1 has a defined blood ring and 1 I don't see anything at all. ... should I take the 2 out or give them a few more days. This is all new to me and I am hoping to get as many hatches as possible. Thanks

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Hello I am new here. .. I am also a first time chick hatcher. I have what I believe is the 9200 model pictured above. I purchased 12 eggs(3 different species) and started them on April 6th... so I think today is day 12 right? Anyways I candled them this morning and 8 look good, 2 the shells are green and I can't see through them, 1 has a defined blood ring and 1 I don't see anything at all. ... should I take the 2 out or give them a few more days. This is all new to me and I am hoping to get as many hatches as possible. Thanks

I remove my blood rings as I find them and my clears at day 10. Now, I'm going to be nosey and pushy and ask a couple questions because I know what it's like to do that first hatch and it's my mission to help people using styrofoam bators have a good first hatch. Is the thermometer and hygrometer you are using checked for accuracy and what are you using for humidity for the first 17 days???

And welcome to the pages!!!

 

[rossfam06]

How long were the eggs out before you broke off the air cell?  How many days had it been incubating?  Did you wet that membrane before taking the pic?  It appears that the membrane is away from the inside of the shell way down in there.  Is it? or is my perception just off?   Looks more like it drowned to me.

Today was day 23. I just took them out about three mins before I took the pictures. I did not wet the membrane either. So the membrane should always be papery white and dry? ( From pervious question I asked on here) I only did it because they weren't moving around and there was no sounds of cheeping.

 

[rossfam06]

And one other thing. One of my hatchers has been walking around with the umbilicus still attached. Its all dried out. Could it be stuck? Should I take it off?

 

[bpetry]

I remove my blood rings as I find them and my clears at day 10. Now, I'm going to be nosey and pushy and ask a couple questions because I know what it's like to do that first hatch and it's my mission to help people using styrofoam bators have a good first hatch. Is the thermometer and hygrometer you are using checked for accuracy and what are you using for humidity for the first 17 days???

And welcome to the pages!!!

Yes 2 thermometers(one digital) both reading about 100.5.

The humidity has been around 55%.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Today was day 23. I just took them out about three mins before I took the pictures. I did not wet the membrane either. So the membrane should always be papery white and dry? ( From pervious question I asked on here)

Shrinkwrapping is caused by dryness. The membrane dries out and "shrinks" around the chick making it impossible for the chick to turn and move to be able to hatch, and can suffocate them as well. If the membrane is wet or moist, to me, that indicates that it would not be shrinkwrapped as being dried out is basically what shrinnkwrapped is. Like wetting leather and letting it dry around something.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Yes 2 thermometers(one digital) both reading about 100.5.

The humidity has been around 55%.

Ok, now, I am going to assume that you are following either the user's manual or some outdated source that is telling you that 50-55% humidity is what you need for lockdown. I'm also going to tell you that in the majority of cases, (everything has it's exceptions) that most people find that using that high of humidity for days 1-17 is to high and there is a higher chance of chicks drowning at lockdown. I'm going to encourage you to check your air cells, (usually done at days 7/14/18) if you haven't already to check their progress. (The reason we control our humidity.) If the air cells look good and you are confident that they are big enough, just tell me to zip it....I can handle it, SC tells me all the time...

I'm going to give you a link to look at so you know what you are looking for if you don't already: http://letsraisechickens.weebly.com...anuals-understanding-and-controlling-humidity
I don't mean to sound like a know it all (SHUSH SC and iron my cape...) I just hate seeing newbiews to hatching get to the end and not have a good hatch. If your air cells need to be adjusted you still have time to change your humidity levels and allow for growth before lockdown.

 

[WVduckchick]

Hello I am new here. .. I am also a first time chick hatcher. I have what I believe is the 9200 model pictured above. I purchased 12 eggs(3 different species) and started them on April 6th... so I think today is day 12 right? Anyways I candled them this morning and 8 look good, 2 the shells are green and I can't see through them, 1 has a defined blood ring and 1 I don't see anything at all. ... should I take the 2 out or give them a few more days. This is all new to me and I am hoping to get as many hatches as possible. Thanks

Today is only day 11 for you. You don't start counting day 1 until 24 hours after setting. Just remember if you set on a Monday, they "should" hatch on a Monday. (chickens 3 weeks, ducks 4 weeks) In my opinion, it won't hurt anything to wait just a couple more days to remove any, if you aren't positive. By day 14, it will be more "obvious". Good luck!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Today is only day 11 for you. You don't start counting day 1 until 24 hours after setting. Just remember if you set on a Monday, they "should" hatch on a Monday. (chickens 3 weeks, ducks 4 weeks) In my opinion, it won't hurt anything to wait just a couple more days to remove any, if you aren't positive. By day 14, it will be more "obvious". Good luck!

Good catch!

 

[WalnutHill]

And one other thing. One of my hatchers has been walking around with the umbilicus still attached. Its all dried out. Could it be stuck? Should I take it off?

Never, ever, pull on the umbilicus or navel! If it is dried up and too long, simply snip it shorter. Don't squeeze, either!