Lockdown Day!

[MaconMommy5]

Today is/was lockdown! This is our first hatch. We have a homemade Incubator with a digital thermostat. 17 went in on day 0 and 12 made it to Lockdown. We ran dry and the humidity stayed about 30-35 the whole time. Now it's staying 65-70 with water. My questions are;

1) When should we expect to see the first pips? I know there isn't a dead set day, but any tips would be nice.
2) For eggs that may not hatch, how long do we wait to call it? And how to you... Dispose... Of unhatched chicks?
And
3) Is it best to take chicks out as soon as they're fluffed up, or to wait for a bit? My Daughter is anxiously stairing at the incubator and there's no talking her out of moving. She may sleep there. Hahaha.

 

[homestead 101]

You should expect your first pips early day 21, or late day 20. It all dependes, if the temp was higher then 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit, then they will probably hatch earlier.

I have read day 24 is the latest, but before u toss them, make sure they don't have any pips. You could also water candle them to see if they are still viable.

Yes wait till they are fluffy, it should be about 24 hours

 

[PD-Riverman]

Today is/was lockdown! This is our first hatch. We have a homemade Incubator with a digital thermostat. 17 went in on day 0 and 13 made it to Lockdown. We ran dry and the humidity stayed about 30-35 the whole time. Now it's staying 65-70 with water. My questions are;

1) When should we expect to see the first pips? I know there isn't a dead set day, but any tips would be nice.
2) For eggs that may not hatch, how long do we wait to call it? And how to you... Dispose... Of unhatched chicks?
And
3) Is it best to take chicks out as soon as they're fluffed up, or to wait for a bit? My Daughter is anxiously stairing at the incubator and there's no talking her out of moving. She may sleep there. Hahaha.

If your temp is correct you should see some pips and some hatch on day 20/late day 20 and all should be hatched by late day 21. I am a hands-off-hatcher I Only open on day 22 and remove all at the same time. I personally have a very high hatch rate doing it this way. If there is a few that has not finished/ to weak to hatch---I break them completely out and leave them in the incubator till they dry---then remove and shut down and clean the incubator. There is hands-on-hatchers that open and help chicks hatch through----out the hatch----there is things that you need to know before you attempt this.

 

[MaconMommy5]

If your temp is correct you should see some pips and some hatch on day 20/late day 20 and all should be hatched by late day 21. I am a hands-off-hatcher I Only open on day 22 and remove all at the same time. I personally have a very high hatch rate doing it this way. If there is a few that has not finished/ to weak to hatch---I break them completely out and leave them in the incubator till they dry---then remove and shut down and clean the incubator. There is hands-on-hatchers that open and help chicks hatch through----out the hatch----there is things that you need to know before you attempt this.

I'm definitely hoping that situation doesn't come up quite yet. My temp is staying steady at 99.7

 

[MaconMommy5]

You should expect your first pips early day 21, or late day 20. It all dependes, if the temp was higher then 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit, then they will probably hatch earlier.

I have read day 24 is the latest, but before u toss them, make sure they don't have any pips. You could also water candle them to see if they are still viable.

Yes wait till they are fluffy, it should be about 24 hours

The temp has been between 99.5 and 100 the whole time. And thank you! I'll look up the water candleing now!

 

[PD-Riverman]

The temp has been between 99.5 and 100 the whole time. And thank you! I'll look up the water candleing now!

Your thermometer can be reading 99 to 100 but is it Correct?? That's why I said if it is correct they start piping on day 20/and some might hatch before to late on day 20. What DATE did you set these in the incubator??

 

[MaconMommy5]

Your thermometer can be reading 99 to 100 but is it Correct?? That's why I said if it is correct they start piping on day 20/and some might hatch before to late on day 20. What DATE did you set these in the incubator??

I actually have 4 Thermometers in there. Two digital with Hygrometers, and Two Mercury type ones. Both Mercury and one digital read 99.5 almost 100% of the time. But it Always fluctuates between that and 99.7. The other is only .6 Degrees off. The humidity has read the same on both hygrometers. I'd have to follow the calendar to see which day I put them in. I do know it was at 4Pm that day, And I counted that Day as Day 0, And the next day was day 1. (Everything is actualy in Centigrade, But I convert to Fahrenheit)

 

[PD-Riverman]

I actually have 4 Thermometers in there. Two digital with Hygrometers, and Two Mercury type ones. Both Mercury and one digital read 99.5 almost 100% of the time. But it Always fluctuates between that and 99.7. The other is only .6 Degrees off. The humidity has read the same on both hygrometers. I'd have to follow the calendar to see which day I put them in. I do know it was at 4Pm that day, And I counted that Day as Day 0, And the next day was day 1. (Everything is actualy in Centigrade, But I convert to Fahrenheit)

OK---I wanted to see if you were on the right day----but you know what you are doing. Again ---LOL---if the temp is correct(a lot of thermometers are not) you will see pips on day 20 with some hatching starting late day 20---etc. I have hatched steady---every week for a long time---1 1/2 years before turning the incubator off the first time---in a year and a half----with 1000's hatched---I never had one to hatch day 22 or later----BUT, BUT I do adjust my temp so the eggs hatch on time. If a person has chicken eggs to hatch day 23 and day 24 they got temp problems---un-even temp in the incubator like still air can have or something.

 

[chicken curious]

Granted, my temps were probably off, but I gave my first hatch until day 25 and then cleaned out the incubator. The last two eggs had live chicks and I cracked the side of one! The incubator was already off and cold. Gah! I was doing an eggtopsy b/c I thought they were late quitters. SO, all I'll say is when you are thinking of giving up, water candle, tap the air end and listen for peeps, and maybe crack a tiny hole in the air end to see if you can see an internal pip that's working...if so put it back!

 

[MaconMommy5]

OK---I wanted to see if you were on the right day----but you know what you are doing. Again ---LOL---if the temp is correct(a lot of thermometers are not) you will see pips on day 20 with some hatching starting late day 20---etc. I have hatched steady---every week for a long time---1 1/2 years before turning the incubator off the first time---in a year and a half----with 1000's hatched---I never had one to hatch day 22 or later----BUT, BUT I do adjust my temp so the eggs hatch on time. If a person has chicken eggs to hatch day 23 and day 24 they got temp problems---un-even temp in the incubator like still air can have or something.

I have a PC fan in the incubator slightly lower than the lightbulb to distribute the heat, And the thermometers are all spaced. They were out on the table before being put in the incubator. They read the same as the house thermostat, and it was just recently calibrated. I'm hoping that means they're right. I'm definitely still super new at this, I just done tons of research before attempting it. I really appreciate all advice! Now I can tell my daughter that they won't be hatching tomorrow, and she may actually leave my closet to eat. Haha. (It's the best Draft Free spot in the house)