Lockdown in 2 days

[scflock]

Your not hijacking at all! Keep us posted when you get home. Thanks again for all your help! I'm not sure these chicks would have hatched without your tip to get the humidity up. I had done so much searching online to try to figure out my water wells since I already kept them 3/4 full just to stay at 40% humidity and couldn't find anything. Thank you for napkin idea which allowed my humidity to jump to 60% with my vent 1/3 open. These babies wouldn't have made it otherwise!

You are having an amazing hatch, and its moving right along. Glad the napkin helped, but I can't take credit for it. I did a Google search and it referenced me to a three year old thread on BYC. Great site!
How old were your eggs? I had some that were two weeks old, and I'm thinking those may be my delayed hatches, I didn't mark them. I have total faith in the Brinsea now, I just want to narrow down my mistakes so that my next hatch will go as smoothly as yours

 

[northernchic]

You are having an amazing hatch, and its moving right along. Glad the napkin helped, but I can't take credit for it. I did a Google search and it referenced me to a three year old thread on BYC. Great site!
How old were your eggs? I had some that were two weeks old, and I'm thinking those may be my delayed hatches, I didn't mark them. I have total faith in the Brinsea now, I just want to narrow down my mistakes so that my next hatch will go as smoothly as yours

No, I didn't mark any of the eggs. (Like the air cells or anything.)

Um, I don't know how old my eggs were. I started collecting and seperating the cold eggs from the still warm ones and when I had enough and my incubator arrived, i used the ones that had been warm for the incubator.

I had read about rotating the eggs extra the first week, (not sure you should do this with shipped eggs though) so I did rotate mine 5 times a day for the first week. Not sure if that made a difference.

Then I kept my water wells 3/4 full and candleD on day 7 and 18 and left anything that I couldn't see in as long as it didn't smell in lockdown.

 

[scflock]

No, I didn't mark any of the eggs. (Like the air cells or anything.)

Um, I don't know how old my eggs were. I started collecting and seperating the cold eggs from the still warm ones and when I had enough and my incubator arrived, i used the ones that had been warm for the incubator.

I had read about rotating the eggs extra the first week, (not sure you should do this with shipped eggs though) so I did rotate mine 5 times a day for the first week. Not sure if that made a difference.

Then I kept my water wells 3/4 full and candleD on day 7 and 18 and left anything that I couldn't see in as long as it didn't smell in lockdown.

I will usually collect my hatching eggs every three or four days. I'm lucky to get 1 or two from 6 Polish hens in that time, but my 8 Marans lay just as well as my hybrids. I don't think I rolled them enough, and some of the Polish I have been saving for the next batch look like the shell is getting saturated on the pointy end. I'm a little concerned about setting those. I may just run a full load of this week's Marans on the next go-around. This will be my first Spring with the full grown Polish hens, so I'm hoping the will lay more when the days get longer. I'm even debating leaving the Polish eggs in the coop for a week. None of mine have shown any interest in going broody, and I think leaving the eggs in their natural setting may be better than bringing them in the house

 

[BonRae67]

Wow, your first one was a very early chick! I forgot to ask, what breed?

It is either a Polish or a polish/leghorn mix.

 

[northernchic]

Moved a few chicks from bator to brooder. While it was open, I grabbed an egg chick #20 that pipped yesterday but never progressed. Assumed it was dead. (I guess since everyone was hatching so fast, I though that if he wasn't then he must be dead.) Peeled back a bit of shell and baby is alive and kicking. Wet the membrane and threw it back in the bator with a hot sponge. Now another egg (#21) that had a pip for a long but wasn't doing anything looks like it is starting to zip?!

So currently...21 of 23 are alive. Hopefully these two will be ok since I hoped the incubator.

Egg #22 has pip. Egg #23 doesn't have anything that I can see.

 

[Purpletie3]

Northern...you are doing an amazing job! Two nights ago you thought they might not hatch and now over 20 new chickee's! Way to go!

 

[Purpletie3]

Just a small hole in the shell at 8:45 had to go out came back at 10:25 and look who I found. Little stinker. I missed the birth.

Congrats on your chick!

 

[BonRae67]

Congrats on your chick!

Thank you so much.

 

[northernchic]

Northern...you are doing an amazing job! Two nights ago you thought they might not hatch and now over 20 new chickee's! Way to go!

Thank you! I thought for sure I would be lucky if only 4-5 would hatch. I am still waiting. I have 1 egg zipping, 1 pipping, and 1 that I thought was dead but wasn't wrapped in a damp papertowel, and 1 egg that doesn't show any signs of anything and 19 fully hatched and beautiful chickens.

I have learned a lot doing this. I learned not to put more than 12-18 eggs in, otherwise there isn't any room without having to open the incubator. And I learned do not open the incubator. Most importantly, don't rush them!

 

[northernchic]

Update-

I have 21 chicks hatched. All that's left is the one I helped, and that last one finally pipped and might be zipping.