Lockdown on Day 18? Why?

[chkinut]

i DO do a lockdown and increase my humidity to 55ish%....but sometimes i wonder if we all freak out unnecessarily. i saw a video on youtube yesterday of baby chicks actively hatching in a hens nest, outside, and the hen was in the run scratchin' around with 2 new fluffy butts....and at least 3 other eggs were actively hatching in the nest...and also a wet new chick was wallowing around in the nest as well.

of course i have no idea where the video was taken and what the weather conditions were (humidity in the air etc).

 

[HeatherB]

Quote:
I think I understand her note about older chicks.

Eggs don't all hatch at once. The first out of the egg dries off, fluffs up, gets some rest, gains some strength, wanders around and pecks at things. If it starts pecking at another chick, particularly one that just popped out of the egg and is rolling around, can it be harmful?

I had a few hatch two days ago.. the first two were almost 8 hours apart. Once the second one hatched, the first climbed up on top of the egg carton, and started pecking #2 in the head from above while #2 kept rolling around, trying to get its bearings. For her part, she says that she's had some start pecking at the navel and do some damage.

So I think she's wondering why people don't pull the earlier hatchers out to protect the more vulnerable ones just popping out of the egg

 

[saladin]

I'm with you barefoot. This whole 'lockdown' thing is about the silliest thing I've ever read. I've been in chickens my whole life and never heard of it before I came to this board. Besides, if hatching duck eggs, then you must open it to give them the cooling off period they need. Personally, I think chicken eggs do better with a cooling off period as well.

I understand keeping the incubator closed if it is of the styrofoam type. No use to open it unless you are turning eggs anyway.

However, if you have a multiple drawer incubator and no separate hatcher then opening it 3 times a day is normal to turn eggs whether you are hatching or not. As to the humidity, mine generally runs around 36% unless it is raining. I usually hatch around 85-90%. Also, I turn all my eggs by hand and hatch in egg cartons.

barefoot,
Obviously what you are doing is working; don't go and change it now. You don't need hatching advice; instead you need to give some.

 

[Cuban Longtails]

Barefoot, roll with what you have going. It works well for you. I fully agree with Saladin. Only open foam incubators when you have to! It takes too long for them to regulate once you close it again. The big cabinet incubators don't have that problem. They're built to regulate themselves quicker, because you can stagger hatch in them without issue. Thats how they are constructed.

 

[barefoottrims]

I dont like styrofoams to me they look like a Elec. Oven Broiler I have a microwave/broiler and it has almost the same element as the LG still air and the high humidity is to protect the eggs from an element that heats up to about 120 f only 2 " away from the egg and people ran with it


1 100 w light bulb will burn at around 116 f
1 75 light bulb will burn at around 108 f