Lockdown questions, wisdom needed!

[Sustained]

So I have a still air LG with chickens and ducks in lockdown. Humidity has been holding fine but half of the bator is 98 degrees and the other half about 96-97 and fluctuates. I did everything I could think of to even it out without frying the eggs on the warmer half. Hatch day was Sunday. I had a duckling finally hatch yesterday on its own. There was a chick that got stuck so last night I steamed my bathroom and assisted. I took the opportunity to candle some eggs. I couldn't see movement but they hadn't internally pipped and I saw some receding nice red veins. Is that a good sign? Or would I see that even if they quit?

 

[Egghead_Jr]

By your temp I'd assume they'd be later in hatching than a day or two. 99.5F is the temp for eggs and using a still air people run 101.5 F measured at top level of eggs as the air temp is layered in them. Your thermometer reads a tad low. Next hatch do the same thing but run a degree F higher and I bet they'll start hatching day 20 and finish day 22.

 

[Sustained]

Okay. This is my first messed up temp experience during lockdown. They were incubated the first 18 days in a much nicer forced air incubator. I have a brinsea on order to replace my LG as a hatcher. I just have no idea how much longer I should give them to hatch. Or even if what I saw was a good sign or irrelevant

 

[AmyLynn2374]

By your temp I'd assume they'd be later in hatching than a day or two. 99.5F is the temp for eggs and using a still air people run 101.5 F measured at top level of eggs as the air temp is layered in them. Your thermometer reads a tad low. Next hatch do the same thing but run a degree F higher and I bet they'll start hatching day 20 and finish day 22.

xs 2. That's quite low for still air.

I was having the same issue with my lg (I have fan). One side was heating warmer than the other. I thought it was my heating element so I moved the eggs as far over to the other side as I could. (The lower side was spot on 99.5). After I did this I noticead that the side that was warmer was getting even more hot w/o the eggs over there. I started wondering if it had to do with heat absorption so I stuck a couple DRY sponges on that side of the bator and low and behold, the temps started balanceing back out. Once I discovered that I moved the eggs back around trying to get equal mass on both sides. After that the two sides ran pretty consistant. Maybe it's just a fluke, but I surmized that at the point that one side was warmer the distribution of eggs was uneven and the cooler side had more mass absorbing heat.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Okay. This is my first messed up temp experience during lockdown. They were incubated the first 18 days in a much nicer forced air incubator. I have a brinsea on order to replace my LG as a hatcher. I just have no idea how much longer I should give them to hatch. Or even if what I saw was a good sign or irrelevant

If I have had no hatchers, I would give them to day 24 then if no internal pips or movement I would start the eggtopsy in the air cell end to be certain. It's been my experience that the vascular system doesn't do much receeding until after the external pip. So I'm not sure if what you are seeing is viability or non.

 

[Sustained]

If I have had no hatchers, I would give them to day 24 then if no internal pips or movement I would start the eggtopsy in the air cell end to be certain.  It's been my experience that the vascular system doesn't do much receeding  until after the external pip. So I'm not sure if what you are seeing is viability or non.

Okay. I will continue to play the waiting game for a few more days and hope.