Lockdown today, few questions...

[silkies4penny]

I have a hovabator 1602N still air bator. I am in lockdown as of an hour ago. I have bumped my humidity up to 65-70% and got my temp restablized after taking out the egg turner. Im wondering when the chicks start to hatch, how long do I wait to pull the red plugs at the top to allow more air? and do I turn the temp down a little bit after they are all hatched?

And on a compleatly unrelated question, I have three eggs that I put into lockdown with the rest that I could tell (the embryos) were much smaller than the rest, however they were all three still alive and very much active. if they do not hatch, would I be able to candle them and leave them be for a few more days? I have no idea why they didn't develop as fast as these are all shipped eggs and set on the same day. But they are still alive and looking about 5-7 days behind...

 

[Patchesnposies]

Hello! I am on lock down today, too. I have a hova bator still air just like yours. My incubator is full of Serama chicks (that are on day 19 today) and a bunch of Blue Copper Marans that will hatch out Friday.

I wait until the hatch is well underway and the humidity is pegged before I open the vents.

I am not sure why your three eggs are developmentally behind....maybe they were in a spot that was slightly cooler in temp? Are the other eggs right on time? Could some of the eggs have started before you got them? Not sure. But I wouldn't count these out if you can see movement. Just let them do their thing. IF you decide to take the chicks that hatch soonest out make sure you keep the temp and humidity stable as you can.

For instance, month before last, my Serama trios and Blue Copper hens were still laying sporadically. They started laying in earnest last month. I was anxious to begin incubating so once the incubator got stable I just started sticking eggs in as I gathered them. Talk about a staggered hatch! I set the eggs in a haphazard fashion...I didn't even mark the dates on them. I knew they were fresh and wasn't worried about it.

I ended up hatching out 15 Serama chicks and six Blue Copper chicks over a two week period. I was worried because I thought perhaps the hatching "gunk" would rot and put bad bacteria into the bator and kill the remaining eggs, but that didn't happen. When I took the chicks out, I gathered up as much shell and detritus as I could but didn't always get it all.

My husband really is a scientist and he gets aggravated at my "style" when I incubate.....he keeps records of temps and turnings and all.....while I never keep track of anything, tending to do things intuitively and try to think like a hen!

I hope those three little kickers make it to the finish line!

Good Luck on your hatch!

PnP

 

[silkies4penny]

thank you for your response I think I may leave the eggs that are behind after the hatch if they don't do anything. I have marked them well so I know which ones they are. I candled all 24 when I put them in and they were all the same. Half of them had ruptured air cells, and 4 were cracked. I was able to nail polish the cracks on two and they are in lockdown as well. I am guessing as long as they havnt internally pipped, then they will be ok when I take the others out. I havent done a stagared hatch yet as my success rate with a normal hatch has been nil. but I am dealing with just shipped eggs so lets hope for the best!! they are all Buff silkies from CJexotics

 

[Patchesnposies]

Said a little prayer that THIS hatch will be a great one for you.

Believe me, it takes a while to understand the process as well as your individual incubator.

Once you get the hang of it....it is SO addicting. No matter how many babies I have hatched out....I get excited every time.

My usual mantra the day of lock down is, "I know I'm not going to get any babies this time." Or, "I think I screwed this hatch up!"

My husband laughs at me and reminds me that I say that every time.

Chickie Blessings Sent Your Way!