Lockdown today!

[Coenobita]

It's day 19 and I just put in a wet cloth into the incubator for humidity. Already one has broken a small piece of shell off.. nothing drastic but it is very exciting!!

The temperature is about 101 degrees, and it's a still air incubator. Humidity is a bit over 50 before I added the cloth, probably more now though. Is this good? This is our first hatch and I am really hoping it will go well.

[edit] I have a question, all of the eggs are clustered together right now-- also, there is nothing on the bottom of the incubator (I've heard that people use egg cartons?) should I move the eggs apart, and/or add something beneath them? Not sure if I should do anything.

 

[Coenobita]

UPDATE!
two chicks have hatched this morning! I will try to get some pictures soon. One is brown with a light yellow colored head, and the other is yellow all over with what I think are some stripes on its back.

They are both half Japanese bantam and the other half could be phoenix, d'anver, dutch bantam, or quite a few other things lol! I have a question about merek's vaccination - I could not get it soon enough for it to get here in time for me to administer it to the chicks within the first 24 hours.

I was wondering if a. there is another way to vaccinate them for merek's that I could get from a local feedstore, and b. if they will be all right if they are not vaccinated. I have a flock of about 20 birds so I am worried that they would be at risk if I keep them.. I have two faverolles that are not vaccinated either, and they are doing fine, though. Thank you in advance!!