Lost Count On Incubation!

[MommaFlocka]

Hi, new here! I have incubated my first round of eggs. I started with 32. I'm down to 6 that are at least at day 17 of incubation. I have lost count. The eggs all appear to be healthy. I have been able to candle up to this point. Completely dark inside. Very heavy. Temps are 98 and humidity is 60%. My question is; how would you treat this situation if you lost count? Should I expect them to hatch any day? Do I leave the eggs alone and not turn? Any signs to look for? Thanks in advance.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Hi, new here! I have incubated my first round of eggs. I started with 32. I'm down to 6 that are at least at day 17 of incubation. I have lost count. The eggs all appear to be healthy. I have been able to candle up to this point. Completely dark inside. Very heavy. Temps are 98 and humidity is 60%. My question is; how would you treat this situation if you lost count? Should I expect them to hatch any day? Do I leave the eggs alone and not turn? Any signs to look for? Thanks in advance.

If you know that you are at least day 17 and the air cells look good on the eggs, I would put them in lockdown and wait and see what comes. Have you been running the humidity that high and the temp that low for the entire incubation?

 

[MommaFlocka]

Thank you.

I have a Little Giant incubator. The temp is automatic set to "hatch." It asks to set temp to 95.5 but I like to keep it a tad warmer. Never over 97 in the beginning. I now have it set to 98-99 degrees. The humidity has gone up on its own and I'm now seeing moisture on my glass. I have kept the water tunnels 3/4 full to full at all times, keeping the humidity between 45-55%. It's now at 69% starting last night and today.

Basically, I have only followed directions on the incubator. This is my first time. I wish I had known about this page sooner.

I also mixed a different tray of eggs and they are about 7 days apart. I shouldn't have done that due to lock down purposes. I wasn't thinking about that when I put them in the incubator. How will I continue to turn them without interrupting the first few that need to be on lock down?

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Thank you.

I have a Little Giant incubator. The temp is automatic set to "hatch." It asks to set temp to 95.5 but I like to keep it a tad warmer. Never over 97 in the beginning. I now have it set to 98-99 degrees. The humidity has gone up on its own and I'm now seeing moisture on my glass. I have kept the water tunnels 3/4 full to full at all times, keeping the humidity between 45-55%. It's now at 69% starting last night and today.

Basically, I have only followed directions on the incubator. This is my first time. I wish I had known about this page sooner.

I also mixed a different tray of eggs and they are about 7 days apart. I shouldn't have done that due to lock down purposes. I wasn't thinking about that when I put them in the incubator. How will I continue to turn them without interrupting the first few that need to be on lock down?

Ok, first things first, the digital Little Giant incubators are often off where both temps and humidity are concerned. Many people that use the lg digitals have to set them higher to get the appropriet temps inside the bator. Never trust an incubator or a thermometer unless it's been checked for accuracy. Still air incubators, (without fan) should maintain temps at 101-102 near the tops of the eggs. A forced air (with fans) should maintain 99.5F.

Humidity is a whole other factor and this is where I hate the manuals the most. Different things work for different people, but the majority of people have a better hatch experience running a low humidity incubation the first 17 days. I myself prefer 30% for standard eggs, but I watch my air cells to know when and how to adjust. I would be very afraid that with the temps low and humidity high that you may run into a problem. Delayed chicks and possibly not enough loss of moisture.

Eggs do not need to be turned after day 14, so I would hand turn them until that point and if the other's haven't hatched yet, I'd stop and conentrate on the ones due to hatch.

Here's my recommendation: I am going to give you three links, One on humidity that has an egg pictorial in it. I would take a look at that and candle your eggs and compare to see if you have proper air cell growth. If you do not, I would drain all water out of the incubator and set the eggs back in and leave it dry as long as there are no internal pips, (any triangular shadow moving up in the air cell or peeping signifies an internal pip,) I would run dry and check the eggs every night to see if the air cells have grown to where they should be and for any internal pips. I would not go into lockdown before the internal pip unless the egg has lost enough moisture. If you can not get the air cells to grow to approximately where they should be before they internally pip I highly suggest hatching upright in cut down cartons to lower the risk of excess fluid leaking into the aircell at the time of internal pip. Now if the air cell has grown as needed and is big enough, ignore what I just said.

Two on what you should see at what days when candling. This will give you an idea if they are developing on time or if they may be behind due to low temps. Three My hands on hatching guide. This is from a hands on perspective. Most guides that you read, especially here, will come from a hands off perspective. Many of us do disagree with that philosophy and choose a hands on philosophy and hatch with the same success as hands off people. Neither philosophy is wrong, just different strokes for different folks. I will also throw up the link for the hands on hatchers and help thread here on BYC. We're a hands on group that love to help others and you will not find any condemnation for being a hand on hatcher if that's the philosophy you choose.

My advice for future hatches would be, check the thermometer/hygrometer on the bator for accuracy, I always keep at least 2 known accurate therms in my bator during hatch, (usually 3). It also helps locate hot/warm spots in the bator. Consider trying a low humidity incubation for the first 17 days unless you are in a high elevation. And People do successfully do staggered hatches, I am not a fan of them, but I would at least get a few successful hatches under your belt before stressing yourself out with staggering hatches, and I would keep notes or a calendar to write dates on so that you know what's what. And that is my advice.

Here are the links:
1) http://letsraisechickens.weebly.com...anuals-understanding-and-controlling-humidity
2) https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...g-candling-pics-progression-though-incubation
3) http://hatching411.weebly.com/
and https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1081034/hands-on-hatching-and-help

Edited to add that the Digital Lgs are known for the hygrometer reading 45-55% with or without water in the wells.