May 2020 Hatch-A-Long

[Camellia]

I have no idea. Mine stayed very constant for the first 18 days, but I didn't have any water at all in there. Hopefully someone wiser than I will chime in.

No water? You just put the eggs in there and let them sit? that’s intriguing, can you explain how that works please?

 

[Minky]

Which sex feathers out faster? I have 2 day olds with feathers on wingtips!

 

[CindyinSD]

No water? You just put the eggs in there and let them sit? that’s intriguing, can you explain how that works please?

I hear styrofoam incubators keep a much steadier humidity. Mine are plastic (easier to keep sanitary) and I just add a bit of water whenever the humidity drops too low. It soon shoots up (don't add a lot--you can always add more), usually higher than I want, but it drops fairly quickly. It's the average and the growth of the air cells that matters.

The surface area of water will determine your humidity, but the depth of the water will control how long the humidity lasts. My incubators have three nested square channels in the base. I usually fill the outermost one for land birds; or for waterbirds, I fill the two outer rings. When the waterfowl go on lockdown I fill all three. For chickens, etc. I only fill the two outermost during lockdown. All this will change depending on your local climate and elevation. Find what combination works best for you, and don't let the short term fluctuations trouble you.

 

[ChicKittyHouse]

I haven't posted but I am doing a May hatch. Last night I candled my eggs in preparation for lockdown. One has looked strange from the beginning but I had candled my eggs and had them in a bowl on my kitchen counter so I couldn't quite figure it out. This is my 3rd hatch, so I have a lot to learn. I decided to take the egg out and examine the contents. To my surprise it was a boiled egg!! After a short investigation it turns out my friends 4 year old had been checking out the eggs during a visit and got them mixed up! It also explains why I made a huge mess attempting to peel what turned out to be a raw egg!

 

[CluckNDoodle]

@CluckNDoodle it will be a Polish deathlayer cross. I'm hoping it'll look awesome. Not sure how coloring will play out.

I bet it's going to be pretty!

 

[goat114]

Today is day 18 my friend lost power and we had to move the eggs to another friends house tomorrow is my birhday and the chicks should hatch tomorrow.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

I haven't posted but I am doing a May hatch. Last night I candled my eggs in preparation for lockdown. One has looked strange from the beginning but I had candled my eggs and had them in a bowl on my kitchen counter so I couldn't quite figure it out. This is my 3rd hatch, so I have a lot to learn. I decided to take the egg out and examine the contents. To my surprise it was a boiled egg!! After a short investigation it turns out my friends 4 year old had been checking out the eggs during a visit and got them mixed up! It also explains why I made a huge mess attempting to peel what turned out to be a raw egg!

Now that's a first! Lol!!!

 

[Vantic]

Today is day 18 my friend lost power and we had to move the eggs to another friends house tomorrow is my birhday and the chicks should hatch tomorrow.

Hope you have a great hatch.

 

[goat114]

Hope you have a great hatch.

Thanks

 

[Minky]

No water? You just put the eggs in there and let them sit? that’s intriguing, can you explain how that works please?

I dont know- I was told not to add water til day 18. ???
My humidity in my house is naturally about 45-50% (Ontario, Canada). So my Bator was between 47-48 % the whole time. No water. Day 18 I filled reservoirs a little and it jumped to 63-65% in maybe 10 minutes. It got a little higher (70-73) as chicks hatched, but I would pull them out after about an hour or two, so when I opened it it would drop back into the 60's.