Mrs. Viss' Classroom Hatch-a-Long!

[Gazergirlstar]

here we go , little eggs be brave and watch out for snow

 

[Smokerbill]

Alrighty, it's go time! I will update this afternoon, when I do one last candle to make sure there are no last minute quitters before I set them into lockdown! They are going into lockdown just a smidge early, but I actually think that's not so bad. My temperatures have been holding fairly steady at 99.5, but it has been fluctuating daily a few times to 100 at some point, so I think it's been running on the ever so slightly warmer side. I have a feeling we may have some early birds hatching on Day 20, but it's just a hunch!

Will update again this afternoon!!

So excited!!

Hope they all hatch! I found it interesting that Purina states that the ideal incubation temperature for chicken eggs is 100.5°F and not 99.5°F. But I still keep mine in the 99 to 100 degree range with good results.

https://www.purinamills.com/chicken...g-eggs-at-home-a-21-day-guide-for-baby-chicks

 

[tviss711]

Hope they all hatch! I found it interesting that Purina states that the ideal incubation temperature for chicken eggs is 100.5°F and not 99.5°F. But I still keep mine in the 99 to 100 degree range with good results.

https://www.purinamills.com/chicken...g-eggs-at-home-a-21-day-guide-for-baby-chicks

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That is super interesting! We will have to see, maybe they won't be so early then. I'll be glad if they all hatched!! This is only my second hatch, so I'm just grateful to see them all make it to lockdown!

 

[tviss711]

I candled the eggs one last time, everyone still looks fantastic, healthy veins, obvious growth and movement, and air cells are looking good, if not a little bit on the large side. That makes me feel better about increasing the humidity this afternoon as we head into a slightly early lockdown. My olive egg has the smallest air cell of them all, but it still looks good and isn't troublingly small. Probably because of the thicker shell! I've heard olive and maran eggs don't lose moisture quite as readily as other eggs.

Fingers crossed for a great hatch!!!!! I would be over the moon if they all make it!!

 

[TwoCrows]

Good morning Classroom Eggies! Lockdown time is here, time to do your back flips and get into position for hatching!

 

[GreenJay]

Lockdown time!!
Go Cashew and class chicks!

 

[tviss711]

Well, so far lockdown is going well I think. I did end up driving back to the school today because the humidity dropped from 68% down to 57% overnight. It's not terrible, but it was averaging a percent decrease about every 2-3 hours, and I knew it would be too low come Monday so I went ahead and came in. (I am a helicopter hatcher I guess!) I added some more water, and brought it a little higher than I'm usually comfortable with (about 73%) knowing it will decrease over the course of the day/night. I stopped when I saw the ever so slight bit of condensation forming on a corner of the bator glass. We will see how that holds up, and if I need to come in tomorrow to top off, I suppose I will.

I had a flashlight shining in the incubator so I could try and see how full the water chambers were beneath, and eggs F and P wiggled when I shined the light near them. That was pretty fun!

It's leveled out to about 71% and is staying right there for now, so I think that should be okay for the day, and it leaves some wiggle room to slowly drop throughout the day. With so many eggs in there, I am afraid of raising it too high because I know the humidity will spike quite a bit once they start to hatch on Monday/Tuesday, so I'm trying to account for that while also avoiding shrink wrapped chicks.

I guess I'm an overthinker. 3 days left til hatch day!!!

I also have a hatch-day party planned for Tuesday with the students, it's a little bit of a surprise. The chicks are also set to hatch on the 100th day of school which is kind of fun. I have chicken balloons, plates, napkins, etc. that I'm going to set up on Monday afternoon, and we will have a little hatch-day party as we wait for the babies to come out of their shells!