My First Attempt At Hatching

[beckschicks]

I knew nothing about candeling when I started. I am currently using a mini meg light but I saw at Auto zone one of the high powered little lights so I might try that. The best advice I can give is candle every day in a dark room. At first I saw nothing and then because I looked at my eggs every day when I turned them at night I started to notice changes in them. As for humidity I am in the south I did not up my humidity until my first egg hatched that was not the original play just how things worked out. LOL I added no water until that time. I had a hard time at first keeping my humidity okay. I put good quality paper towels down over the wire. I have two lids full of water and two sponges I also wet the paper towels. I have changed them after the first big hatch they got stinky and nasty. I can now keep it around 74% after almost everyone hatched but that is my life.

I took the standpoint this was a learning experience and if they hatched they hatched. We did not do lockdown our hatch was too spread out and too many humidity issues we were in and out of the incubator every day or every other day pulling out baby chicks or putting water in. Even with that I am very pleased with the hatch. I do not have a turner and I honestly dont think I want one. I would much rather handle the eggs to turn them. It allowed me to pull out our bad eggs without them getting a chance to explode. Go into this knowing that eggs will not hatch that babies will die but over all this is just an awesome thing of nature to go from something pure liquid to a living breathing creature with bones, feathers, and intellicut is really awesome to me. No I am not nieve and think that chickens are "smart" but they are still able to think and work through problem solving and smart enough to know when I call them there is food on the other end. I know some people that havent got that worked out. LOL

 

[Phantom_Rooster]

Quote:
X2

Well said.

 

[mrs b. bates farm]

im from the south too.. do they need humidity when they hatch? will they live without it?

 

[chics n more]

Pipping and cheeping this morning!

Had to go to work.

 

[beckschicks]

awe you will come home to pretty fluffy chicks I like it best that way wake up and they are all running around and being noisy

 

[beckschicks]

Of the nine I left in the incubator I 2 that were not fertile these were dark blue green eggs and I could not see through them. One that died early in development. Two that had developed more but still were far from where they should have been. Four that were almost completely developed and I am not sure if I pulled them too early.

I let them go four days over when they were suppose to hatch but I may have still jumped the gun a little bit. I felt so bad.