My First Time

[TinyChickenLady]

I'm new

I started out with 12 fertilized eggs. Their 21st day was two days ago. They were all rockin and rollin a few days ago. I now have two new chicks (Dot and Fluffy) and am waiting on the rest. I think I saw a few more of them moving but I can't be 100% sure. How long should I wait to do the float test? I lost two eggs to bacteria and would like to have a higher success rate. I want to give them as much time as possible but don't want their "hatching room" to stink like rotten eggs (which it doesn't as of right now). Any advice for the newbie?

 

[Gypsy07]

If they're all the same breed and roughly the same size of eggs, and they all came from the same source, USUALLY any that are going to hatch will all do so within 48 hours. So if your chicks hatched more than 48 hours ago, you might want to think about floating the rest now. If it was lesss than 48 hours, relax and give them some more time to do their thing. Also if you're going to float them, be very careful to check for any tiny pips before you plop them in the water!

P.S. Welcome to BYC!

 

[TinyChickenLady]

They just hatched up to a day ago. And they're from at least 3 different breeds :\\ That's why I'm a little ocnfused I guess LoL I got them all from my neighbors farm. I guess I'll give them another day or 2 before I do the float test.
I've seen a full pip but I think I've noticed tiny little hair lines where a pip should start. Could those possibly be the start of a pip or am I just getting excited?

 

[Gypsy07]

Sometimes pips aren't obvious, sometimes the chick just cracks the shell a tiny bit but it's still enough to let air in. So it does sound like you might have some teeny tiny pips there. Also sounds like your eggs could take a few days to hatch if they're lots of different breeds. If I were you I'd just sit tight for a day or two and see what happens. If you DO have pips there, the last thing you want to be doing is opening the bator and letting the humidity drop. Try to sit on your hands. I know, it's almost impossible!

 

[TinyChickenLady]

Haha you got that right! I'll take your advice then and see what happens for the next few days. Thanks so much for all your help

 

[cmom]

I would wait another couple of days too. How is your temperature and humidity?

 

[TinyChickenLady]

Well my chicks didn't make except for Dot and Fluff

Turns out my humidity was too low. But I'm not giving up that easily. I'm going to try again with a smaller batch and more sponges. Wish me luck!

 

[Gypsy07]

Good luck! Practice makes perfect. Or at least, it'll make you a lot better anyway. And congrats on your two healthy chickies...

 

[Pookie_Momma]

Hi all,

Newbie here,,, first time hatcher. I had to hatch yesterday but they did not make it

This morning I awoke to a healthy happy chirpy baby. Not sure when it hatched but my question is it is not really drying??? is my humidity high.

The problem I face is I dont want to turn the temp or lower humidity because I have a set of silkies that are on on day 5 of incubation.


What should I do to get this lil one dry... I still have other that are piping.

Thanks

 

[chickens? not yet]

Quote:
I'll tell you what I do for humidity, I got a peice of airline, the kind you use in fish aquarium for air, I rubberbanded one end to a new sponge and put a, just right hole, in the bator for the airline to come out and then used a syringe,new, and when I needed more water I could put it in without having to open the box. Before I ever put the eggs in I kept a record of how many cc's I needed for a % of hum. I 'm keeping it at 40- 45% with 1 cc every time I turn the eggs, so when it comes to lockdown I will use 1 and a half cc's. This is my first hatch the hum. is doing great but not sure how the eggs are doing I have white & brown eggs I can't tell much about the brown and I see veins in only about 3 white ones, which was ok in the start! Only wanted 3 or 4 chicks, now I wish they were all going to hatch!! A few eggs can change your whole outlook on life!! LOL Great luck to you & you will love this site it is so full of great info. I could read for hours and do some times! Welcome