We let a hen sit on eggs in the chicken house... I know, it's not a good idea. So, we had chicks due as much as a week apart because of the other hens laying in her nest when she was off getting a bite to eat. I carefully moved the hen to her own little house when the first two chicks started to hatch.
Everything was fine, but I knew that she was going to leave her other eggs when the chicks started to get active. So, I fired up the incu. It stayed steady at 100 degrees overnight and most of the morning. Finally after checking on my hen every five minutes, I knew she wasn't going to get back on and three of the eggs were chirping, two of those were hatching. For three hours everything was great... then over dinner the incu spiked at 120 degrees and they all died. What happened? I did the failure clutch egg check and out of all of the eight eggs, all but one were healthy looking, most just about ready to hatch.
Not only am I depressed at the loss of the adorable chicks, but now I'm worried about my incubator! Does the Little Giant incu normally do that? It's forced air. What caused such a rapid increase in temp after staying steady for over 18 hours? It's a learning experience that I'd prefer not to ever repeat.
Everything was fine, but I knew that she was going to leave her other eggs when the chicks started to get active. So, I fired up the incu. It stayed steady at 100 degrees overnight and most of the morning. Finally after checking on my hen every five minutes, I knew she wasn't going to get back on and three of the eggs were chirping, two of those were hatching. For three hours everything was great... then over dinner the incu spiked at 120 degrees and they all died. What happened? I did the failure clutch egg check and out of all of the eight eggs, all but one were healthy looking, most just about ready to hatch.
Not only am I depressed at the loss of the adorable chicks, but now I'm worried about my incubator! Does the Little Giant incu normally do that? It's forced air. What caused such a rapid increase in temp after staying steady for over 18 hours? It's a learning experience that I'd prefer not to ever repeat.