Newbie Hatcher and Day 21 is here but not looking good.

[MediGirl1987]

Hello Fellow Hatchers, I am new to BYC.

Today is Day 21 of my first hatch ever. I started with 13 eggs, after day 14 I pulled two out (one was empty and the other had a blood ring). On day 18 when I placed my eggs out of the turner and laid them down for lockdown I was so excited to see some of the eggs were rocking! I must be doing something right. I candled on day 18 as well and they were moving around inside that egg. On day 19 I was checking the humidity and temp and noticed my eggs were less....rocking. They were moving as much. Today is hatch day and 1 egg is rocking away, which tells me it is alive. But the others are not moving and wiggling. No eggs have pipped and I hear nothing.

So I took a quick peek at one of the eggs that I knew was rocking away on day 18. Candled and saw no movement but there was definitely a little chick in there, I could see the beak! So I am hoping this one rocking egg makes it, I really do but I am not hopeful for the others.
Details of my Hatch:

Average Temp Days 1-18: 97-102, most of the time it was 99-100.
Average Humidity Days 1-18: 45-57, most of the time I tried to keep it around 50-55%

Average Temp Days 19-21: 99-100
Average Humidity Days 19-21: 60-70%, I aimed for between 65-70%

So here are questions I have...

1) I get so many suggestions on humidity. Was my humidity settings to high? Did I drown my chicks? What should the humidity be? The instructions with my incubator says 50-55%. But I have seen people post 40-50%, and others 50-60%. The only consistent thing I have seen is that lock down should be around 65%.
2) Is it a big deal that my eggs are not rocking? Are they dead if I don't see the egg moving?
3) Judging by my levels could my humidity have drown the little guys?

This is my first hatch and honestly I would kind of roll my eyes at some people freaking out about their eggs and so on....now I get it. I so seriously get it. I am paranoid that they are dead and everything I read makes it sound like it is REALLY hard to hatch eggs, that the line is fine and not much wiggle room. No pips yet, but we shall see I know I know, it is still too early, they can hatch later. Any advice and encouragement is appreciated in advance! Thanks!

 

[dreamercatcher63]

Check out the incubating and hatching forum

 

[beetandsteet]

Check out the incubating and hatching forum

x2
Also, is your incubator still air? If it was, 100 degrees is too low. It should be around 102, measured at the top of the eggs.
The eggs "rock" when the chicks are positioning themselves for hatch. Even if they are positioning themselves, they still have to draw the remainder of the yolk sac into their bodies. And too, I've noticed that different chicks hatch different ways. Some rock for days; some pip and sit there for hours, and some just burst out.
If your thermometer was off by a degree or two, the peeps will hatch late. Always use an extra thermometer or two, especially in a styrofoam incubator.
50-55 percent humidity is a little high for my liking. I usually hatch "dry" with humidity around 30% until lockdown; then 70%. Note: this method does not work for everybody--which brings me to an important part about learning the art of hatching. What works for one does not necessarily work for others. There are as many opinions out there as there are hatchers. If you end up having a bad hatch this time, record what you did and experiment with other methods until you get one that works for you. That is the important part about bad hatches: don't let it discourage you and learn for the next time. That being said, good "cluck" with your first hatch! Please let me know what ends up happening.

 

[chicksinbathoh]

...

x2
Also, is your incubator still air? If it was, 100 degrees is too low. It should be around 102, measured at the top of the eggs. 
The eggs "rock" when the chicks are positioning themselves for hatch. Even if they are positioning themselves, they still have to draw the remainder of the yolk sac into their bodies. And too, I've noticed that different chicks hatch different ways. Some rock for days; some pip and sit there for hours, and some just burst out. 
If your thermometer was off by a degree or two, the peeps will hatch late. Always use an extra thermometer or two, especially in a styrofoam incubator. 
50-55 percent humidity is a little high for my liking. I usually hatch "dry" with humidity around 30% until lockdown; then 70%. Note: this method does not work for everybody--which brings me to an important part about learning the art of hatching. What works for one does not necessarily work for others. There are as many opinions out there as there are hatchers. If you end up having a bad hatch this time, record what you did and experiment with other methods until you get one that works for you. That is the important part about bad hatches: don't let it discourage you and learn for the next time. That being said, good "cluck" with your first hatch! Please let me know what ends up happening. 

This is our first time hatching ever. We had one burst out last night on day 19/20. The other 14 are not really doing anything. I have seen a couple rocking so we are excited about that. The question we have is we know that they don't need any food for up to 3 days but do we need to take the peep out in 2 days even if the others haven't hatched yet? Any advise is appreciated. Thank you.

 

[chicksinbathoh]

This is our first time hatching ever. We had one burst out last night on day 19/20. The other 14 are not really doing anything. I have seen a couple rocking so we are excited about that. The question we have is we know that they don't need any food for up to 3 days but do we need to take the peep out in 2 days even if the others haven't hatched yet? Any advise is appreciated. Thank you.

 

[MediGirl1987]

So long as your little guy is dry and you have waited as long as you can (the 3 days), you can and quickly pull your little chick out. Apparently leaving your little chick in there peeping away may encourage your other little eggs to get a move on. So I would wait and see a little before pulling your chick out.

 

[beetandsteet]

@@MediGurl1987 how is your hatch going?

 

[KeyFlock]

How did the hatch go? Did any chicks make it???

 

[Minimammelfarm]

Can you give us an update? I am interested to know. Hoping for the best!!! Happy holidays!

 

[MediGirl1987]

So sorry everyone. Family was up for the holidays and things got a little crazy. Unfortunately I didn't get any chicks this round. I waited until day 25, checked viability, candling, and none were moving. Candling showed no movement either. I waited some more just cause...but nope. So I am trying again! My first try was a bust, but I have increased my temp and bought 3 thermometers and I am decreasing my humidity for days 1-18 to see if this hatch will be better. I was really disappointed. But I am learning so I am trying again.

Thanks for all the help, tips and encouragement everyone! It was way more nerve wracking then I thought I would be, only to have nothing come of it. Hopefully this time will be different.