Newbie ? Slow hatching chicks

[our4sons]

Hello- today is day 20 since we put our eggs in the incubator and yesterday at 4pm I noticed 10 eggs were cracked. By 8pm there was very little if any progress but we can hear chirping. This morning (6am now) there are one or two with small holes where I can see movement and they are still chirping but nothing else has happened. Several of the eggs still only have the first crack with no progress at all. Is that normal? Did we do something wrong?

We are using a incubator from the farm bureau that has a fan and we are keeping the temp at 100 like they told us to. There is a little water in the middle section still but we do not have anything to tell us what the humidity is and we were told to stop adding water when the first chick piped. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Poultra]

Quote:
Yep, sit on your hands. Don't open the incubator, you can screw up the hatch if you do. They'll be fine in the incubator for a couple of days after hatching so just wait for everyone to hatch out and fluff up. They can take up to 24 hours, give or take a bit, to hatch after pipping. There are some folks on here whose eggs have taken 25-26 days to hatch, it doesn't sound like yours will take that long, though. Sounds like you're good for temp and humidity. Don't worry, sounds like things are progressing the way that they should!

So how many eggs did you put in and what are they? Hope you can post pics of your peeps when they're out!

Good luck! And

Katie

 

[Garden Gal]

Keep us posted... I'm sure this is nerve wracking!!

 

[our4sons]

We put in 36 green eggs and so far there are at least 14 piping

I LOVE hearing them chirp! OK sitting on hands and not touching the bator for a few more days!

If I can figure out how to post pictures I will definitely share

 

[Poultra]

How did it go?

 

[our4sons]

Not to good. We had 7 succesfull hatches. Three chicks died after hatching and the rest all died shortly after piping or zipping

On the plus side our 4 remaining chicks are happy healty cutie pies as shown in the slideshow below......

http://s76.photobucket.com/albums/j6/our3sons2007/chicks/?action=view&current=a4f5496d.pbw

 

[Poultra]

I'm so sorry the majority didn't make it - but like you said, on the plus side you have 4. Four is better than zero. And cute little buggers, too! Look at the poofy cheeks!

Perhaps a humidity gauge for the next time? (C'mon, you know there's going to be a next time

) I got mine at WalMart for about $11, it's an Accurite that measures indoor temp, out door temp (has a probe that I put into a water wiggler) and humidity. Works nice. I keep humidity in the upper 30's, lower 40's for the first 18 days and only add water when it dips below that. For the last three days, if I can get it to go upper 50's into the 60's, I think I'm doing good. For my first hatch I got 60% (6/10) in a homemade still air, second hatch was 73% (22/30) added a fan for that one, and third hatch is ongoing - 13 eggs, lucky number.

Those aren't bad numbers, some eggs can be infertile, some will develop so far and have a DNA glitch that will make them stop, age of the egg and how it was handled (eg, post office, storage before incubation, etc) make a difference, some who knows why they don't make it?

Have fun with your fuzzies, gosh, they're so cute! Don't be afraid to try again, it is fun and there's a great reward at the end!
Katie

 

[our4sons]

Quote:
LOL about there being a next time! IF we do have a next time there will definitely be a humidity gauge installed from day one. It was just to sad to loose so many

I think some of the problem MIGHT have been with the actual eggs as the lady I got them from casually told me yesterday that even though they have been doing it for a long time they are lucky to get a 50% hatch rate.....maybe maybe not?

 

[Poultra]

Quote:
Hmm, several things come to mind, "they have been doing it for a long time" - inbreeding would be one. Couldn't really say without knowing more about their set-up.

Yeah, it is sad to lose so many but it probably wasn't meant to be, you know? If you do want to take another shot at it, and would like to try some orpington crosses, let me know, I'll send you some of my eggs. I have a splash orpington roo in with RIR, Golden Comet and Buff Orpington ladies and they throw some really colorful chicks.

Enjoy the fuzzies!
Katie

 

[our4sons]

That is very nice of you to offer! I will definitely keep you in mind if we try again.

Thank you !