oh no, the temp fell overnight

Yogalady

In the Brooder
10 Years
Mar 1, 2009
50
0
39
Burbs of Philly
I went to bed and the temp was 100.
We are in PA and had massive snow and a cold front over night but I assumed the temp would stay the same in the incubator - no, it did not.
I wake up at 7 AM and the temp is about 94-97 (I freaked so I am not even sure) and not sure of how long it was that temp.

Was very close to them hatching; would this have killed them?

Sad and ticked at Mother Nature and Myself,
Michele

I recently posted that on Friday I heard scratching in the eggs (by placing my ear near the incubator) then Sat no sounds but one egg sort of moved quickly and that was it - then last night I see what looks like a hairline fracture on one egg (I expected a hole not a crack) -
Not sure what these signs mean either.
 
Get the temp back up and keep your fingers crossed. Sometimes they are far stronger than we think.

Good vibes for hatching coming your way. Don't give up on them yet.
fl.gif
 
No it will not kill them. Just be careful not to get it to hot in trying to raise the temperature again. I have had a broody fail to cover all her eggs before and I found one cold one morning when it was time to hatch. I brought it in and had no incubator up and running. I put it in my bra for lack of a better place and hurried around and fixed up the little homemade hatcher I had built earlier. It took a good hour to warm up and stablize. By the time it was ready to add the egg my heart was pumping since I really needed these chicks. By the time I was ready to put the egg in the hatcher, it had pipped. I was so thrilled. The little baby hatched fine and I placed it under the mommy early the next morning.

They can survive amazing hardships, of course we try to prevent those at all costs and keep a nice stable environment for hatching.
 
Quote:
Remember the ice storm a couple of weeks ago. I lost my power and my bator temps were 73 for about 4 hours. I am day 22 and my chicks are pipping this morning. They are just a little late. Don't worry too much. There isn't anything you can do about it now.

I have move my bator to a draft free spot this time. I always keep it in the kitchen in a corner ( I have a homemade cooler bator). But there was a window on one side and the kitchen door on the other. Not good in the winter. I had only hatched in the spring and summer before. I found this was terrible on keeping my temps regulated. I have it stashed between the wall and the bookshelf now. Draft free and working much better.

Good luck.
 
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Wow thank you ALL so much. I don't feel so helpless.

THis forum has made me addicted for sure!

I am actually a writer and former broadcaster but brought up on a "gentleman farm" meaning, my NYC mom and dad decided to buy acreage and be small time farmers (think of Green Acres - the guy in the suit and her in the nice outfits gathering eggs)
SO I now live back in the area I grew up, love it and now that I am doing this, I am so interested in "more" ... my husband and I were looking into raising pheasant also... chickens... you name it.

I love the whole idea of life around me and a simplicity to small miracles.
 

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