Okay, few more questions....

[fiset94]

I have a newbie question - I keep reading that they "came out the wrong side" - I didn't realize that they should be cracking out on one side over the other. Should you see their beak in the round or pointy end? I thought that the air sack moved while the chick grew and was not in one place.

I have 4 serama and 12 olive eggers in the incubator now. I placed them in on the 6th and so will be doing lock down next week.

 

[Jessshan8]

I have a newbie question - I keep reading that they "came out the wrong side" - I didn't realize that they should be cracking out on one side over the other. Should you see their beak in the round or pointy end? I thought that the air sack moved while the chick grew and was not in one place.

I have 4 serama and 12 olive eggers in the incubator now. I placed them in on the 6th and so will be doing lock down next week.

The air cell naturally forms at the larger end of the egg. It sometimes forms at the small end if the egg is set with that end up after being laid. the chick however develops "normally" with it's head toward the larger more rounded end. if the chick happens to develop facing the smaller end it may drown when it starts to pip and very likely if it doesn't perish from drowning will have trouble piping and hatching due to the lack of space in the smaller end. This is why it is imperative thet eggs set in turners or cartons to incubate be set with the pointy side down.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I have a newbie question - I keep reading that they "came out the wrong side" - I didn't realize that they should be cracking out on one side over the other. Should you see their beak in the round or pointy end? I thought that the air sack moved while the chick grew and was not in one place.

I have 4 serama and 12 olive eggers in the incubator now. I placed them in on the 6th and so will be doing lock down next week.

A egg's air cell forms at the big rounded end of the egg. This is why when you are storing or using a turner in your bator you put the pointy end down. The air cell stays at the rounded end, (Unless it's dislodged as is common in shipped eggs. This is not something you want to happen.) If your humidity levels are right during incubation the egg looses moisture causing the air cell to grow. It should grow like this:

Most people mark their air cells at days 7/14/18 to check for growth and so they have an idea of where the chick should be pipping at hatch time. Generally they pip in the vicinity of the day 18 line on the low side.

A chick first pips into the air cell and then makes it's pip through the shell. Once the chick pips into the air cell it rests while it finishes doing the things it needs to in order to hatch. Learns to breath air, absorbs any remainding yolk, the vessels shrink and it rests. Then usually with in 24 hours it pips out. A malepositioned chick pips in the wrong end or significantly below the air cell. Many times they will pip right in the middle. When they do this they are not getting that much needed step into the air cell and rest and often they may be positioned in such a way that it is harder to make the zip and hatch by themselves.

 

[fiset94]

Thank you so much for that needed information.... I did place them in the tuner round side up... because that is what I read on BYC but I wasn't sure WHY it was so important to do so.

I will look for the start of the chick to come out of the rounded side and if it starts coming out of the pointy side... I will take note that it is not in the correct position.... But- There really isn't much I can do is there... if It has already started coming out that way?

That Diagram is GREAT! I will attempt to look inside my eggs with a flashlight and see if it coordinates with the picture. If the air pocket is smaller or larger... what is the right action to take?

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Thank you so much for that needed information.... I did place them in the tuner round side up... because that is what I read on BYC but I wasn't sure WHY it was so important to do so.

I will look for the start of the chick to come out of the rounded side and if it starts coming out of the pointy side... I will take note that it is not in the correct position.... But- There really isn't much I can do is there... if It has already started coming out that way?

That Diagram is GREAT! I will attempt to look inside my eggs with a flashlight and see if it coordinates with the picture. If the air pocket is smaller or larger... what is the right action to take?

If they pip in the wrong spot, (malepositioned) there's not a whole lot you can do except be on stand by and keep an eye on them. A good majority of the time they will hatch on their own. However, someties they need a little help, if the hatcher is willing to assist. It should be a last resort thing and only after the hatcher has read the assisted hatching thread here on BYC so that they understand when and why and how.

The air cells, (my favorite rant subject...lol) We control humidity specifically so the egg looses the right amount of moisture and the air cell grows properly. The higher the humidity the less moisture can escape from the egg, the less the air cell is going to grow. The less humidity the more moisture can escape the egg allowing the air cell to grow. If your air cells are too small this means the humidity has been too high and it needs to be reduced. Too high humidity causes chicks to drown at hatch because that moisture is still there in the shell at hatch time. Air cells that are too big is the product of insufficient humidity-the humidity was too low and it needs to be increased to slow/stop the moisture loss and allow the chick's debvelopement to catch up to the air cell developement. If the air cell is allowed to get too big the chick can become shrink wrapped by the membrane. This will keep the chick from being able to pip and it will suffocate. If it does manage to pip, chances are it will not be able to finish the job as it can not turn and move in the shell and will die.

 

[fiset94]

Air Cells too small = Lower my humidity
Air Cells too Large= I need to up the humidity

got it.


I will be taking them out of the turner on the 22nd... and increasing humidity on the 23rd- But Should I start checking the air cell now prior to the removing the egg from the turner.

I have read that messing too much with them can cause problems... and I already have issues with one of the incubators that I am using... It keep spiking in the far right corner... and temp is super low in the front.... but the humidity has been consistent 40-45.

We purchased day old chicks many years back and this time around I thought... " Hey .. we should buy eggs and try incubating them!" .. sounds easy enough...

Did not realize actually how much work went into it... Especially if you don't have a " set it and forget it" kind of incubator...

But with all the work comes a great deal of joy... hopefully... I anticipate that at least one serama chick will hatch and 3 EE.

In another incubator I have 4 Serama's and 18 Maran Eggs... this Incubator has been giving me the hardest time ( little giant 9300 still air) ... I'm thinking about when the first batch has hatched in my other incubator ( Hova Bator) that I should move these eggs to Hova Bator- I seem to have a handle on the temp on this one....

.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Air Cells too small = Lower my humidity
Air Cells too Large= I need to up the humidity

got it.


I will be taking them out of the turner on the 22nd... and increasing humidity on the 23rd- But Should I start checking the air cell now prior to the removing the egg from the turner.

I have read that messing too much with them can cause problems... and I already have issues with one of the incubators that I am using... It keep spiking in the far right corner... and temp is super low in the front.... but the humidity has been consistent 40-45.

We purchased day old chicks many years back and this time around I thought... " Hey .. we should buy eggs and try incubating them!" .. sounds easy enough...

Did not realize actually how much work went into it... Especially if you don't have a " set it and forget it" kind of incubator...

But with all the work comes a great deal of joy... hopefully... I anticipate that at least one serama chick will hatch and 3 EE.

In another incubator I have 4 Serama's and 18 Maran Eggs... this Incubator has been giving me the hardest time ( little giant 9300 still air) ... I'm thinking about when the first batch has hatched in my other incubator ( Hova Bator) that I should move these eggs to Hova Bator- I seem to have a handle on the temp on this one....

.

I personally recommend doing at least the 7 day candle and 14 day candle to check for air cell size because at those stages most size discreptancy can be altered before lockdown. By 18 days if there's a problem there's not a whole lot that can be done because you are going into lockdown and the humidty has to be up for hatch regardless. I am hand turning this time and I candle a few a day to check progress. I have an older LG and have come to the conclusion that the heating element is not putting off the same amount of heat. I have cool/hot spots and that's with a fan installed. I've just been placing my top on in different directions so the heating elements are oving to all four positions during the day...lol

 

[fiset94]

So.. I put my eggs in my hova bator on the 6th.. so they are on day 13... So I will candle them tonight to see if I need to alter the humidity. The humidity on both units has been running about the same- so Is it safe to assume that the change that I do on one machine should be mimicked on the other?

This two incubator thing is crazy!

I originally had bought one incubator and the P.O LOST my shipped eggs in the mail.. only to be found 10 days later... But I couldn't add those eggs in to the existing bunch that I already had going Serama and EE... so a new set was sent out .. .and 4 days later they arrived.

I decided to buy another incubator.. but I had to move fast as I had eggs on my counter that now needed to go in... So I went to my local Tractor Supply and all they had was the 9300 little giant.... Which was different from the Hova Bator that I had up and running.


The Hova Bator has the heating element all around the cover and provides a really good heat throughout... this LG 9300 has a very small box off to the back side that cooks the eggs in that area
( 105-110) and then the eggs at the bottom are cooler.. (97-100)

It will be interesting to see which incubator does a better job at hatching these eggs.... OR I could wait until the first batch hatch in the Hova Bator and move the LG eggs over to the Hova bator... Not sure what to do.....

I will read the assisted hatching thread... because you just never know when you will need to pull that information and put it to use!

 

[WalnutHill]

I hadn't seen the LG9300 yet. The older 9200 has a heating element that wraps around the upper shell, probably like your Hovabator.

Would it be possible to build a divider inside that will absorb and radiate heat more evenly? Like a hot water bottle or something that will moderate the temperature and keep it from being a focused heat source?

 

[AmyLynn2374]

So.. I put my eggs in my hova bator on the 6th.. so they are on day 13... So I will candle them tonight to see if I need to alter the humidity. The humidity on both units has been running about the same- so Is it safe to assume that the change that I do on one machine should be mimicked on the other?

This two incubator thing is crazy!

I originally had bought one incubator and the P.O LOST my shipped eggs in the mail.. only to be found 10 days later... But I couldn't add those eggs in to the existing bunch that I already had going Serama and EE... so a new set was sent out .. .and 4 days later they arrived.

I decided to buy another incubator.. but I had to move fast as I had eggs on my counter that now needed to go in... So I went to my local Tractor Supply and all they had was the 9300 little giant.... Which was different from the Hova Bator that I had up and running.


The Hova Bator has the heating element all around the cover and provides a really good heat throughout... this LG 9300 has a very small box off to the back side that cooks the eggs in that area
( 105-110) and then the eggs at the bottom are cooler.. (97-100)

It will be interesting to see which incubator does a better job at hatching these eggs.... OR I could wait until the first batch hatch in the Hova Bator and move the LG eggs over to the Hova bator... Not sure what to do.....

I will read the assisted hatching thread... because you just never know when you will need to pull that information and put it to use!

I have the older lg and the heating element is the same as the one in the hovabator. I've heard a lot of complaints about the new heating set up in the newer LGs and the temps being uneven.