Opened incubator during hatch for 3-5 seconds...

[yolkoroo]

I had a quail chick get caught in the space/trough where the mechanism is for the turner (I have a roller-style turner). I waited for some time, but it was stuck and it wasn't getting out on its own. I had to lift the lid and gently nudge it out and I had cut a piece of foam which I jammed in there to prevent this from happening again. I did it quickly, but now I am stressed the heck out. It will be a long day. I rolled some of the eggs accidentally in the process. The humidity had spiked a bit and it didn't drop below 68% (Coturnix Quail), temp only dropped a degree, so I hope everyone is okay in there. Has this ever happened to you? Or do you have opinions on how bad of a move this was? I would guess the lid was opened (lifted on one edge) for maybe 3 seconds.

 

[Kale the Quail]

yea...they get stuck when we hatch eggs sometimes. opening the incubator for a short time won't hurt the chicks. the temperature going down only one degree isn't really bad, and the humidity sounds ok. hope you get some chicks

 

[yolkoroo]

@KaLe dA QuAiL Thanks, I needed to hear that. I read so much about never, never open the incubator during lockdown and hatch- It was making me crazy with worry. Thanks again.

 

[FloorCandy]

I feel like in the wild a hen would be moving around a bit, and getting up from time to time, so a bit of temp drop is probably normal for a few seconds as far as the eggs are concerned. I think doing it quickly and having the foam cut and ready to limit the time needed was great, and well thought out.

 

[Izzy Dietzler]

People say dont open the incubator the last 3 days but We have ALWAYS opened the incubator for probably 30 seconds each day when we put more water in and turn the eggs. We have over a 90% hatch rate still though and 75% of the ones that dont hatch are not even fertile. So I think you are fine.

 

[yolkoroo]

Thank you @FloorCandy and @Izzy Dietzler that's so helpful so that I feel like I can walk away and just let things happen now instead of hovering and worrying all day!

 

[Nabiki]

I open my incubator for very short periods during hatching. Sometimes you have to. If you have 70 eggs, you need to get some chicks out into the brooder. One of the tricks I've learned is to have a spot that has paper towel under the grippy shelf liner and put a small pipette of water on to that the moment I open the incubator. that gives a high surface volume and gets your humidity back up really fast once the incubator is closed.

 

[yolkoroo]

@Nabiki that is cool. I may need to use it again as the foam didn't work at all...they pulled it out. I am keeping an eye on them and will keep your strategy on hand as a work around.

 

[Quailobsessed]

Thank you @FloorCandy and @Izzy Dietzler that's so helpful so that I feel like I can walk away and just let things happen now instead of hovering and worrying all day!

Sometimes we just need to hear we're worrying over nothing

 

[Quailobsessed]

I feel like in the wild a hen would be moving around a bit, and getting up from time to time, so a bit of temp drop is probably normal for a few seconds as far as the eggs are concerned. I think doing it quickly and having the foam cut and ready to limit the time needed was great, and well thought out.

When my quail hens are broody, they get up and move around a bit and the chicks are fine.