Our first pips of our first incubating attempt!

[mtsmylie]

Almost exactly 21 days after we put 33 of our hens' eggs in a still-air LG, we noticed 2 pips before bedtime, and I woke up to a total of 6 this morning. Yay! Some neat random sounds coming from the eggs, too, which is amazing.

Should I be concerned that 10 hours after the first two pips, the holes haven't gotten any larger? Or should I just be patient and give them a bunch of more time? I'm really excited to see what the situation is when I get home from work today.

Re: Humidity. Some photos I've seen here at BYC shows vapor on the LG windows during photos of eggs in lockdown. Is that normal? I've kept the water channels full, and we have a washcloth at the bottom that I keep wet by putting a straw through one of the plug holes, but I haven't seen any vapor on the window since right after we went into lockdown. I don't have a hygrometer, but I've been following lots of advice around here, and want to make sure they're moist enough to move around and get out of there.

Thanks!
Matt

 

[Emilys3guppies]

Eggs can pip 1-48 hour before hatching and it's all normal.

I think average is 12-24 hours from pip to zip though.

 

[mtsmylie]

Quote:
Thanks for the great information. As soon as I got to work, my wife texted me that we have a 7th pip now.

I get the impression it'll be a pretty busy next 24 or so hours.

 

[mtsmylie]

Success! My wife just came in from watering the hens outside, and found two chicks rampaging through the incubator!

Holy smokes! I'm so excited!

 

[mommyofthree]

YAY, that's so exciting!!!

My eggs are getting close to hatching, it's our first incubating attempt too and so far lots of the eggs are rocking and due to hatch in about 1-2 days. I also have the LG still air and haven't noticed any condensation..?? I filled the water wells as well as soaking a couple of small sponges and my hygrometer is reading between 70-73%. Good luck with the rest of your hatch, your chicks are too cute!!

What kind are they?

 

[mtsmylie]

Quote:
They're Plymouth Barren Rocks, from a bunch of eggs we got from our PBR hens after our one and only PBR Rooster and three hens were killed by a fox. Last month.

They're beautiful birds, so we fully expect the chicks to be the same. It's definitely nice being able to create a new generation from your current one.