Pipping early

[nbuuifx]

I've got a dozen eggs in a Brinsea Octagon 20.

I put them in on a Sunday afternoon, so I counted that as day 0. So I'm expecting them to hatch on Monday which will be day 21. Which made today day 18. So I came to take it off the cradle and to get ready for locking it down for hatching but I noticed that one of the eggs has pipped.

Do I need to be worried? I normally try and get the humidity up a bit higher during hatching but I don't really want to open it up now if one has started. The humidity is around 52% in there at the moment according to the cheap hygrometer in there.

 

[chickenlittle21]

What breed? There is nothing to worry about.

 

[nbuuifx]

They were just a bunch of eggs from my in laws farm - they always have problems with rats eating the chicks so we tend to hatch them for them in an incubator - they are just a random assortment. Some ex-battery, some marans, some cochins.

There is now two that have pipped - they sound noisy enough.

I've used a straw through the vent hole to add warm water to the troughs at the bottom to keep humidity up - normally I add a cloth which folds into the trough to get it a little higher.

I also just realised that I haven't taken the divider bars out yet.

Am I better to open it up and remove the bars, or leave it as is?

 

[chickenlittle21]

Am I better to open it up and remove the bars, or leave it as is?

I don't know. What do you think?

 

[nbuuifx]

I didn't want to risk drying out the two that have pipped, but I don't really know how bad it is to have the bars in - I don't know if it affects the ability to roll the shell about to aid zipping? Or if it just risks injury once they have hatched?

 

[chickenlittle21]

I didn't want to risk drying out the two that have pipped, but I don't really know how bad it is to have the bars in - I don't know if it affects the ability to roll the shell about to aid zipping? Or if it just risks injury once they have hatched?

If you spray warm near the eggs while you remove the bars they should be fine.

 

[MGG]

I didn't want to risk drying out the two that have pipped, but I don't really know how bad it is to have the bars in - I don't know if it affects the ability to roll the shell about to aid zipping? Or if it just risks injury once they have hatched?

Take out the turner, up the humidity, and wait. Have you checked the temp with a calibrated thermometer? The temp was too high if they're hatching early.

 

[nbuuifx]

Take out the turner, up the humidity, and wait. Have you checked the temp with a calibrated thermometer? The temp was too high if they're hatching early.

The turner is external so that was easy to remove. It was the divider bars. I ended up quickly taking the lid of and taking them out and added warm water to the channels. I didn't spray around the eggs though.

I've had no change since. None of the others have pipped, and these two look to have progressed ever so slightly but not much. They are making a good bit of noise though.

 

[MGG]

The turner is external so that was easy to remove. It was the divider bars. I ended up quickly taking the lid of and taking them out and added warm water to the channels. I didn't spray around the eggs though.

I've had no change since. None of the others have pipped, and these two look to have progressed ever so slightly but not much. They are making a good bit of noise though.

Oh, ok. Sounds good. What is your humidity at right now? I would try to have it at least at 65%. 65%-75% is ideal. I wouldn't worry about the progression yet. They're still very early. Give them another 12 hours at least.
Happy Independence Day!

 

[nbuuifx]

5 have fully hatched and look healthy so far. Another 3 have pipped and 4 others I can't tell.

The humidity is around 70% at the moment. I couldn't get it above 60% using normal methods so I added hotter water using a straw through the vent hole and a funnel. That way I didn't have to open it but the humidity quickly went up to just over 70%.