Question on day 6

[AmyLynn2374]

Well this morning the air cells have grown a teeny bit. And the 3 are still moving around in there (I can barely see, I guess from the chick growing!). Now I have a question, again!!! I took eggs 1 and 5 out on Monday because they were dead. I was worried about the temperature not being the same so stupid me put 2 leghorn eggs in there to fill the empty space. Well now they are growing lol. I realize they probably won't make it through the hatch. Well my question is this, egg 6 is also dead but I did not remove it as I was hoping for a recovery lol I'm dumb.... Anyways I see a blood ring and a clear round circle that seems to be getting bigger! On the inside. I know I need to remove this egg but what should I place in there to fill his space? I'm afraid to not put something in there. Grr. Why couldnt this just go smoothly? Thanks again for all the help!

I don't ever replace eggs that quit. I just take them out and rearrange the rest that are in there.

 

[acovey24]

Okay! I removed the 1 bad egg and didn't put anything else in lol. The little embryo was so cute! Could see the little wings and everything

 

[chicken155]

That's to bad about the egg with the blood ring... I hope your other eggs hatch okay!

 

[acovey24]

Thank you! Day 15 now and I believe all is good! I try to candle them quickly and I am still seeing movement in the 3 I have left!
What can go wrong now until hatch??? Just so I am prepared...kinda! I know humidity is a major component during the last days and not messing with them. I'll probably still want to candle during lockdown...is that okay! Or should I have my husband control me?!

 

[chicken155]

Haha! Lockdown is a very crucial time for baby chicks.. As you already know, they are gaining all their energy and absorbing their yolk during that time. I wouldn't recommend opening the incubator or handling the eggs because that could disturb their hatching (even though it is very temping!) Day 18 is the last day I candle my eggs, the next few days I let Mother Nature take her course. My first time hatching chicks was a very stressful time for me! The chicks I were hatching actually didn't come out of their eggs until day 23! Even though I was a worried mother, I got through it! The chicks came out happy and healthy.

 

[acovey24]

Oh goodness. This being my first hatch I am trying to learn as much as possible! I literally candled every day and took notes! But I will just check their air cell on day 18 and then leave them be. I'm so afraid it will be too big or too small and so on! I will definitely post pictures of their day 18 air cell so maybe y'all can tell me if they look okay! One of the eggs that came from my black austrolorp is very long and pointed and I feel like her air cell isn't big enough. And then my Cochin egg is probably a medium sized egg and I'm afraid the chick won't have enough room lol. I just need something to worry about! The humidity scares me because I have no way to see how it is IN the incubator, I'm just watching the room humidity. The incubator came with no temperature or humidity monitors. I have a thermometer in there though. Before next hatch I may get one of the temperature/ hygrometer probe looking things so I can worry less! I guess you just stick it in there and the monitor is on the outside!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Oh goodness. This being my first hatch I am trying to learn as much as possible! I literally candled every day and took notes! But I will just check their air cell on day 18 and then leave them be. I'm so afraid it will be too big or too small and so on! I will definitely post pictures of their day 18 air cell so maybe y'all can tell me if they look okay! One of the eggs that came from my black austrolorp is very long and pointed and I feel like her air cell isn't big enough. And then my Cochin egg is probably a medium sized egg and I'm afraid the chick won't have enough room lol. I just need something to worry about! The humidity scares me because I have no way to see how it is IN the incubator, I'm just watching the room humidity. The incubator came with no temperature or humidity monitors. I have a thermometer in there though. Before next hatch I may get one of the temperature/ hygrometer probe looking things so I can worry less! I guess you just stick it in there and the monitor is on the outside!

Heck, I still candle everyday...lol Doesn't matter how many hatches some of us have done, it just never gets old seeing that miracle of life. I don't usually candle every egg every night, I usually just spot check a few, but it gives me my fix...lol Last hatch I did last year I actually set 6 a side as test eggs for my candle experiment to prove that candling does not hurt and I candled those 6 every single night and yes they all hatched. I actually set 21 had one of the non candled eggs quit around day 4-5 and all the rest made it to lock down and hatched out perfectly healthy. My first 100% lockdown hatch.

I would definitely recommend getting a hygrometer and double check any thermometer/hygrometer for accuracy when you get them.

As for candling during hatching, I try not to candle until most are hatched and I have no more active pips so that I can judge if there's any life left and see how far the last ones have progressed. If I have one that has pipped way off from my air cell markings I may candle to see if it is in the air cell, but I do try to restrain myself at hatch...lol

 

[acovey24]

Another question.... My Cochin egg's air cell has a tiny dip in it...is this a detached air cell beginning? I noticed it a day or so ago and thought it was just the air cell expanding. It has never gotten any bigger. If it is a detached air cell should I stop turning that egg now?

 

[Laodicia]

I just finished my first hatch i have a homemade incubator that allows me to sortof candle inside the incubator it was kinda hard to see with the light on in there... but if youve made it to day 18 i would put it back in. Every time i candled during lockdown the changes to the air cell made me believe the babies were dead. On day 22(they were a little late) one eggs air cell was completely gone lol all of them hatched. The air cell gets really mis-shapen when they start turning to hatching position

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Another question.... My Cochin egg's air cell has a tiny dip in it...is this a detached air cell beginning? I noticed it a day or so ago and thought it was just the air cell expanding. It has never gotten any bigger. If it is a detached air cell should I stop turning that egg now?

I wouldn't worry about it. If you had a detached air cell it would be wobbling around when you turned it and usually by 2 weeks or so (I believe) they firm up. As long as the chick is alive and moving and your air cells are growing and as big as they should be, it shouldn't pose a problem. Maybe that's where it will draw down at hatch time.