Question on first time hatching

[willy3486]

This is my first time hatching eggs. I have one of the styrofoam incubators from Tractor supply. Has seemed to work really well. I had one issue with my chickens and laying. When I put the eggs in the incubator I was only getting 4-6 a day so I put in eggs on three different days. Now I have been reading to not open the incubator due to humidity. My question is this I have one trying to break open now. I am wondering how long it can stay in there before I take it out. Will it hurt to leave it for a day. I am thinking I need to throw a cloth over it and get any Chicks hatched once a day only. I have been keeping a eye on the water in the channels so they are full and won't need any. So my question I guess is this should I be more inclined to take a risk of leaving the ones who make it out in there and see if the others break out or should I take a risk of the ones still coming out that the humidity will go down when I get the hatched ones. I can be patient and let them stay in there and make it on their own but I don't want to leave them in there and they die.

 

[ekalf33]

From my reading the way I understand it you can do either one. They have had enough nourishment that they can survive a couple days without food. So if you are really worried about the humidity then you can leave them in. If you want them to fluff out and there are things in the bator that could potentially hurt them then you can take them out. Try to take them out before the others have pipped, or broken through the shell. If you HAVE to open it then you can spray a mist of water into it when you close it and try to get that humidity back up as quick as possible. Try to minimize the time the top is off too. It might not be long before the Humidity Queen chimes in on this post, she is super helpful and knowledgeable. Here is a super helpful link. http://letsraisechickens.weebly.com...anuals-understanding-and-controlling-humidity

 

[willy3486]

One thing I am wondering about is the humidity. It says it has only been around 50 to 60% on average. But its very humid in there the times I have rotated the eggs. I think that is actually off. So if I take the lid up quickly to spray the eggs will I do more damage than if I leave them be, So far in the last 4 or 5 hours it has cracked more but none of the shell has come off. It has doubled or at the most tripled in cracked size.

 

[ekalf33]

If you calibrated your hydrometer then I would trust it. I would just leave them be and not do anything. Let the majority of them hatch unless there is some sort of danger, your water runs out, or one is hurt. Then once 24 hours has gone by I would wait for a good time when most of the eggs are either hatched or minimally cracked, then quickly remove all the hatched chicks, fill the water and replace the lid. To Quote Amy

Quote:

And there's another question that you are going to get a dozen different answers for. I shoot for 75% many people do prefer a 70-75% range. Many people are happy with the recommended 65% and still there are others that insist 55-60% is perfectly fine for hatching.

Many people have a hands off philosophy after lockdown. They will not, for any reason open that incubator until the hatch is complete. If a chick is stuck..so be it. If there are 15 chicks running around and it takes 2 days for the rest to hatch, then those chicks are in there for two days. (There is nothing wrong with their philosophy, but....)
If you are a hands off hatcher, then you can probably successfully hatch out chicks with 60/65% humidity in your bator.

If you are anything like me, then a higher humidity is better for you. I like to move my chicks to the brooder once they are active and bouncing off my incubator walls, thermometers the other eggs and each other. I do not leave my chicks in the bator until hatch is over. If I feel it is absolutely necessary I will assist a hatch. To properly assist a hatch you have to take things slow, help a little and replace the chick in the egg for rest and to give them a chance to finish. This constitutes opening the bator periodically. Every time you open the bator humidity slips out. Chicks need that humidity to hatch. If you are a “meddler” or someone who feels it necessary to open the bator, then naturally a higher humidity level is going to help keep adequate humidity in your bator. So take into consideration your actions and you should be able to judge a good humidity range for hatching. I personally believe you can't go wrong having extra humidity at hatch, but you most certainly can by having it too low.

I agree with 100% of what she says, it all depends on what you want to do. if you will feel better about yourself knowing that you did everything that you could to save that chick... be a meddler. If you want to raise poultry for meat and not get emotionally attached ... take the hands off approach. just my .02

 

[willy3486]

Update to the chics. I now have two eggs with cracks The second has a piece out we can see. A small piece. They chirp and we can hear them. Sometimes its really loud. I haven't doe anything except to watch. The first one has been in there 13 hours now trying to get out. I still have 55% humidity. We will see what happens next. I hope this has not been a waste. .

 

[willy3486]

Latest update.
The second chick that started to bust open is now completely out. It got out a couple of hours ago. He seems to be doing fine. During this the chick rolled the other egg over. I had put the date the eggs were laid on the egg not an "x" so as to mark the side. I noticed that the white egg was not suppose to hatch until tomorrow while the other that is out was suppose to hatch on Friday. I still have two that were suppose to hatch on Friday that have done nothing as of yet. I did notice that the first egg the chick has pecked a bigger hole in it now and it has a good size crack in it. The last time I checked on it they were both resting. The first egg does seem fine.

I did have a issue that I was able to solve in a good way. The chic that hatched first was going all over the place in the incubator. As it was doing this it pushed the thermostat sensor on the piece of plastic off the other eggs and over the water. The temp started to go down and the heater kicked on. I was afraid it would get too hot and I came up with a way to get it back on the eggs without taking the top off. I had some stainless steel rods used to weld. They are smaller diameter than a pencil lead. I took a cloth with alcohol and rubbed it to get the germs off. I let this dry and then I lifted the incubator lid slightly and just high enough to slide in the rod. I slid the rod in and let it down. I then used the rod to tug the cable going to the thermostat sensor so it went back on the remaining eggs. I watched it and the humidity never went down and the temp went down to where it was suppose to be. So as of now I have not had to open up the top enough to let the humidity go down.

 

[ekalf33]

Great job! It sounds like your overall average temperature was a little high and so they developed quicker then normal. Not bad, but now you know for next time. I would try to calibrate your thermometer before you use it again, just so that you know what you are dealing with. Search "how to calibrate your thermometer" in the search function. Glad to hear it wasn't all a waste of time! I would bump your humidity up a little more so it is easier for the chicks to get out of their shells. It needs to be at about 60% - 70% or else the membrane dries out and "shrink wraps" for lack of a better term, around the chicks. They need their room to wiggle free. If you can add a sponge to the water it will create more surface area to the water so it can evaporate better. Keep up the great job! keep us updated.

 

[willy3486]

Final update, unless more hatch. I think my biggest issue was the humidity. I have a room in the house where I was incubating them. It stays the warmest in that room but the humidity and temp stays exact. It would stay around 55% humidity at 75 degrees. With the trouble I was having I was thinking it was the humidity issue. The first chick was spunky enough to get out on its own but the second wasn't, he died in the egg. I rolled the cart outside on the porch and the humidity stayed between 70% and 75%. After that the next two I got out of the egg after they pecked a hole in it. I would let them try for hours then I put a plastic bag over it ,raise it and get the egg quickly. I then peeled off the egg and pulled the membrane to open it. I then put it back in the incubator to let it come around on its own. I did this with two of them and they survived fine. The humidity only dropped about 5 % the way I did it. That night one managed to get out on its own. Then the next morning one couldn't get out. So I peeled the egg off as well. It survived as well.

So that gave me five chicks and all things considered being the first time I am happy with the number. I still have some in there but they were suppose to be born from Friday to Sunday. I have allowed two extra days so I don't expect to have any more. So tonight I plan to get those out and clean the incubator. I plan to start again this weekend. I have one Chicken who is now attempting to hatch some on her own. I am letting her hatch them. I usually get 3 to 5 eggs a day so I will put them in this weekend. From the way I figured it out I may be able to have 3 more hatches before the winter sets in. I want to let the youngest chicks get at least a month or so before it turns cold.