Second hatch of eggs in my Brinsea Octagon 20 Advanced! I update and post photos/videos of the incub

[Ariel188]

Thank you to all who followed my first hatch ever. If you missed it and want to look at photos and videos please feel free to visit my thread here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...ts-photos-videos-ill-keep-this-thread-updated

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Okay the second batch of eggs went in yesterday Monday March 31st at 8pm . So excited!!
ALL these eggs were shipped from Chickengirl1304 here on BYC.

5 F1 Olive Eggers
2 F2 Olive Eggers
2 Jubilee Orp
10 Barnevelder
4 Crested Cream Legbar
5 Easter Eggers

I set the temp to 99.6 and humidity at 45% (temp still rising in the photo below.)

 

[jbher]

Thank you to all who followed my first hatch ever. If you missed it and want to look at photos and videos please feel free to visit my thread here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...ts-photos-videos-ill-keep-this-thread-updated

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Okay the second batch of eggs went in yesterday Monday March 31st at 8pm . So excited!!
ALL these eggs were shipped from Chickengirl1304 here on BYC.

5 F1 Olive Eggers
2 F2 Olive Eggers
2 Jubilee Orp
10 Barnevelder
4 Crested Cream Legbar
5 Easter Eggers

I set the temp to 99.6 and humidity at 45% (temp still rising in the photo below.)

Ahhhh they're sooooo purdy!! So excited to follow along with this one from the start!! Did you candle them to check air cells? Did you let them sit before setting?

 

[JennaLynn122]

Yay. Looking forward to seeing progress.

 

[jbher]

I'm on day 3 of incubating... maybe I'll start a thread too. We can all keep up to date on each others eggs lol I know I'll need HELP!!!

 

[Ariel188]

Things I learned from my very first hatch ever:

1. If you are going to line up hatches and are getting eggs shipped to you DO NOT HAVE THEM SHIPPED to be here on the date the others are due to hatch! I made that mistake and my eggs had to sit for 2 days since my chicks too their sweet time (up to day 23 to hatch.) I had ordered the eggs to be shipped on my lockdown date, but now I will have them shipped to me on the hatch date so that will give the eggs in the incubator more time and I will still have time to let the shipped eggs sit for a day to reattached the air cells.
2. Chicks WILL eat and drink eventually even if they act like water will kill them the first day, lol. Don't worry if they don't eat or drink right away, they can go 2-3 days after hatch with no food or water since they absorbed the yolk for nutrition on the way out of the egg.
3. Some chicks will not make it out of the shell without your help, but give them 2 days to try on their own before helping. They will be stronger if they break out on their own. I am guessing some chicks get stuck because they were weak in the first place. After 2 days I helped out 2 chicks who were imprisioned in there shells, They both had made dime sized holes and one beak was out. Thy were both very dried out so I got a wet warm paper towel and mosited them out. One had wry neck and the other seems to be doing ok so far. I also helped out a third chick, and I did not give that chick very long to try on its own and that chick is VERY weak and I am sure it will not make it. Nature will run its course no matter how hard we try to save our chicks. I have to accept that it is part of the incubating and hatching process and not to blame myself.

Ok enough of that.

The other thing I learned was that I wanted the Brinsea Humidity pump. So I ordered one and it will be here Thur. The reasons I decided the pump will be worth it for me are:

1. I won't have to be checking the humidity all the time like I do now. I can set it EXACTLY where I want it which will be 45% and then 68% at lockdown.
2. There is much less of a chance for bacteria to infect the eggs from filling the channel since that water stays at 99 degrees all the time in the channel. The pump is external so the water in the pump stays at room temp less chance of bacteria infecting and killing your sensitive embyo.
3. Clean up should be MUCH easier because I won't have to use sponges and wet paper towels all over the bottom and it was a smelly mess. I will be able to lay DRY paper towels all across the bottom under the tray which should catch most of the mess and towels will stay dry so won't smell so bad!
4. There is NO water at all that needs to be added inside the incubator itself, so you do not need to lift up the tray to fill the incubator channels with water every other day. I was always worried I was going to drop the whole tray killing all my chicks.
5. When chicks are hatched and dried off I will be able to take them out without worrying about the humidity dropping and taking so long to recover since the pump will do a great job.
6. When I was using my incubator with my auto turn cradle I must have filled the water channel a little high because it leaked out through one of the tiny air holes on the bottom on the incubator and I didn't notice since it was under the leg of the auto turner and it warped my wood table. I won't have to worry about water spilling with the humidity pump!

I also wanted to mention how much I love the EcoGlow 50. Even with 18 chicks I would not want a smaller one. They seem to love it and so do I for these reasons:

1. Cheaper to run 24/7
2. No risk of fire or injury to the chicks from it falling on them or the bulb burning out and freezing them, or bulb breaking and chicks eating glass.
3. It is actually DARK at night so they can get a good nights sleep and that is more natural for them.
4. You can have different levels so they can have more or less heat as they want and different size chicks can all be accommodated.
5. It makes the chick feel much safer to have a place to hide or run away. (Sucks for me because I do not get to see them as much and have to lift the heater to check on them all but worth it for them.)

**Note I covered the Ecoglow 50 in clear contact paper and then laid shelf liner on top of that for traction. It will be easy clean up and keep my ecoglow looking brand new!


Humidity pump that will make life A LOT easier for me!


Covered Ecoglow50 with clear contact paper and then shelf liner on top of that! Clean up should be a breeze!

 

[Ariel188]

Ahhhh they're sooooo purdy!! So excited to follow along with this one from the start!! Did you candle them to check air cells? Did you let them sit before setting?

Yes I did candle a few air cells were detached. I did let them sit for over 48 hrs. I had too because I was waiting for the other to hatch. (Lesson learned that I wrote about.) I usually like to let them sit 24 hrs. I don't want them to get too old so its a balancing act of trying to get the air cells to re attach and not letting the eggs get older sitting there.

 

[Ariel188]

I'm on day 3 of incubating... maybe I'll start a thread too. We can all keep up to date on each others eggs lol I know I'll need HELP!!!

If you start a thread link it here and take lots of photos! Everyone LOVES photos right?

 

[JennaLynn122]

Things I learned from my very first hatch ever:

1. If you are going to line up hatches and are getting eggs shipped to you DO NOT HAVE THEM SHIPPED to be here on the date the others are due to hatch! I made that mistake and my eggs had to sit for 2 days since my chicks too their sweet time (up to day 23 to hatch.) I had ordered the eggs to be shipped on my lockdown date, but now I will have them shipped to me on the hatch date so that will give the eggs in the incubator more time and I will still have time to let the shipped eggs sit for a day to reattached the air cells.
2. Chicks WILL eat and drink eventually even if they act like water will kill them the first day, lol. Don't worry if they don't eat or drink right away, they can go 2-3 days after hatch with no food or water since they absorbed the yolk for nutrition on the way out of the egg.
3. Some chicks will not make it out of the shell without your help, but give them 2 days to try on their own before helping. They will be stronger if they break out on their own. I am guessing some chicks get stuck because they were weak in the first place. After 2 days I helped out 2 chicks who were imprisioned in there shells, They both had made dime sized holed and one beak was out. Thy were both very died out so I got a wet warm paper towel and mosited them out. One had wry neck and the other seems to be doing so so far. I also helped out a third and I did not give that chick very long to try on its own and that chick is VERY weak and I am sure it will not make it. Nature will run its course no matter how hard we try to save our chicks. I have to accept that it is part of the incubating and hatching process and not to blame myself.

Ok enough of that.

The other thing I learned was that I wanted the Brinsea Humidity pump. So I ordered one and it will be here Thur. The reasons I decided the pump will be worth it for me are:

1. I won't have to be checking the humidity all the time like I do now. I can set it EXACTLY where I want it which will be 45% and then 68% at lockdown.
2. There is much less of a chance for bacteria to infect the eggs from filling the channel since that water stays at 99 degrees all the time in the channel. The pump is external so the water in the pump stays at room temp less chance of bacteria infecting and killing your sensitive embyo.
3. Clean up should be MUCH easier because I won't have to use sponges and wet paper towels all over the bottom and it was a smelly mess. I will be able to lay DRY paper towels all across the bottom under the tray which should catch most of the mess and towels will stay dry so won't smell so bad!
4. There is NO water at all that needs to be added inside the incubator itself, so you do not need to lift up the tray to fill the incubator channels with water every other day. I was always worried I was going to drop the whole tray killing all my chicks.
5. When chicks are hatched and dried off I will be able to take them out without worrying about the humidity dropping and taking so long to recover since the pump will do a great job.
6. When I was using my incubator with my auto turn cradle I must have filled the water channel a little high because it leaked out through one of the tiny air holes on the bottom on the incubator and I didn't notice since it was under the leg of the auto turner and it warped my wood table. I won't have to worry about water spilling with the humidity pump!

I also wanted to mention how much I love the EcoGlow 50. Even with 18 chicks I would not want a smaller one. They seem to love it and so do I for these reasons:

1. Cheaper to run 24/7
2. No risk of fire or injury to the chicks from it falling on them or the bulb burning out and freezing them, or bulb breaking and chicks eating glass.
3. It is actually DARK at night so they can get a good nights sleep and that is more natural for them.
4. You can have different levels so they can have more or less heat as they want and different size chicks can all be accommodated.
5. It makes the chick feel much safer to have a place to hide or run away. (Sucks for me because I do not get to see them as much and have to lift the heater to check on them all but worth it for them.)

**Note I covered the Ecoglow 50 in clear contact paper and then laid shelf liner on top of that for traction. It will be easy clean up and keep my ecoglow looking brand new!


Humidity pump that will make life A LOT easier for me!


Covered Ecoglow50 with clear contact paper and then shelf liner on top of that! Clean up should be a breeze!

Just wanted to note 21-25 days to hatch. 21 is baseline but some can take up to 25. Read this on a sticky somewhere on BYC.

 

[Ariel188]

Just wanted to note 21-25 days to hatch. 21 is baseline but some can take up to 25. Read this on a sticky somewhere on BYC.

Yes very true. We all get anxious at 21 days though!!

 

[jbher]

Things I learned from my very first hatch ever:

1. If you are going to line up hatches and are getting eggs shipped to you DO NOT HAVE THEM SHIPPED to be here on the date the others are due to hatch! I made that mistake and my eggs had to sit for 2 days since my chicks too their sweet time (up to day 23 to hatch.) I had ordered the eggs to be shipped on my lockdown date, but now I will have them shipped to me on the hatch date so that will give the eggs in the incubator more time and I will still have time to let the shipped eggs sit for a day to reattached the air cells.
2. Chicks WILL eat and drink eventually even if they act like water will kill them the first day, lol. Don't worry if they don't eat or drink right away, they can go 2-3 days after hatch with no food or water since they absorbed the yolk for nutrition on the way out of the egg.
3. Some chicks will not make it out of the shell without your help, but give them 2 days to try on their own before helping. They will be stronger if they break out on their own. I am guessing some chicks get stuck because they were weak in the first place. After 2 days I helped out 2 chicks who were imprisioned in there shells, They both had made dime sized holed and one beak was out. Thy were both very died out so I got a wet warm paper towel and mosited them out. One had wry neck and the other seems to be doing so so far. I also helped out a third and I did not give that chick very long to try on its own and that chick is VERY weak and I am sure it will not make it. Nature will run its course no matter how hard we try to save our chicks. I have to accept that it is part of the incubating and hatching process and not to blame myself.

Ok enough of that.

The other thing I learned was that I wanted the Brinsea Humidity pump. So I ordered one and it will be here Thur. The reasons I decided the pump will be worth it for me are:

1. I won't have to be checking the humidity all the time like I do now. I can set it EXACTLY where I want it which will be 45% and then 68% at lockdown.
2. There is much less of a chance for bacteria to infect the eggs from filling the channel since that water stays at 99 degrees all the time in the channel. The pump is external so the water in the pump stays at room temp less chance of bacteria infecting and killing your sensitive embyo.
3. Clean up should be MUCH easier because I won't have to use sponges and wet paper towels all over the bottom and it was a smelly mess. I will be able to lay DRY paper towels all across the bottom under the tray which should catch most of the mess and towels will stay dry so won't smell so bad!
4. There is NO water at all that needs to be added inside the incubator itself, so you do not need to lift up the tray to fill the incubator channels with water every other day. I was always worried I was going to drop the whole tray killing all my chicks.
5. When chicks are hatched and dried off I will be able to take them out without worrying about the humidity dropping and taking so long to recover since the pump will do a great job.
6. When I was using my incubator with my auto turn cradle I must have filled the water channel a little high because it leaked out through one of the tiny air holes on the bottom on the incubator and I didn't notice since it was under the leg of the auto turner and it warped my wood table. I won't have to worry about water spilling with the humidity pump!

I also wanted to mention how much I love the EcoGlow 50. Even with 18 chicks I would not want a smaller one. They seem to love it and so do I for these reasons:

1. Cheaper to run 24/7
2. No risk of fire or injury to the chicks from it falling on them or the bulb burning out and freezing them, or bulb breaking and chicks eating glass.
3. It is actually DARK at night so they can get a good nights sleep and that is more natural for them.
4. You can have different levels so they can have more or less heat as they want and different size chicks can all be accommodated.
5. It makes the chick feel much safer to have a place to hide or run away. (Sucks for me because I do not get to see them as much and have to lift the heater to check on them all but worth it for them.)

**Note I covered the Ecoglow 50 in clear contact paper and then laid shelf liner on top of that for traction. It will be easy clean up and keep my ecoglow looking brand new!


Humidity pump that will make life A LOT easier for me!


Covered Ecoglow50 with clear contact paper and then shelf liner on top of that! Clean up should be a breeze!

LOVE all of this awesome info!!!! Thank you for sharing all of what you learned the first time around!