Seeking information on hatching!

[Kansas Gal]

I have 41hatching eggs I bought from out of state that were due to hatch today. There is plenty of humidity and the incubator has been on 99.5 for the past three weeks. I am very nervous, as I have a LOT invested in these babies. I thought chicks were pretty well on time. I have only hatched 4 guineas and 6 baby chicks before, and they all (but one) were born on their due date. The last time I bought two dozen black copper maran eggs, I had 100% failure in the cheapo incubator we had, so we invested in this big professional Sportsman incubator, and it worked like a charm on the mixed breed eggs we got to try it out with. Am I being prematurely upset, or do I have good reason to be frustrated and nervous?

 

[The Critter Place]

What kind of incubator are you using?

Still air or fan?

If it's a still air, your temp is a little low and they may take a day or 2 longer.

Did you candle any of them around day 10?

 

[suburbanchickymama]

Fingers crossed for you!!!

How's your visibility? Are you sure you don't have any pips or anything yet? Heard any peeping or see any rocking? Hoping for the best for ya!!!

 

[Kansas Gal]

I have a Sportsman incubator with the turning trays, a big pan and sponges for humidity which was filled this morning (and has been filled for the past few days) Yes, it is a fan incubator. I turned off the turning trays on Monday and put the eggs in the hatching tray in the bottom, so that is why I am so nervouse and frustrated! There is a window in the incubator, and I use a flashlight to look through on the eggs. Not a sound, not a crack that I can see, no rocking, no movement whatsoever. I must have checked it 10x or so today, including about 15 minutes ago! No, I didn't check my eggs, because I am not sure I would have done it right anyway! Guess I need to learn that. I do know that I have kept an eye on that temperature, and checked the turning trays, to make sure that they were all functioning correctly. Everything is in perfect working order except, I guess, for the eggs! Thanks for your replies! I am still hopeful!

 

[nurse_turtle]

Shipped eggs? From where? Many parts of the nation are having below freezing temps. If they were shipped, who knows what conditions they had to endure. Shipped eggs are a gamble each and every time whether it's from 1 state over or the opposite coast. I've been burned before. Candle your eggs and let us know what you see.

 

[Kansas Gal]

I got them from Illinois 3 weeks ago today. I think I better wait until tomorrow, then may make an attempt at candling. If there are indeed chicks in there, I don't want to kill them by opening up the incubator! I have never done it before (candling), so am not sure about it. Someone told me to use a toilet paper or paper towel roll, hold the egg on one end and use a flashlight and look through the egg . Just know that I cannot get the breeds of chickens in this area that I want to raise. Hope I don't have to give up on trying to hatch good quality purebred chicks! That has been my desire quite awhile.

 

[cmom]

I agree, shipped eggs are a gamble. I have an older Sportsman and I love it. It works great. I used to hatch in the trays but now I just incubate in it and use my LG and Hova-Bator Styrofoam incubators as hatchers. You can see some pips in the first pic.

I modified this shop lamp. I put cardboard with foil on the inside taped to the lamp using a 65 watt halogen bulb. I was checking for cracks on some shipped eggs.

Click on image for a video of an egg candled on day 10.

 

[Kansas Gal]

I appreciate the pix! Just keep hoping against hope that these eggs hatch! If not, I wasted a TON of money for purebred poultry from show stock, not to mention the shipping!

 

[cmom]

Quote:
Good luck...