Set eggs 3/5. Looking for others to hatch with!

[wholewheatchicken]

you should cut the bottoms out of your egg cartons so they can breath better

I did that for the ones I put in the incubator. I don't know why I didn't think I should do the same for the ones in the hatching box! Thank you for noticing that.

 

[wholewheatchicken]

Two Rhode Island Red chicks out of the shell when I got up so now Baby 1 has a buddy. I notice this really quiets down the noise in there. I have two more great pipping/zipping goin on on another two Red chicks and a great amount of progress being made on a silkie chick. As it stands now, it looks like I am going to have at least five babies.
What my DH and I are observing, and it is quite interesting, is in the homemade bator we have we used 45 watt lightbulbs. They are on opposite ends of the box. The Red eggs are hatching in order from the closest to the light bulb and going down. I will get a picture later if anyone wants to see what I'm talking about. So we are wondering if the light is giving off extra heat and helping them hatch. I do notice when the light comes on they rush to go lay under it. And if the light is affecting the hatching, we are now wondering if the eggs furtherest away from the lightbulb will hatch. Very, very interesting observation.

 

[Ilovemyduckies]

Is it a still air? From my understanding, and if Mohillbilly gets on he has tremendous knowledge, in a still air the temps are supposed to be higher and you have to measure at the top of the egg. That's hard for me to say anything on the humidity. This is my third attempt and on the first batch I kept the H in the upper 20s to 30s range. I can't say much about those guys because I messed it up for many reasons. My second batch the H was in the 20s and they were all shrink wrapped and none even pipped. This time I kept the H in the upper 40s to mid 50s range and it appears to be working. I will say I met this really nice young lady who lives TX and she uses a Hovabator and doesn't measure the H, just keeps the trays filled up, and she has great hatches, and I met another person recently over in KY who said the same thing, just kept the water filled up and doesn't measure and has great hatches. So if you kept the trays filled up, that is probably okay.

I personally know how hard it is if they don't make it. I understand all the emotions that come with that knowledge. If that does happen, my best advice is to do the eggtopsy and learn what happened so you are able to go forward and have a successful hatch next time.

I forgot, what kind of incubator are you using? And, give them some more time just in case they are late. I can't offer any advice on helping them out of the shell because that has not worked for me either..........take a deep breath.......

I think it's an LG, but I'm not positive. I have been measuring the temperature from the top of the eggs. I have a spray bottle that I keep spraying through the holes in case the humidity was the problem. I'm still planning to candle them tonight and see if any are still alive, but I never thought I'd be so nervous just to candle eggs!

 

[GhostRider65]

Morning everyone,
Well 4 babies have hatched, 1 is still shell bound, but is breathing so not sure what to do for her, will just wait and see for now if it looks like she's in trouble, I will try to help her out of the shell. 3 eggs are still a no show, and I can't wait to examine the eggs and see if any of them have a pip, the babies moved them around so much while still in there, I can't tell. I posted some pictures on the Wis, cheese heads thread if anyone wants to see them........ 2 light colored and 2 dark so far, 2 look to have the EE muffs...... congrats on babies everyone and prayers and luck for those still waiting.............Kim
Pictures here
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/245700/wisconsin-cheeseheads/19110#post_8671904

 

[kristip]

Yeah for all of you. I go into lockdown tomorrow and have been following all these cute hatches. Hard to be patient. My first hatch too.
someone mentioned about still airs... I have a hovabator still air. I know at lockdown to crank humidity up, but do I crank temp up too?

Gonna keep following you guys... how exciting

 

[wholewheatchicken]

Yeah for all of you. I go into lockdown tomorrow and have been following all these cute hatches. Hard to be patient. My first hatch too.
someone mentioned about still airs... I have a hovabator still air. I know at lockdown to crank humidity up, but do I crank temp up too?

Gonna keep following you guys... how exciting

Not that I know of. JulieNKC, or a name very close to that, is on this thread and she uses an LG still air with great results and maybe she will pop and say for sure, but I have not heard of bumping up temps at all during lockdown. I have heard of turning it down .5 of a degree, but I left mine alone. It is a still air homemade bator to use for hatching and I just kept it at the same 99 - 100 range that I used in the bator with the fan. I would rather be a smidge too cool than too hot. Too cool they can still live, too hot they have a much higher chance of dying. When the first baby was born, the humidity went up to 65-ish%, but the temps fell to 95 - 97. I'm not touching anything. They appear to be going over to the lightbulbs to get warmer when they turn on. I have three babies out, three pips on RIR eggs and two pips on silkie eggs. This is probably the way it works, but it seems like everyone is coming faster since the first one got out and goes around cheeping at the eggs. Baby #3 was just born and I got to watch it zip...first time I have seen that....I feel like it was born a little too early as it still had the brown gunk attached to its bottom, the egg sac was absorbed. It seems more tired than the others. Baby #1 would not leave it alone and it seemed very anxious to join the others. So much excitement going on and I am learning new things as the event is unfolding. The pattern is still holding true on the eggs pipping closest to the light bulb and going down the line with the egg in the back of the crate pipping first and the egg in the front of the crate pipping second. I took pictures, but I'm downstairs so will have to post what I'm talking about when I go back upstairs.

 

[Frost Homestead]

9 of my 26 eggs have hatched. They all started pipping on Day 22 and all of them made it out last night, except one. I thought they were done hatching since it's already Day 23 but there's one in there right now. Poor thing has blood on the membrane, I hope it makes it out ok. Still alive and breathing.

Stay strong little pipper!!

For some reason 8 of the chicks came from my Ameraucana pullet eggs, only ONE Easter Egger hatched. I had 13 EE eggs & 13 Ameraucanas eggs in there. The one that is in the bator still is also from the same EE hen, she's my favorite though. I'm so glad to have at least one egg hatch from her.

 

[wholewheatchicken]

I think I do like using the egg crates to hatch in because it is keeping the eggs still while the babies crawl around and on top of them and over them. No one is having to reposition themselves for hatch, which I read can exhaust them and kill them.
Oh, and I have at least one barn chick that has been born overnight. Ran to the barn to check on everyone early this morning and can hear it peeping!

 

[JulieNKC]

Tomorrow is hatch day for me. I have 2 external pips, and 11 EE that made it to lockdown. They all have ruptured air cells so I guess I'll be finding out how they hatch.
One of the ruptured air cell eggs. A few had such busted air cells they don't seem to really have one at all. There aren't any "hard" edges to their membrane, it all looks like the front of this one.

 

[wholewheatchicken]

Tomorrow is hatch day for me. I have 2 external pips, and 11 EE that made it to lockdown. They all have ruptured air cells so I guess I'll be finding out how they hatch.
One of the ruptured air cell eggs. A few had such busted air cells they don't seem to really have one at all. There aren't any "hard" edges to their membrane, it all looks like the front of this one.

Good luck! Is that a shipped egg or from your flock? If they are shipped, how did you incubate? I've got shipped eggs in the bator and the air cells are messed up on them and I am trying incubation in egg crates to keep the air cell oriented. Any advice for shipped eggs?
Someone had a question a few posts ago about if they should turn up temps on still air for lockdown. Do you have any advice for them?