Setting eggs August 2 -- anyone else?

[SeattleLeah]

I'd try taking the eggs out again for a minute (you really don't have to worry about keeping them warm for the few minutes it takes) and remove the paper towel. As far as I know, it's fine to leave the fan on. The lower temp reading might have something to do with all the evaporation going on in there. At this point, I don't think it's a terrible thing to be a couple of degrees low -- the chicks should be able to generate some heat on their own.

Not certain here -- I just had a pretty lousy hatch myself. Hopefully, someone who knows more will have a better answer.

Thanks so much, I just took out the paper towels . . . fingers crossed !!

 

[fiveladybugs]

I went into lockdown this afternoon and Im a little worried. I moved the eggs into egg cartons and put them under a warm wool blanket I had heated in the dryer while I removed the turner and added water. I added warm water and also put some paper towels down under the wire mesh to increase the surface area of the moisture. Well, it might have increased it too much because the humidity has been in the 90's all afternoon!!! I opened both vents and am hoping it will be ok since I had been using the dry method and my humidity has been in the low 20's the whole time until now. Also, the temp has been hovering in the 97-98 range since I closed the bator, I probably had it open too long. Argh! I will be so disappointed if I messed it up this late in the game.

how does everyone else transition to lockdown?

Also, I still left my fan on, is this correct?

thanks!!!

I put my paper towels on top of the wire just to make it easier to clean up after hatching. Just be careful how much water you put in...I put in more than I should have & once they start hatching, the humidity will go up. I learned the hard way. yes, I left the fan on for circulation.

Good luck!

 

[SeattleLeah]

Thanks so much! I took out all the paper towels and humidity has settled in the mid 70's which I am happy with since I did a dry hatch. Temps have also stabilized. Now its just the waiting game. Its day 19.5 and I dont see any action yet. they are in egg crates so not sure I would see any movement even if there were any. I havent candled since day 15. Then there were 16 eggs that looked great. If I get even a few chicks I will be happy as this is my first try. fingers crossed!

 

[dennarahl]

Quote:

The colors aren't 100% accurate, but one is more yellow and the other is more red/brown/orange-y. One blends well into mama's feathers and the other couldn't blend at all. If I've got the sex-link idea right, the lighter one is a roo. If you click on the pics there should be a larger version.



First field trip out of the broody box:

 

[Texasmja]

I would say according to the chicken calculator, your orange one is a girl and the yellow one is a boy. Please keep me posted as they grow up, I would love to see how they feather out.

 

[Wray mom]

ok so here is a pic of our little fuzzy but who looks nothing like i imagined

lol but cutey anyway. the mom was BR game and the dad white crested blue polish and this is what we got the other that didnt quite make it out of the egg looked just like it so imagine they would have all looked similar had they have all made it.

 

[Hoosierchickens]

So, we ended up hatching 3 blue silkies, 3 black silkies, and one splash silkie. None of the remaining six eggs hatched so no buffs or whites. They all appear to have died between the 18th and 21st days. No idea why. One of the black chicks appears to have some sort of neurological deficit. One minute he looks fine then he does this weird twitching motion with his beak open then stumbles forward and lays there with his legs sprawled behind him for a few minutes. Then he gets up and acts sleepy for awhile then seems okay again. He's much smaller than the rest. I don't think he's going to make it. We are pleased with the six healthy ones and pretty excited about them.