That's terrible. So sorry. That is a long time to leave them in a hot humid incubator though. Some need food and or water within 24 hours.
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That's terrible. So sorry. That is a long time to leave them in a hot humid incubator though. Some need food and or water within 24 hours.
So sorry to hear about your hatchWell, I was following the sage advice of Sally Sunshine, written in her treatise; Hatching Eggs 101, where she says;
Mine died somewhere between 60 and 72 hours, so the duration in the incubator shouldn't have been the reason. I had not, however, lowered the temperature so it was still ~100F, higher than what Sally recommends...so perhaps that was the reason.
3 days is the max, not all chicks can go that long without at least water. I'm more hands on and can get the humidity back up if I open it to get a chick out. I usually try not to leave one in the incubator more than 30 hours. that temp though was mighty warm, would have made them want water and burn off their yolk faster as well.
So sorry to hear about your hatchWas this your 1st hatch, its all a learning game some people take them out pretty soon after hatching some people wait a lot longer She said /He said is a very good thread to look at as it as a lot of people who have a lot of experience in hands on / hands off hatching and they have had good results , but they also may be able to help in giving possible causes of what may of gone wrong. Hope this does not put you off trying again, best wishes to you
Yeah I'm a member of that thread it's a fun group. Sally wasn't exactly wrong. It's probably what she does and it works for her, but All our incubators and conditions are slightly different. I am much more hands on than some people. I start candling at day 5 or 7 and then candle every 2-3 days after that to check for growth and quitters. Some people only candle 2-3 times the whole hatch. I monitor my incubator closely and take the babying method whereas a lot of people figure if they don't survive they had weak genes. I kind of change my tactics when the chickens are adults and don't baby them, but as eggs I give the the best chance I can.Well, just picked up a couple of BCM 3 week-old "hopefully" roos from my Master Gardener friend, and she strongly disagreed with Sally's recommendation to leave them in there. Like you, she says take them as soon as you can, or leave them no longer than 24 hours...so, you're right cppeace.
This was my 2nd hatch, my first hatch was actually way more successful (19/41 - but counting infertile eggs). Its certainly not putting me off, I am determined to make 100 new layers of my project breed this year...so set another 41 today. My plan is to keep doing this every 3 weeks till I have the 100 layers. I'll check out the thread you recommended, thanks!
Yeah I'm a member of that thread it's a fun group. Sally wasn't exactly wrong. It's probably what she does and it works for her, but All our incubators and conditions are slightly different. I am much more hands on than some people. I start candling at day 5 or 7 and then candle every 2-3 days after that to check for growth and quitters. Some people only candle 2-3 times the whole hatch. I monitor my incubator closely and take the babying method whereas a lot of people figure if they don't survive they had weak genes. I kind of change my tactics when the chickens are adults and don't baby them, but as eggs I give the the best chance I can.
Well, I was following the sage advice of Sally Sunshine, written in her treatise; Hatching Eggs 101, where she says;
Mine died somewhere between 60 and 72 hours, so the duration in the incubator shouldn't have been the reason. I had not, however, lowered the temperature so it was still ~100F, higher than what Sally recommends...so perhaps that was the reason.