Should I help this chick hatch or it is ok?

[yinepu]

GOOD JOB!!! so glad they are doing fine

now just keep an eye on the others still in the incubator..they SHOULD be fine if your humidity is high.. but keep an eye on them just the same

 

[MommaB]

How sweet! If my babies hatch I can't imagine how tiny they will be. None of my bantam eggs hatched the first time. I can't wait. I'm so happy everything is working out for you!

 

[gavinandallison]

well done!! looks like you did a great job, maybe humidity was too low all along...... what was it at when you locked them down?

 

[evers310]

The thing is, I didn't have them in lockdown.. I marked them with an X on one side and an O on the other so I could turn them and keep track of them; but I had taken them from their mama a few days ago because each day she was stepping on one (accidentally I'm sure..) which shattered their shell and i would find them dead :-( the 2nd day in a row this happened I took them away and gave her 2 white wooden nest eggs to brood over so she wouldnt freak out. But because I wasn't sure when they were due I didn't have a clue when i should stop turning them and start lockdown. But I knew it should probably be within 5 or 6 days so I got my humidity to 60%. Then when I saw that 1st one had pipped, i read it should be between 80 & 85% so I added papertowels under one of the holes in the top of the incubator so I could use a syringe and keep adding warm water to them. However I just figured out why my humidity level has been such a pain to keep steady and thats because what I thought was another trench in the bottom to fill with water wasn't for water afterall because it has holes in it! i hadnt noticed before because i have it sitting on our black countertops which are granite so theyre shiny and didnt even notice all of the water everywhere till i sat a papertowel down next to it and realized what was going on. so anyways, I put a little bowl in that corner of the incubator under the hole so I can continue using the syringe but it will trap any extra water and hopefully this will fix my humidity problem too!

I have 3 more cracked shells in there that I can see thru the window but doesnt look like theyve broke thru the membrane yet so I am hoping that having to raise the lid of the incubator for a few secs didnt hurt them but if i start seeing their membrane thru the cracks and it looks white... I shall start all over with which ones need me and I guess go invest in some red bull for the night! lol

BTW: all 3 of those that I helped hatch out are fluffy and active! I cant thank you guys enough!!!!!!! xx

 

[yinepu]

just a thought.. did you calibrate your hygrometer?

 

[yinepu]

Quote:
Well.. don't jump in TOO soon to assist.. it's always better if they hatch on their own.. but at least now you have learned what to do for when you do have to assist a hatch..

and I'm glad the lil fuzzy butts are doing good.. keep them warm and keep an eye on them.. they should be just fine though

 

[evers310]

I did not do the salt test on my hygrometer, i am just hoping that its accurate. If I take it out of the incubator that means lifting the lid again and not having any idea of the humidity for 8 hours or however long it takes for that test :-/

If its off and my humidity is too high, what can happen then? (I understand fully now what can happen if its too low at hatch time!!)

What range works best for your hatches?

 

[yinepu]

don't bother to calibrate it until you go to incubate again (actually.. ALWAYS calibrate before incubating as the hygrometer can change as time goes by).. you know now it needs to be high for hatching.. and you know what to be on the lookout for if the chick is in trouble
this late in the game they should be fine.. and i would rather if you didn't have to open the incubator again if you can avoid it

every time a chick hatches the humidity automatically shoots up.. so at lockdown i start with 60% and i have seen it go as high as 80 when the chicks hatch out

So for incubating i try to have 40 to 45%.. at lockdown I bump it up to 60ish.. I've always had great hatches doing it this way.. but some people don't so they have to go with dry incubating.. i have never had to so I'm not sure how much they bump up the humidity.. I'm guessing at least 20% above what they incubated at.. but that's just a guess on my part

 

[evers310]

Alright, since we're on the subject of humidity now...

I have it at 80% (so says my un-calibrated hygrometer...)... so should an egg hatch and spike the humidity to say, 90% or higher.. what to do then? Do I need to keep it between 80% & 85% like I've read or is really high ok? And how does higher humidity affect my un-pipped eggs?

 

[classicsredone]

If it is too high and you have condensation, you might be able to snake in a straw or aquarium tubing to suck out some of the water from the wells. I use an oral syringe from a drug store and aquarium tubing. It fits easily through the big vents, or through a smaller vent if you enlarge it a little.