Silkie eggs. Whats happening??

Grace2246

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I'm new to incubating. Like, very new, this is my first morning waking up with the incubator. My dad got these eggs from his coworker. There are 5 eggs. I just wanna know what should be happening. Also, I'm having trouble with my incubator's humidity. It was 70 when I came downstairs. I took most of the water out and put the temp to about 98, but it's been just spiking with any water I put in it.
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Hi,

Temperature should be 99.5F and humidity 45-50% until lockdown which is 3-5 days before they hatch. I hatch silkies and do 5-day lockdowns.

At lockdown, you stop the turning and THEN the humidity should be around 70%. Leave the incubator closed for the remainder of the days and hopefully you'll see some fluffy butts running around in your incubator!

What brand incubator is that by the way? Is it humid where you live?
 
The humidity in the air around the incubator affects how much surface water you need in the incubator. Most times of the year I don't put any water in the incubator until lock down since the humidity here is usually over 80%. Figure out how to get humidity % that works for your environment (if your incubator instructions say to fill certain chambers you may need to ignore those directions)
 
Don’t worry so much about humidity it is a secondary issue, a constant temp of 99-101 is far more important (use extra thermometers, the little digital ones for reptiles are nice, get a couple and watch them instead of the incubator temp). For candling wait until at least day 3 (72 hours post start of incubation) but day 5-6 is better for a neophyte. The top egg looks like it started to develop but isn’t progressing, the second egg has some odd dark spots may just be the pic, but they all are developing (except maybe number one) just keep your temp steady and make sure your humidity at lockdown is above 65%, and candle every couple days, comparing your eggs to each other. A darkening, red or dark egg is good, a clear or light egg is infertile or early embryonic death. The contents should ooze like honey not slosh like water, sloshy eggs are usually dead. They should all be progressing together, lighter eggs are often quitters, or dead embryos.
 
This link leads to an article in the Learning Center on this forum that shows what you should see when candling.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ion-through-incubation-of-chicken-eggs.47879/


What make and model of incubator do you have? Different incubators handle moisture different ways. If we knew which incubator you have we might be able to help better.
So sorry for not replying earlier i got busy with school work. I got it off of amazon- its this is what it is, Im not home right now.
 

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This link leads to an article in the Learning Center on this forum that shows what you should see when candling.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ion-through-incubation-of-chicken-eggs.47879/


What make and model of incubator do you have? Different incubators handle moisture different ways. If we knew which incubator you have we might be able to help better.
So sorry for not replying earlier i got busy with school work. I got it off of amazon- its this is what it is, Im not home right now.
 

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This link leads to an article in the Learning Center on this forum that shows what you should see when candling.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ion-through-incubation-of-chicken-eggs.47879/


What make and model of incubator do you have? Different incubators handle moisture different ways. If we knew which incubator you have we might be able to help better.
So sorry for not replying earlier i got busy with school work. I got it off of amazon- its this is what it is, Im not home right now.
 

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Hi,

Temperature should be 99.5F and humidity 45-50% until lockdown which is 3-5 days before they hatch. I hatch silkies and do 5-day lockdowns.

At lockdown, you stop the turning and THEN the humidity should be around 70%. Leave the incubator closed for the remainder of the days and hopefully you'll see some fluffy butts running around in your incubator!

What brand incubator is that by the way? Is it humid where you live?
So sorry for not replying earlier i got busy with school work. I got it off of amazon- its this is what it is, Im not home right now.
The humidity in the air around the incubator affects how much surface water you need in the incubator. Most times of the year I don't put any water in the incubator until lock down since the humidity here is usually over 80%. Figure out how to get humidity % that works for your environment (if your incubator instructions say to fill certain chambers you may need to ignore those directions)
I live in Houston Texas, and the incubators inside. If i leave it empty it drops down to about 35, but its like minimum water and it spikes up to like 50. right now its around 50-60 and I have paper towels in there. I'm definitely ignored the instructions because it had me put way too much water in there.
 

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Hi,

Temperature should be 99.5F and humidity 45-50% until lockdown which is 3-5 days before they hatch. I hatch silkies and do 5-day lockdowns.

At lockdown, you stop the turning and THEN the humidity should be around 70%. Leave the incubator closed for the remainder of the days and hopefully you'll see some fluffy butts running around in your incubator!

What brand incubator is that by the way? Is it humid where you live?
So sorry for not replying earlier i got busy with school work. I got it off of amazon- its this is what it is, Im not home right now. I live in Houston Texas, and the incubators inside. If i leave it empty it drops down to about 35, but its like minimum water and it spikes up to like 50. right now its around 50-60 and I have paper towels in there. I'm definitely ignored the instructions because it had me put way too much water in there.
 

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  • Screenshot_20251031_101604_Chrome.jpg
    Screenshot_20251031_101604_Chrome.jpg
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  • Screenshot_20251031_101612_Chrome.jpg
    Screenshot_20251031_101612_Chrome.jpg
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