Small early hatch -- might others still hatch?

[beesong]

These eggs aren't due to hatch until the 10th, but two keets popped out day before yesterday. Nothing since then. When a hatch starts that early, should all the eggs be early, or might the others still go "full term?" How strung out have folks had successful guinea hatches? It seems odd that the eggs would develop at such different rates, but if some of the other eggs don't go on to hatch on schedule, this will be a miserable hatch rate.

 

[PeepsCA]

Quote:
Did you happen to candle the eggs before lockdown? I usually do that so I get a general idea of how many look alive at that time. ANy questionable eggs go in one area pf the hatcher so I can monitor them a little closer thru the hatcher window.

I quite often get an early keet or 2, then the rest can take 2 more days to pip and hatch, so this isn't out of the norm. If you want, you could quickly candle the rest of the eggs and get an idea if the air cells are slanted and also look for internal pipping (when the keet breaks it's beak thru the membrane into the air cell), then boost the humidity to about 70-75%, give the eggs a quick mist with a fine mister bottle and lock it back down and wait it out. I'm guessing you just had 2 early keets from a couple eggs that had started to develop a little further along before you set them is all.

Best of luck with the rest of your hatch

 

[beesong]

Quote:
Did you happen to candle the eggs before lockdown? I usually do that so I get a general idea of how many look alive at that time. ANy questionable eggs go in one area pf the hatcher so I can monitor them a little closer thru the hatcher window.

I quite often get an early keet or 2, then the rest can take 2 more days to pip and hatch, so this isn't out of the norm. If you want, you could quickly candle the rest of the eggs and get an idea if the air cells are slanted and also look for internal pipping (when the keet breaks it's beak thru the membrane into the air cell), then boost the humidity to about 70-75%, give the eggs a quick mist with a fine mister bottle and lock it back down and wait it out. I'm guessing you just had 2 early keets from a couple eggs that had started to develop a little further along before you set them is all.

Best of luck with the rest of your hatch

Thanks, PeepsCA. Yes, I candled everthing before lockdown and all looked good. I've just never had them hatch SO far ahead of the 26-28 days. Keep your fingers crossed for me.........

 

[PeepsCA]

Hopefully all goes well and you have a bunch of fluffy bouncing peeping keets in your brooder with the others in a day or so

I have a hatch going on today too

So far a Royal Purple, a Pied Pearl Grey and a Lavender have hatched. I had a Coral Blue from this batch hatch 2a day and a half days ago, he's been by himself in the brooder with a mirror ever since, complaining up a storm, lol. So at least he'll finally have some company in a few hours. There's about 16 more eggs that are pipped and the rest all looked good when I candled and moved them over. 39 eggs total.

I have actually had a keet hatch on day 23 before, perfectly fine and healthy, just an early bird. Day 24 is common for me too, but this past month the early morning of day 26 seems to be the popular hatch day/time for my eggs, lol. (I usually set eggs in the evenings after the eggs have sat on the counter all day coming to room temp).

What kind of incubator do you have? I have a couple of the Hovabator Genesis 1588s, and I don't think I've ever had a hatch go to day 28 since I've been using them, day 27 is usually the longest the hatches go. I also have a Little Giant, (with a PC fan that I added to it so it's circulated air), and day 27-28 is the norm for that incubator, sometimes I get a few stragglers that last thru day 29. All 3 have egg turners in them, but I still try to rotate the eggs around to different areas in the turners once a week to give all the eggs more even temps. (Usually with the styrofoam type incubators there are warmer and cooler areas inside).

Post an update on your hatch as it progresses, and pics if you can

 

[beesong]

Thanks so much, Peeps. When you had that very early one hatch, how long before the others came out? Were they early, too, or did any of them go to the full 26-28 once they started hatching early? I used to be a pretty good hatcher, but I haven't done it in years until now. I'm pretty discouraged -- about 30% success is all I've gotten. I know I did a lot better than that back in the "old days" of analog incubators and thermometers! I think I own enough hygrometers and themometers to start my own store -- you name it, and I have it. And even after calibrating everything, they all still end up wonky in the bators. I have 2 Brinsea Advance EXs and a Genesis 1588. I use a Hova 1620 for a hatcher, although I've also hatched in the Brinseas while trying to find out where my weak link was. Made no difference -- still no better than 30%. I just don't get it. I used to hatch and sell by the hundreds! Now I feel like a failure.

 

[PeepsCA]

I think the rest of the eggs hatched on days 25-26 in that batch, I'd hafta go look thru my keet notes for that hatch. But all thru late Feb and early April I was having really early hatches, usually at least 1 pipped egg on day 23 when I'd move them to the hatcher. This past 3 weeks I haven't had that many early pippers or hatchers... 'cept for this week, I had a Coral Blue hatch on day 24. The rest are hatching now.

You definitely have some reliable incubators that should produce great hatch rates for ya, but it may not be the incubators that are the issue... did the eggs candle clear at 10 days, or were they late deaths? If you got a bunch of clears it might just be a little early in the laying season for your Hens and the fertility rate is the issue, and if that's the case it should improve next time. if the appeared to be late deaths tho, and you didn't have any drastic temp fluctuations, it coulda been a humidity issue or you may just need to bleach your equipment really well, rinse it good, and let it dry in the sun before setting your next batch(es). Hope your next hatch is much better for you. I've found that a little low humidity during incubation is ok, and a little high is ok during the hatch, but never the opposite.

Keep your head up, it'll get better!

I see you are in Nor Cal too... howdy neighbor

I'm in the Grass Valley area.