Still hatching day 25?

[Melk]

I am hatching for the second time with my Little Giant incubator. First hatch I lost so many, only 11 of 41 eggs hatched. This second hatch is similar. However I had arranged to leave town on day 23 and woke up to a dead hatcher 24 hours zipped and still, plus one fluffed chick. I turned off the incubator and took the final chick downstairs to the brooder. When I came back, maybe 2 minutes later there was loud peeping. I had left the lid ajar, but there was a second chick hatching. I quickly closed the incubator and plugged it back in. I sprayed a bit of water to bring the humidity back up within range. The dead chick stirred, still alive. Damn! It was time to leave town. I had to leave everything in the care of students renting from me. The students are keeping in touch. Later that afternoon they reported the chick fluffed enough to bring to the brooder and stink. The struggling chick still struggling and alive. I gave permission to move the one and try and assist the other. The stink? Not sure if it's the struggling chick with goo on his back, or the incubator, now with nearly 20 unhatched 24 day old eggs. They washed the chick up and put him in a shoe box in the brooder and he lasted through the night. Incubator still running, day 25. They are reporting a new pip... damn! Really? What happened here? I will be back tonight.

 

[SueT]

these are chickens, right? What kind?

 

[Melk]

Chickens. Polish, Easter Eggers and Amerucanas.

 

[SueT]

Well update us when you get back....good luck!

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Was the incubator cooler?

 

[Melk]

The late hatchers mostly survived. The struggling hatcher died. I also had a second chick which had bad feet. She preferred to lie on her back nd wasn't able to get to the food or water. She died. Total chick count currently alive is 15. 1 hatch on day 20, 7 on day 21, 5 more on day 22 and then 3 on day 23, and one last hatch on day 25... is that unusual?

 

[Tonyroo]

I don't think it's unusual, considering if you have a large incubator. Different areas of the incubator will be a little cooler, right on the dot, and a little hotter. So I have to assume the egg response corelates to the temp there situated in. Hence the different hatch times.
Just my two sences.

 

[Melk]

I don't think it's unusual, considering if you have a large incubator. Different areas of the incubator will be a little cooler, right on the dot, and a little hotter. So I have to assume the egg response corelates to the temp there situated in. Hence the different hatch times.
Just my two sences.

I heard somewhere here that hatches take 24 to 48 hours. That's why I was shocked to have hatching spread out over 4 days.

 

[Tonyroo]

That's usually in a small incubator where you don't have a lot of hot and cold spots. Good thing you waited.

 

[SueT]

Also different breeds/sizes hatch at different times. I put bantams and large fowl eggs in the incubator, all bantams hatched day 20, and the large on 21, 22, and 23.
Were yours all the same breed?