temperature at lockdown

[boli69]

so i am new at this whole incubating and hatching chicks thing. i purchased a Magic Fly automatic forced air incubator. I put in 6 fertile ayam cemani eggs at 37.5 c. it does not have a hunidity reader but i followed the instructions and put in 100ml of wáter every 2 days. i candled the eggs at day 8 and day 17 and they were all looking healthy and moving. Unfortunately i counted my days wrong and i set them up for lockdown at the end of day 17. will this have any ill effect on the chicks when it comes to hatching? another mistake i made was that i thought i was supposed to increase temperature as well as humidity at lockdown. i increased humidity and increased temperature from 37.5 c to 37.8 c. was i wrong for doing this? should i lower the temperature now? also i am at day 19 and wondering if i am supposed to be seeing any rocking or any sign

 

[AmyLynn2374]

so i am new at this whole incubating and hatching chicks thing. i purchased a Magic Fly automatic forced air incubator. I put in 6 fertile ayam cemani eggs at 37.5 c. it does not have a hunidity reader but i followed the instructions and put in 100ml of wáter every 2 days. i candled the eggs at day 8 and day 17 and they were all looking healthy and moving. Unfortunately i counted my days wrong and i set them up for lockdown at the end of day 17. will this have any ill effect on the chicks when it comes to hatching? another mistake i made was that i thought i was supposed to increase temperature as well as humidity at lockdown. i increased humidity and increased temperature from 37.5 c to 37.8 c. was i wrong for doing this? should i lower the temperature now? also i am at day 19 and wondering if i am supposed to be seeing any rocking or any sign

No, the temp should not be raised for lockdown. Actually many hatchers actually drop the temp a degree(farenheight) at hatch time. No, locking them down a day early is not going to hurt anything. My concern would be humidity during the first 17 days. Without a hygrometer and not checking the air cells to monitor moisture loss, would be my concern. At day 19 you may or my not see action if your temps were on target. I'd expect to see or hear something by late 20, but if temps ran a bit low, they could be slightly delayed. Has your thermometer ever been checked for accuracy? Good luck with your hatch.

 

[boli69]

Yes i understand i was not supposed to increase the temperature but my question is if i raised it .5 degrees f will it affect the chicks? Should i lower it before they hatch? And about the humidity i did as the incubator instructions said. I put in 100ml of water every other day.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Yes i understand i was not supposed to increase the temperature but my question is if i raised it .5 degrees f will it affect the chicks? Should i lower it before they hatch? And about the humidity i did as the incubator instructions said. I put in 100ml of water every other day.

37.8C is 100.04 F so no, that is not a dangerous temp. I actually incubate at that temp. It won't effect them either way. As to whether you should lower it at hatch is a personal preference. Many do and many don't. I don't intentionally lower mine at hatch, but it ends up a degree lower because I am hands on and open my bator frequently at hatch time.

As for the humidty, I personally believe those manuals are more trouble than good when considering humidity. There is no set number and to tell a person to put an x amount in is ridiculous. I could put 100ml is my bator and because of my environment it may give me 35% humidity. You could put the same in and your environment could be so different that it causes you to have 60% humidity (which most likely would result in drowning chicks at hatch time.) Those numbers don't take your environment and relative humidity into account, your habits, your egg quality, shell thickness or size into consideration. If you have thick non porous shells you're going to loose moisture at a much slower rate and most likely need a lower humidity. If you are incubating small banty eggs, they may loose moisture much faster and you may need a higher humidity. Different ranges work for different people and different quality eggs. The best way you can judge if your humidity levels are working for you is to monitor the air cells. http://letsraisechickens.weebly.com...anuals-understanding-and-controlling-humidity

 

[boli69]

Omg! I just checked on them and two out of 6 have their first pip! But now im worried because they are pipping at the wrong end( the pointy end) what should i do?

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Omg! I just checked on them and two out of 6 have their first pip! But now im worried because they are pipping at the wrong end( the pointy end) what should i do?

Give them plenty of time. As long as they have a hole all the way through and you can see that they are breathing and that there is no extra moisture in the egg they can drown in, give them time to do their thing. Many malpositioned pippers will hatch just fine by themselves while others will need assisting if they are going to make it out. The important thing is to not help too soon. A normal pipper can take 24 hours or more malpos can take longer. I wouldn't start an assist before 24 hours unless it appeared something was quite wrong. If there's still significant veining after starting an assist, the only thing you can do is give it more time.

 

[boli69]

Two of them have their beaks poking completely out and are breathing and chirping but making no progress, its been 12 hours. And 1 just made the first pip about 3 hours ago but only broke the shell. I only see a tiny slit in the membrane. Could it be breathing through there? And by the way the third one is also piping at the wrong end! Why?

 

[boli69]

Give them plenty of time. As long as they have a hole all the way through and you can see that they are breathing and that there is no extra moisture in the egg they can drown in, give them time to do their thing. Many malpositioned pippers will hatch just fine by themselves while others will need assisting if they are going to make it out. The important thing is to not help too soon. A normal pipper can take 24 hours or more malpos can take longer. I wouldn't start an assist before 24 hours unless it appeared something was quite wrong. If there's still significant veining after starting an assist, the only thing you can do is give it more time.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Two of them have their beaks poking completely out and are breathing and chirping but making no progress, its been 12 hours. And 1 just made the first pip about 3 hours ago but only broke the shell. I only see a tiny slit in the membrane. Could it be breathing through there? And by the way the third one is also piping at the wrong end! Why?

There's multiple reasons for malpositioned. Inadequate turning, can be a big factor, high humidity can also be a factor because the chicks can grow too big and be unable to turn when it's time. Storing or incubating upside down. To name the ones that come to mind.

Yes, they can breath through the slit as long as it's clear.

 

[boli69]

Ok so now all 6 have a pip. 2 of them are at the right end. But the first two that have the bigger pips and have their beeks out have not made any progress. They just keep chirping and poking their beeks at the same hole. Its been about 24 hours since their first pip. What should i do now?