The Fathers Day Hatch-A-Long!!! The Last Day To Set eggs Is June 3rd!!!!

[Arielle]

Quote: You will do fine. If th air cells dev too fast, you add a little water to slow down the development. Dry hatch just means to not fill hte wells for the entire incubating time--rather start with them dry. Eveyone much adjust to local and seasonal conditions.

Ok I need to update my totals. Yesterday I set 30 Blue Lace Red Wyanoettes, 7 Delawares, 2 Orphingtons, 3 RIR, 3 Barnyard mix (maran barred rock)

So that's 45 in my LG that only holds 42. I figure on day 7 I'll have to pull some so....



Question. the last 3 I had to lay them on their side as the turner was full. I will be hand turning them but they are in a horizontal position. Once I get rid of any that are developing can I move them to the turner or will the change in position be a big problem early in the game?

Yes, you can set them upright when space allows. I have crowded my hatcher and the eggs are then moved to upright. This has been my experience maybe someone else has had a different experience. THe embryo should already be figuring out which end is the large end as that end should be noticably higher when laying on its side. Embryo gets settled in final postion about days5-7, I can't quit rmember the exact day.

I candled my eggs last night and was very upset. I noticed huge air sacs and little to no movement. I am at high altitude and wonder if that has to do with it? I did start another thread asking for assistance from other folks who hatch at high altitude. I really only noticed movement in 1 or 2 out of the 8. I am just heart broken, they are cream legbar eggs. I bumped up the humidity and we drew a faint pencil line on most of them so we could monitor the growth of the air sacs. I am by far not an experienced hatcher, but I knew right away those air sacs where way bigger than they should be at day 8. The looked more like day 18 air sacs.

Who knows what will happen now. I have another incubator going that I set eggs in on Saturday night, I bumped the humidity up on that one as well, hope it will not be a total loss!

High altitude hatching takes a special set of circumstances to pull off. Apparently it helps to use eggs laid at high altitudes. That is all I know from reading on BYC.

 

[karimw]

I candled my eggs last night and was very upset. I noticed huge air sacs and little to no movement. I am at high altitude and wonder if that has to do with it? I did start another thread asking for assistance from other folks who hatch at high altitude. I really only noticed movement in 1 or 2 out of the 8. I am just heart broken, they are cream legbar eggs. I bumped up the humidity and we drew a faint pencil line on most of them so we could monitor the growth of the air sacs. I am by far not an experienced hatcher, but I knew right away those air sacs where way bigger than they should be at day 8. The looked more like day 18 air sacs.

Who knows what will happen now. I have another incubator going that I set eggs in on Saturday night, I bumped the humidity up on that one as well, hope it will not be a total loss!

I'm not sure of the effect of altitude, but if you have shipped eggs the air cells can look pretty crazy sometimes and it can be tough to measure them. That does not mean they won't hatch though. I try to keep humidity low for most of the incubation period and only raise it at hatch time. Most of the problems I have had are because of too high humidity during the first 2 weeks. The baby gets too big and can't rotate to pip and zip.

 

[Arielle]

Quote: Years ago when building our house, my BIL, who I love, made fun of my color choices for the interior paints. I had picked old historical colors, he thought they looked like military fatigues and told me so. I was hurt. I stayed with my plan, making each room a different color. It works for me. I feel a sense of serenity at home. Simple, plain. Very old colonial New England just like the style of the house. And when a door is left open it goes with the color in the next room. Most people think our house was built about 1810, not 1994. It's all in the details. ( I din't like the style of my BIL house--made me jittery! LOL)

 

[WyoChickenMamma]

I'm not sure of the effect of altitude, but if you have shipped eggs the air cells can look pretty crazy sometimes and it can be tough to measure them. That does not mean they won't hatch though. I try to keep humidity low for most of the incubation period and only raise it at hatch time. Most of the problems I have had are because of too high humidity during the first 2 weeks. The baby gets too big and can't rotate to pip and zip.

I have read that the altitude issue is related to the shell and how the shells are formed at sea level vs. altitude. I have read conflicting info though. I did read that large air sacs early on can be a result of not enough humidity, the egg is losing moisture at too fast of a rate and thus the air sac gets way to big, way to fast. I just don't know if I did the right thing. I did mark on a few of the eggs the shape and size of the air sac...they are pretty wonky that is for sure...only a few are "correct" so to speak. No wonder their are not any chicken hatcheries in my neck of the woods!!!! Looks like it is much easier to incubate and hatch at lower elevations.

 

[yinepu]

All in the same bator..right?

yup.. and here they are! (the one in front was the last hatched .. still sleepy in this pic)

 

[MoriahQuilts]

I have read that the altitude issue is related to the shell and how the shells are formed at sea level vs. altitude.  I have read conflicting info though.  I did read that large air sacs early on can be a result of not enough humidity, the egg is losing moisture at too fast of a rate and thus the air sac gets way to big, way to fast.  I just don't know if I did the right thing.  I did mark on a few of the eggs the shape and size of the air sac...they are pretty wonky that is for sure...only a few are "correct" so to speak.  No wonder their are not any chicken hatcheries in my neck of the woods!!!!  Looks like it is much easier to incubate and hatch at lower elevations. 

How high are you? We are about 5k and dry. I've wondered the effects it has on humidity and temp in incubating.

 

[WyoChickenMamma]

How high are you? We are about 5k and dry. I've wondered the effects it has on humidity and temp in incubating.

We are about 5200 feet above sea level. Have you had good luck hatching shipped eggs at your altitude?

 

[ChestnutRidge]

I candled my eggs last night and was very upset. I noticed huge air sacs and little to no movement.

I agree with karimw that it is likely just wonky air cells from shipping. I've had oddly-shaped large air cells on some shipped eggs, too, and they are generally alright. Sometimes it just takes experience and practice, though, to discover what works for your area. Every locale, even different houses with different heating/cooling systems, is different.

Good luck!

Temps and humidity have been really steady, about 99.4*-99.6* and 29%-27% humidity. I candled my eggs a few days ago on Day 6 (today is day 9). It looked like 1 clear, 2 blood rings, and 28 developing in the incubator. Air cells were a bit on the small side, so I've been letting the humidity slide down, and it's been 22-25% the last three days. There are 4 under a broody. I candled those around dusk and wasn't exactly sure of what I was seeing with all of the ambient light, but I think they looked good. A little under two weeks to go!

 

[Arielle]

My first set are in the hatcher and one is cheeping!!!

 

[Arielle]

Quote: I wonder if the thinner air effects the availability of oxygen to the chicks. Especially at the point of last 3 days when the need for oxygen increases dramatically. WHile you have adapted to this, the eggs have not. I keep thinking of making a jungle room!