The Great Egg Shipping Experiment!

[MeanV2]

I Appreciate all the support and words of encouragement. I have another WL pipped. Only 3 more of those eggs left.

Dan

 

[BunnyMomma]

Hi, I love your avatar chickadoodles! I smile everytime I see it on here.

 

[MeanV2]

Got a couple of Marans pipped this morning but they seem to be having trouble, at least it is slow going. Nothing on the LA's or BA's yet

Dan

 

[ronott1]

Got a couple of Marans pipped this morning but they seem to be having trouble, at least it is slow going. Nothing on the LA's or BA's yet

Dan

Thank you for the update!

My hatch is going well so far--I should get 10 to 12 Horstman Straight Comb Rhode Island Reds and two Partridge Rocks!

Marans are Tardy hatchers and I hope the BAs and LAs hatch for you!

 

[MeanV2]

I have had one BA pipped then shrink wrap today. I also had one Marans shrink wrap as well as one of the WL's. LA's have done nothing yet and I thought those looked better than any of the other eggs going into Lock Down. What is causing so much Shrink wrapping? Do I need more humidity? I have kept it pretty much between 68% & 72%. I have had 4 so far. I need to learn from this. Should I try a higher temp next hatch? Is this why my hatch seems to be running late? How much higher should I go? Just want to make myself some notes.

Dan

 

[ronott1]

I have had one BA pipped then shrink wrap today. I also had one Marans shrink wrap as well as one of the WL's. LA's have done nothing yet and I thought those looked better than any of the other eggs going into Lock Down. What is causing so much Shrink wrapping? I have had 4 so far. I need to learn from this. Should I try a higher temp next hatch? Is this why my hatch seems to be running late? How much higher should I go? Just want to make myself some notes.

Dan

Do you have a Brinsea Spot check?

Run the incubator at 99.9 for the next hatch--on the brinsea--you might need to raise the incubator temp to get it to the correct temperature. Trust the Brinsea.

I am incubating at 35% humidity and have not had sticky chicks. Shrink wrap usually happens when the chick pips and gets stuck on goo inside the shell. It cannot turn and cut the shell open and dries out. Sticky chicks are caused by:

1. Temps to low
2. Temps too high
3. Humidity too high
4. humidity too low

Not too helpful but you can adjust based on what the settings were during incubation. ie: if temps were closer to 99, increase the temperature. If humidity was over 50%, lower it. If humidity was below 30% incase it.

I hope this helps!

 

[MeanV2]

I have been using a Brinsea Spot check and got things at 99.3F when egg crates were level. When it tilts to the right it stays the same, when it tilts to the left it goes up .3 to .5 degrees F that is 1/3 to 1/2 in case someone misses the decimal point. When Brinsea is reading 99.5F the Digital on the Dickeys is reading 97.5F Mr Dickey didn't think it could be off that much but I have trusted the Brinsea because it read my body temp at 98.6F

Dan

 

[clfromok]

As for the shrinkwraped chicks-I had to learn the hard way. You CAN leave the babies in the bator for 24 hours. I couldn't stand leaving them in there when they were peeping to be let out, but everytime you open it to get one out you loose a lot of humidity. Though I meant well-"Save" one or two- loose the rest.
Even though they may be calling-Resist, resist, resist!

 

[BunnyMomma]

When I start having chicks to pip, I usually dampen a clean wash cloth, (be sure to squeeze out all of the extra water, because too much water will drown the chicks). Then I place it over the eggs for a few hours to dampen the shells. I also turn the temps up one degree, when they start pipping. It seems to help reduce the shrink wrapping. I only had one to shrink wrap on my last hatch. Sometimes if you have a stuck chick in the shell, you can take a cotton ball and wet it with warm water and lightly wet the egg shell for just a minute. It seems to help, but I have had to help some of the sticky chicks to get out of the shell on occasion. Hatching is not as easy as it sounds! I've been doing this for years and I still have plenty to learn. Thanks to all of the great information that is shared here on BYC, I have been getting better at my hatching skills!

 

[BunnyMomma]

As for the shrinkwraped chicks-I had to learn the hard way. You CAN leave the babies in the bator for 24 hours. I couldn't stand leaving them in there when they were peeping to be let out, but everytime you open it to get one out you loose a lot of humidity. Though I meant well-"Save" one or two- loose the rest.
Even though they may be calling-Resist, resist, resist!

Resistance is futile! Warning, Warning! Motherly instincts will ruin us all!