The Incubator Thread

[Yorkshire Coop]

Here are some possible causes for your chicks having albumen (egg white) on them after hatch

Sticky" chicks - chicks smeared with albumen

- Low incubation temperature.
- High incubation humidity.
- Incorrect or inadequate turning of the eggs, resulting in improper membrane development and function.
- Eggs stored too long prior to setting.
- Overly large eggs.

It could be one or more of these things. What was your humidity during incubation? It being too high could cause this. I personaly like 45% for day 1-18 and at least 65% at lockdown. Humidty needs to be an average over the incubation period in order for the egg to lose enough moisture and the airsac to grow large enough for the chick to pip into safely.

 

[jldward]

Here are some possible causes for your chicks having albumen (egg white) on them after hatch

Sticky" chicks - chicks smeared with albumen

- Low incubation temperature.
- High incubation humidity.
- Incorrect or inadequate turning of the eggs, resulting in improper membrane development and function.
- Eggs stored too long prior to setting.
- Overly large eggs.

It could be one or more of these things. What was your humidity during incubation? It being too high could cause this. I personaly like 45% for day 1-18 and at least 65% at lockdown. Humidty needs to be an average over the incubation period in order for the egg to lose enough moisture and the airsac to grow large enough for the chick to pip into safely.

Thanks for the reply.

My humidity gave me fits for roughly the first half, but would have averaged on the low side rather than high. We generally like 45-50% (with a couple of drops down closer to 30% & spikes to near 60% early on) til day 18, then it's been running anywhere between 62-68%. The temp runs a little high--staying generally at 100*--tried adjusting it before this batch but obviously didn't work.

Like I said, it's about done, so nothing to do now, but just collecting information for the future. This is only the 2nd batch, but I should have known it was too good to be true when the 1st batch did pretty good lol.

Thank you for your time & information. I'll keep this for my records.

 

[PD-Riverman]

Ok, this is a bit after the fact, but I want to learn. My 'bator batch is mostly done except for possibly a few.

Several of these chicks are having any/all various substances from inside the egg (blood, yoke, ?) dry on them. That would seem to me to be caused by low humidity, but it's running over 60% (62-68% w/out my help). Is that adequate or am I low? Or was there possibly other influences/factors?

Any input greatly appreciated--educate me please. TIA

Give us some more info to work with---

Type incubator, egg turner or hand turned,
How much was the humidity the first 18 days?
Did you have water in the bator?
When/what day did the first chick hatch?
Was it ok or a problem chick too?
How many hatched before you removed them?
When did you remove them from the incubator?
How many have hatched total?
How many of the ones that hatched were OK
What day are you on now---being you stated they were "mostly done"?

All this info and other info is important to try and help.

 

[jldward]

~It's a Genesis Hova Bator 1588 with a mechanical turner.
~Humidity varied in the first 18 days (this bator performed very well with first batch...not sure why humidity varied so much this time), but I tried to keep it in the range of 45-50%. There were a few times it would either drop to low 30's (a couple of times overnight) or spike up close to 60%, & for a while it averaged around 51-52%.
~I did keep water in the incubator, but only enough to try to maintain the desired 45-50%
~Today is day 21. First chick hatched on day 19 & was very sticky. Still not sure it will make it. Had early hatch due to temp running a little high--tried to adjust before this batch but didn't work. Usually stayed around 99.9-100*
~I've had a few others, mainly 2-3 that have been sticky, but not as bad as the first chick, although I do have 2 still in "ICU" at the moment. Most have hatched on their own & been fine.
~At lockdown, I divide my incubator using a cardboard "tic tac toe" grid, dividing eggs into the "cubbys". This is done to separate breeds that may look very similar at hatching (i am not familiar enough with all of my boyfriend's games & he's not here to know what is what). Some cubby's can be crowded so early on I removed a few chicks & egg shells to make room. I normally wait as long as possible to remove any chicks or shells.
~So far, 20 out of 36 eggs have fully hatched (several of the remaining 16 were questionable anyway, as I'm still learning), with another 2 in progress, but it looks like they may need help. Not sure if any others will hatch. Not seeing any pips or progress. That is what I mean by "mostly done".

I appreciate all the time, information & patience as I am trying to learn & improve.

 

[PD-Riverman]

~It's a Genesis Hova Bator 1588 with a mechanical turner.
~Humidity varied in the first 18 days (this bator performed very well with first batch...not sure why humidity varied so much this time), but I tried to keep it in the range of 45-50%. There were a few times it would either drop to low 30's (a couple of times overnight) or spike up close to 60%, & for a while it averaged around 51-52%.
~I did keep water in the incubator, but only enough to try to maintain the desired 45-50%
~Today is day 21. First chick hatched on day 19 & was very sticky. Still not sure it will make it. Had early hatch due to temp running a little high--tried to adjust before this batch but didn't work. Usually stayed around 99.9-100*
~I've had a few others, mainly 2-3 that have been sticky, but not as bad as the first chick, although I do have 2 still in "ICU" at the moment. Most have hatched on their own & been fine.
~At lockdown, I divide my incubator using a cardboard "tic tac toe" grid, dividing eggs into the "cubbys". This is done to separate breeds that may look very similar at hatching (i am not familiar enough with all of my boyfriend's games & he's not here to know what is what). Some cubby's can be crowded so early on I removed a few chicks & egg shells to make room. I normally wait as long as possible to remove any chicks or shells.
~So far, 20 out of 36 eggs have fully hatched (several of the remaining 16 were questionable anyway, as I'm still learning), with another 2 in progress, but it looks like they may need help. Not sure if any others will hatch. Not seeing any pips or progress. That is what I mean by "mostly done".

I appreciate all the time, information & patience as I am trying to learn & improve.

Well you already stated you had a temp problem, I feel that could have lead to alot of your problems. I feel your tic/tac cardboard set-up messes up the air flow which would cause uneven heat, which would create more problems. I also feel that 50% humidity is to high for the first 18 days, but that would be according to the incubator as well as the meter that is checking it. If you have read alot of my post---You know I am going to Kick on open the incubator for ANYTHING till they all hatch or day 22. Opening it early to try to help a chick that is probably not going to make it (you said) could have also created problems with the other eggs---might not have. All i Know about that is opening to help/remove had always caused me problems, also caused family members that incubated problems----we stopped doing that and our hatch was so much better. Now even if a chick was to hatch on day 19----it will sit till the rest hatch or day 22 before it gets any help from me----My hatch % is very good now and hatch problems are very little, Do some homework on what a good egg looks like on day 18 so you can remove the "bad" eggs going into lock-down---bad eggs can also cause problems with the good eggs. Wishing your next hatch to be a very Good One.

 

[jldward]

Well you already stated you had a temp problem, I feel that could have lead to alot of your problems. I feel your tic/tac cardboard set-up messes up the air flow which would cause uneven heat, which would create more problems. I also feel that 50% humidity is to high for the first 18 days, but that would be according to the incubator as well as the meter that is checking it. If you have read alot of my post---You know I am going to Kick on open the incubator for ANYTHING till they all hatch or day 22. Opening it early to try to help a chick that is probably not going to make it (you said) could have also created problems with the other eggs---might not have. All i Know about that is opening to help/remove had always caused me problems, also caused family members that incubated problems----we stopped doing that and our hatch was so much better. Now even if a chick was to hatch on day 19----it will sit till the rest hatch or day 22 before it gets any help from me----My hatch % is very good now and hatch problems are very little, Do some homework on what a good egg looks like on day 18 so you can remove the "bad" eggs going into lock-down---bad eggs can also cause problems with the good eggs. Wishing your next hatch to be a very Good One.

Thank you for your information & input. Not denying the possible temp issue, but honestly I'm betting more on the humidity. Also, even tho I used the "grid" on my last hatch & had pretty good luck, I wasn't clueless & did consider it might change things, so I agree that may also be a factor. We may just have to be choosy about what we set so I can just lockdown with all eggs just on the wire like recommended.

As for the humidity, the 'bator literature recommends setting humidity between 45-55% & 55-65% @ hatch, so I aimed for the middle of each, for my first batch of 18 eggs, with satisfactory results. This batch started as a full incubator of 42 eggs. Six ended up being removed, leaving 36 going into lockdown. I had wondered if the full 'bator also made any difference.

As I said, I'm trying to learn, both on the incubator & candling. I also agree I stress too much & try too hard, but while I don't expect perfection in life, I do have a tendency to expect it from myself :/

Thanks again for your time & information.

 

[Bean789]

Ok, this is a bit after the fact, but I want to learn. My 'bator batch is mostly done except for possibly a few.

Several of these chicks are having any/all various substances from inside the egg (blood, yoke, ?) dry on them. That would seem to me to be caused by low humidity, but it's running over 60% (62-68% w/out my help). Is that adequate or am I low? Or was there possibly other influences/factors?

Any input greatly appreciated--educate me please. TIA

I am at a loss as well when it comes to pips that have 'stuff' oozing out of them. My last hatch, I had 2 like that and my humidity was at 70% and higher sometimes as the other chicks hatched. Some of them hatched perfectly when the humidity was still at 55% I did find that lockedown means just that . Let the chicks hatch and just watch from 'outside the box'. I took one chick out after 36 hours and then it took FOREVER for the temp to get back up. Out of 12 eggs set, 2 had the oozing, 1 pipped and died before getting all the way out, 9 hatched perfectly.

 

[jldward]

I am at a loss as well when it comes to pips that have 'stuff' oozing out of them.  My last hatch, I had 2 like that and my humidity was at 70% and higher sometimes as the other chicks hatched.  Some of them hatched perfectly when the humidity was still at 55%  I did find that lockedown means just that .  Let the chicks hatch and just watch from 'outside the box'.  I took one chick out after 36 hours and then it took FOREVER for the temp to get back up.  Out of 12 eggs set, 2 had the oozing, 1 pipped and died before getting all the way out, 9 hatched perfectly.  

Well, going in I knew what lockdown meant, but inadvertently created extenuating circumstances. My boyfriend has games but works away a lot & I don't know the different breeds well enough to just leave all eggs in a wide open 'bator, so I divised a grid divider. I was concerned it might interfere, but it didn't seem to on the first batch, so used it again this time around, but had a full load this time. I think this batch is the last one, for a while at least, but in the future I'm hoping to sort eggs into batches I can better identify & so I can do what I'm supposed to do--lockdown & let them hatch. He just may have to wait for more than one batch to get all his babies he wants.

When I did remove chicks & shells to make room, I was quick & it didn't seem to take long to regulate, but I don't disagree that I just need to learn to leave things be.

Biggest problem I'm having is finding "my way"--the incubator directions give some recommendations on temp/humidity, but if you ask 5 people their recommendations, you'll likely get 5 different answers. As far as I'm concerned, it takes time & experience to fine tune what works best. Each incubator is different, as are all the environments those 'bator's are in. Mine behaved better the first batch, but (humidity) gave me fits this time.

I'm learning

 

[Bean789]

Well, going in I knew what lockdown meant, but inadvertently created extenuating circumstances. My boyfriend has games but works away a lot & I don't know the different breeds well enough to just leave all eggs in a wide open 'bator, so I divised a grid divider. I was concerned it might interfere, but it didn't seem to on the first batch, so used it again this time around, but had a full load this time. I think this batch is the last one, for a while at least, but in the future I'm hoping to sort eggs into batches I can better identify & so I can do what I'm supposed to do--lockdown & let them hatch. He just may have to wait for more than one batch to get all his babies he wants.

When I did remove chicks & shells to make room, I was quick & it didn't seem to take long to regulate, but I don't disagree that I just need to learn to leave things be.

Biggest problem I'm having is finding "my way"--the incubator directions give some recommendations on temp/humidity, but if you ask 5 people their recommendations, you'll likely get 5 different answers. As far as I'm concerned, it takes time & experience to fine tune what works best. Each incubator is different, as are all the environments those 'bator's are in. Mine behaved better the first batch, but (humidity) gave me fits this time.

I'm learning

I am a newbie at hatching and yes, you will get different answers from different people. I just basically read all of their comments and suggestions, read the incubator instructions, read Hatching 101 on this site, and numerous other sites, etc. and ventured out with all of that in my head. Dry hatches vs low humidity vs high humidity at lockdown vs candling at day 10, 14, 18. As for my hatch rate, I don't count unfertilized eggs that never developed, it is about at 50% so far. I feel bad that a baby chick/embryo was killed due to my ineptitude at getting it right. I have found that humidity is a good thing and experience and a good incubator is key to a very successful hatch. BTW, where there are empty egg holes in the bator (we only try 12 at a time so far), I put decorator stones in the empty slots to regulate temperature. They also hold heat and keeps it more evenly dispersed in the unit.

 

[jldward]

I am a newbie at hatching and yes, you will get different answers from different people.  I just basically read all of their comments and suggestions, read the incubator instructions, read Hatching 101 on this site, and numerous other sites, etc. and ventured out with all of that in my head.   Dry hatches vs low humidity vs high humidity at lockdown vs candling at day 10, 14, 18.  As for my hatch rate, I don't count unfertilized eggs that never developed, it is about at 50% so far.  I feel bad that a baby chick/embryo was killed due to my ineptitude at getting it right.    I have found that humidity is a good thing and experience and a good incubator is key to a very successful hatch.  BTW, where there are empty egg holes in the bator (we only try 12 at a time so far), I put decorator stones in the empty slots to regulate temperature.  They also hold heat and keeps it more evenly dispersed in the unit.   

I agree to gather & consider various information & formulating one's own "secret formula" to successful hatching.

Your idea about the stones is neat, but for my two hatching experiences, my incubator actually holds temp pretty well, but my humidity has been the issue--holding pretty steady with my first batch of 18 compared to all over the place (especially during the 1st half or so) with this 2nd batch of 42 (down to 36 by lockdown--25 actually hatched with 1 casualty a couple days later). My biggest issue (besides ones that didn't hatch) was sticky chicks.

I think the decent turnout on the first batch (set 18 but had 2 infertile--13 hatched) kind of made me a little cocky & overconfident on the second one.

Live & learn