The Waiting is the Hardest Part...

[HookLineSilkie]

Hello all!! I’m in day 1 of lockdown and my once active eggs are eerily still. Is this normal from your experiences? Air cells look good (maybe slightly on the smaller side but in my opinion almost perfect). They’re in a Brinsea Mini Advanced II and laying on sides with low part of cell face up. The humidity is at 64 at the moment and, I swear, I won’t open the dang lid!!! I keep staring and I played chicken clicking noises to them that I found on YouTube. I’m not sure if I see them slightly rocking like something’s in there breathing or if my eyes are playing tricks on me. I’m excited and terrified all at the same time! First hatch, silkies from my own yard, VERY VERY FIRST EGGS laid by my young hen.

 

[Kiki]

Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions for humidity and temperature; it can vary among different incubators.

I say throw the manufacturer's instructions in the trash.

 

[HookLineSilkie]

I posted to other thread I started but wanted to share... I GOT MY FIRST PIP!

 

[Fur-N-Fowl]

I've skimmed through some of the comments here but my humidity is always 45% from day one then on lockdown (day 18) it goes up to 65%

I've never had any issues with it that way. Temperature is always 37.5 Degrees Celsius.

Humidity does spike when they start hatching, sometimes up to 86% with mine but it doesn't last long and it's never effected my eggs since they all usually hatch on the same day close to each other.

 

[CindyinSD]

Well chicks are sure a lot cheaper and easier to care for. I had three babies... everyone ought to have at least three...

 

[Skippersnh]

Just remember the humidity is gonna spike a bit when they start hatching

 

[FortCluck]

I like that... not “if” but “when”. So, I feel like 64 is a tad on the low end of the range recommended but I’ve been reading the whole humidity thing is extremely important but also confusingly arbitrary. I live in Northern California at about 250 sea level so it’s a bit dry naturally. I only have three in and they are actually due one day apart from each other so it should be interesting. I just want a sign that they’re ok in there but I assume they are resting and preparing for the big day(s).

64% is not on the low side for me, but I'm on the east coast. When I was hatching chicks for the Halloween hatch a long, I decided that I was going to increase my humidity to 60%. When I started getting external pips my humidity went up over 80% and condensation was all over my lid I never will again go over 50% during lockdown. Humidity is all based off your location, you're in a dryer area so it's different. I lost 9 fully developed chicks that didn't absorb their yolks and I think it was because of the humidity. I'm doing another hatch right now and I have the humidity at 25-30% until day 18 when I will increase it maybe to 50%.

Be patient and don't open the lid! Go do something to keep yourself occupied. The eggs might not be moving now because the chick's rest a lot between 18 and 21 days because it is tiring trying to hatch. I had a lot of external pips for over 26 hours with no progress because they were sleeping on the job! PATIENCE!!! Being patient is easier said than done!

 

[Kiki]

Ok, I’m still trying to grasp this humidity concept but I’ve been reading about hatch successes and failures and I’m trying to learn from others mistakes/mishaps but it does seem that location plays a big part when it comes to what to do. I hope I chose wisely. God, give me the strength to be PATIENT and not second guess myself!!! Amen

What's most important is knowing that your humidity gauge is correct.
Unfortunately the built in ones that come installed in an incubator aren't always correct.

I highly recommend buying a separate thermometer or two and calibrating them and also buying a separate humidity gauge and salt testing it before you set eggs again.... That is if you haven't already done so.

 

[aart]

I’ve been tracing... I pretty much candled every night and traced out the growing air cells with different color pencils.

Overkill, IMO.

Do you increase humidity as you lockdown or do you wait for first external pip?

Depends on how the cells look at lock down...if they look a bit small I'll wait until first pip.

 

[cmom]

I haven't read every post in this thread yet. If the humidity is too high during incubation, condensation can build up in the air cell and when the chicks pip the air cell they can drown. I'm sure many people will disagree with me but that has happened to me in the past. Good luck and have fun...