this is very strange

[mamadukes5]

I had 12 eggs in my incubator that were at 21 days last Thursday, three days ago. I blew up my thermometer so haven't had one in there for these three weeks. When nothing hatched Thursday or Friday, I figured that I had messed up because I didn't lock them down three days early, I turned them on day 19 (half asleep after a long shift and forgot what day I was on). Today bought a new thermometer and put it in there, it was 95 degrees. Turned up the temp to get it up to 99.5, figuring I'd put in the last of the eggs from my girls who were killed by a fox day before yesterday so I could replace the ones I lost. I left the 12 eggs in there because I didn't know what to do with them and was just leaving them to sit there while I figured it out. Just went into the kitchen now with the idea of taking the "dead" eggs out and putting in the five I had from my girls the day they got killed. Opened the bator, picked up three to put them in a box to throw them away, and one of them cheeped. So...if the temp had been running at 95 instead of 99.5, but the eggs had seemed to be developing normally to my very inexperienced candling, what are the odds that they are still alive in there, at day 24, and could still actually hatch? One of them has pipped since I turned up the temperature at about 1:00 this afternoon, and one of them is talking, but has anybody ever had a hatch actually survive being the wrong temp and had them hatch when you turned the heat up? I'm certainly not gonna toss them now when they may be alive in there, but I'm at a loss as to how long I should wait to see how they do. Or if they developed correctly, or any one of a million other questions I could ask. Any insight?

 

[Ukiah]

Cooler temperatures slow down development, causing late hatches, which is what happened in your case.

The eggs are still alive! First, do you have a still air or forced air incubator? If you have a still air incubator,
and were taking the temp. at the top of the eggs, the eggs were incubated at a even cooler temperature than 95F
because heat rises, and whatever temperature it is in the center of the egg, will be cooler than what the temp. is
on the top of the egg. I would imagine your chicks to be weak when/if they hatch. Get the temperature stable,

99.5 F for still air.
102 F for forced air.

Get the humidity up and lockdown. Don't open the incubator.

Last year I had a batch of eggs incubating, and my thermometer was reading wrong. It was reading PERFECT at
100 F, but it was actually 94F inside the incubator. I found this out around the 17th day of incubation when I put
in a better thermometer. Well, at lockdown I waited and waited and nothing happened. I thought my chicks were
dead. Then on the 26th (Yes, 26th!

) day of incubation, I had a pip. He was so weak, but had made it to pip.

None of the other eggs made it.
Once your chicks hatch, it wouldn't hurt to give them a tad of sugar water once they're dry and ready for the
brooder .Some mashed up boiled egg yolk would be good to give aswell.

Keep us updated, and good luck

 

[mamadukes5]

day 26, huh? Well, I can hear one of them cheeping right now, and two of the eggs have pipped in the last 2 hours or so. I'm not going to do anything with them until I'm sure one way or the other. I just thought at day 21 that I had messed them up by moving them, and then to find out that the temp is off...well, I thought they were done for. And I really wanted these to hatch because the 12 eggs are from my blacks and reds, three of which were killed by a fox on Friday. So Thursday I was waiting and waiting, Friday the girls got killed, and yesterday I was such a basket case I didn't even go near the incubator cus I was so worried about losing them. Today I had resigned myself to losing them all, and now this. I don't see me getting much sleep tonight, but if any of them make it, I'll consider it a miracle. Keeping my fingers crossed here, and thanks for telling me about yours. Makes it easier to know some of them may make it. Oh, and to answer your questions, it's a still air incubator and the temp right now is 99.5, and I don't have a thing to measure the humidity, but the water trays are full.

 

[abbylane35]

Good luck! Hoping that you have some nice little chickies!

 

[Ukiah]

Moving them after lockdown shouldn't cause any problems. The first time I hatched eggs I forgot what day
I put them in the incubator, and turned the eggs until they started to chirp

They we're awesome healthy
chicks and hatched fine! Plus, once other chicks hatch, they're gonna kick the remaining eggs around like
footballs. Sorry about your 3 girls

Sending prayers your way, hoping you'll have some healthy fuzzy butts soon

 

[mamadukes5]

quick update before I have to go to work. Today is day 25, and two little ones have hatched and two others have pipped. I thought the two from yesterday would be the only survivors and that was the end of it, but this morning there's a couple more rocking and rolling, so I guess they were just the beginning. I'm still not holding out much for the others, being as it's so late in the game, but hey, I got two living that look fine to me, so I guess miracles do happen. I'm so glad one of them cheeped before I threw them outside. Close call, any way you look at it. Told my husband not to touch the incubator unless the house is on fire, cause he's wanting to help them out. Got my fingers crossed they'll be ok until I get home at 7 pm. Wish me luck.

 

[OldChurchEggery1]

Wow! I hope you go home to lots of cute chicks. Good luck.

 

[billiejo21]

Good luck!! It's a beautiful thing for you to get babies from your girls who were killed!! Hopefully you get a good hatch!! Can't wait for an update!

 

[Ukiah]

Congrats on the chicks!

Wishing you luck for the others!

 

[mamadukes5]

Today is day 26 and nothing's happening, but I have three that hatched over the last two days that look perfect to me. I had given up on the whole hatch, so getting three is good for me. It seems sort of fitting that I lost three to the fox on Friday and have three from those girls hatch Sunday and Monday. I'll give the others the rest of the night, but if no signs of life, I'll take them out tomorrow.
And on an even stranger note, Friday when my three were killed by the fox, I got four laying hens from a guy up the road. He told me that they had stopped laying two weeks ago, but he thought it was because of the weather, lack of light, etc., and that they would lay again in the spring. I took them because I didn't want my two remaining girls to feel quite so alone in the big house and have had the new girls in a smaller run inside the big run, sleeping in my small house, but where they can all see each other during the day but not come in contact with each other. Yesterday, Monday I went to lock them up for the night and found an egg in the small house. So one of the girls I brought home Friday who hadn't been laying started laying again. If the other three start laying again too, I will actually have more laying hens than I had before the fox came along. This is beginning to sound a lot like chicken math to me.