Three chicks hatched today at 18 days??

[Chotii]

I think my temps must be too warm! 3 chicks hatched today on day 18. The other 17 eggs are not pipped yet. The chicks look fine, at any rate.

 

[jeremy]

I'm a little worried about my chicks hatching early too. One of my thermometers has consistently said 101 degrees since day one... when I candled a lot of the eggs looked very developed. Today is day 18 for me, so I'm officially on lockdown. If a few come early though, I don't think I'll mind.

I don't know if there is any reason for concern, sorry.

 

[Kiwibird]

Like babies, eggs can be early or late. If they are mainly early, your temps are probably high, but if just a few are, put it down to individual variations. People seem to recommend finishing the hatch before you change the temperature, too.

Thermometers can be out of whack. I think it was on here that I read that an easy way to calibrate your thermometer is to take your own temperature with it. I tried this (I wrapped the end of the thermometer in plastic kitchen wrap in case it wasn't clean enough, and I hope this didn't compromise the accuracy of the reading). My thermometer was out by 1 1/2 degrees Celsius, so I now know to adjust my readings by that amount.