Tis Time for a March 2020 Hatch-a-long!

[Phillyndilly]

If today is day 21 and they're just starting to externally pip I would wait before you start worrying. They can take up to 24 hours to hatch after external pip.

ok I Will wait, someone on the other thread said 15-18, but if there’s no worries I would prefer waiting I don’t want to mess anything up. The only thing that worries me is it almost looks like a tiny crack I’m not sure if it’s actually open or air is getting in. I will try to take a picture when I get home.

 

[Gringa]

This is yesterday's hatch. A lot of blackies in this group.

 

[gmjarvi]

My incubator gets too dry if I run completely dry (like, will drop to low teens, and then the eggs lose too much weight). But I try to keep my humidity around 25-35%. A wet sponge in the channel I put water in helps, I only have to add a little once every or every other day.

Shoot, I forgot sponges at the store today I knew I was missing something.

Think it would help if we knew what incubators everyone has. I have a farm innovator 4250 so styrofoam. Mine probably incubated differently than others I'd assume.

I don't want people dry hatching because they think they'll get better hatch rates or better hatches overall. You have to do what's best for your hatch.

**Want to ask everyone's opinion. What do you think about making a thread where we keep track of our hatch rates, incubators, and other info?

I can make spreadsheets of it and share on there. It may take me a few days, but I think it would be awesome.

We need a name for the thread as well...

Whoever wants in just say you want in or give your opinions or whatever

I feel I should clarify that I want to hatch on the drier side because I don't enjoy the anxiety of always fiddling with the humidity, and one of my incubators seems to WANT to run dry lol. Either that or way too humid, and I would like to avoid drowning anybody. It's not necessarily because that's how other people do it or it is popular on this thread. I feel like my first hatch went relatively well, but I was fiddling with the humidity a LOT trying to keep it acceptable. My next chicken hatch is with eggs from my own flock, so they will be easy to replace if I go too dry or too humid and they don't make it. My main interest is finding a method that works well for me in this climate.

I love your thread idea, FortCluck! Please tag me in it. I'm going to be keeping track of this next hatch and all upcoming hatches in a spreadsheet anyway, so I'd love to be able to compare data/results with people.

 

[FortCluck]

Okay I did it tagged those who said they were in... Great another thread to keep track of but the Google sheets are up.

I'm starting mine now I set them on March 1st so anything for the month of March is a go.

I have another sheet to keep track of everyone's numbers for the whole year... So see how many eggs we can set in a year together

 

[hysop]

They’re all at least a week to two weeks old now. Decided to transfer em outside and I need to get started on a coop. Not all are pictured. Also need a tarp to put over em at night for extra protection against predators.

 

[2102Simm]

I have a question. So Uno, my baby that hatched yesterday is a full 2 days early and so far I haven't seen any activity from my other eggs. Is this normal? Will he/she be ok to transfer to my brooder box alone?

My husband then posed a sad possibility that Uno will be my only one to hatch So my only logical option would be to go buy him some friends from our local feed store that has a few breeds I don't have yet just so Uno wont be lonely

 

[FortCluck]

Shoot, I forgot sponges at the store today I knew I was missing something.


I feel I should clarify that I want to hatch on the drier side because I don't enjoy the anxiety of always fiddling with the humidity, and one of my incubators seems to WANT to run dry lol. Either that or way too humid, and I would like to avoid drowning anybody. It's not necessarily because that's how other people do it or it is popular on this thread. I feel like my first hatch went relatively well, but I was fiddling with the humidity a LOT trying to keep it acceptable. My next chicken hatch is with eggs from my own flock, so they will be easy to replace if I go too dry or too humid and they don't make it. My main interest is finding a method that works well for me in this climate.

I love your thread idea, FortCluck! Please tag me in it. I'm going to be keeping track of this next hatch and all upcoming hatches in a spreadsheet anyway, so I'd love to be able to compare data/results with people.

What I said wasn't truly related to you It was just related to everyone because I don't want somebody thinking that because I got a 100% hatch rate last time that it will work in their incubator.

You know how new people can get and they tend to gravitate towards one thing that somebody says and I don't want someone to think that I say dry hatching is the best thing ever...

I only dry hatch because that seems to be the only thing that works with this incubator trust me I have tried water and everything else and nothing else works. I would rather dry hatch and not have to worry about the humidity then have to tinker with the humidity all the time then get condensation because that's what happened the first time

 

[BluebirdHomestead]

ok I Will wait, someone on the other thread said 15-18, but if there’s no worries I would prefer waiting I don’t want to mess anything up. The only thing that worries me is it almost looks like a tiny crack I’m not sure if it’s actually open or air is getting in. I will try to take a picture when I get home.

I’ve had quite a few just look like a little crack. They usually make the hole a bit bigger eventually. I wouldn’t worry yet either.

 

[BluebirdHomestead]

I have a question. So Uno, my baby that hatched yesterday is a full 2 days early and so far I haven't seen any activity from my other eggs. Is this normal? Will he/she be ok to transfer to my brooder box alone?

My husband then posed a sad possibility that Uno will be my only one to hatch So my only logical option would be to go buy him some friends from our local feed store that has a few breeds I don't have yet just so Uno wont be lonely

This literally happened to me a couple days ago. One pipped on day 19 and came out early morning day 20 and then there was no action for a whole day. I’m on day 22 now and still waiting for just under half the eggs to hatch. It’s nerve wracking.

 

[julskinka]

I have a question. So Uno, my baby that hatched yesterday is a full 2 days early and so far I haven't seen any activity from my other eggs. Is this normal? Will he/she be ok to transfer to my brooder box alone?

My husband then posed a sad possibility that Uno will be my only one to hatch So my only logical option would be to go buy him some friends from our local feed store that has a few breeds I don't have yet just so Uno wont be lonely

Have you checked for internal pips or movement?