Hello everyone this is my first go at hatching eggs, we have had them at 37.6C and 50-52% humidity for 18 days, then 37.6C and 58%-65% humidity for 4 days and there is no sign of anything happening? Eggs were candled at day 10 and we had around 20 that looked good (as far as I can work out, being new to this and all). Any advice? I am reading on these threads that the last couple of days should be around 70% - as mine has been lower is there still hope for these eggs or do I have to start over? At what point do I call it quits and start again? If I open the incubator to candle them will I finish them off if there is any life still in there? And what should I see if the eggs are still viable at this stage of the game? Thank you in advance! I am starting to think lambs are much easier than these eggs!
Hi You would have been better candling at day 7 day 14 and day 18 at lockdown. You could have had some quitters after day 10. Also in my opinion 50% humidity day 1-18 is too high. The eggs need to lose enough moisture and the air sac to grow large enough through this period of incubation so the chicks are able to pip into the air sac and hatch successfully. I find 45% ample for moisture loss and 65% for hatching good. Have you been turning the eggs day1-18? If the air sac dosnt grow large enough the chick can pip into the air sac and drown because the egg has not lost enough moisture. 21 days is just a guide line for eggs some hatch sooner and others hatch later. If you have no pips I would go ahead and candle and tap the eggs to see if you have movement or if you can hear peeping coming from any eggs. Hope you get some action from these eggs
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-101 This is a great article with lots of extra links. A very good read
Keep waiting, be patient Does your incubator have a fan or is it a still air one? I'm wondering if your temp was a little low, meaning it could just take an extra day or two for the chicks to hatch. I incubate mine at 38.2 degrees C. Good luck.
Thank you so much for all your replies. The incubator has a fan. I double checked the temp last night and found it is about .7C cooler at egg level. The eggs were rocked until day 18 and then laid out after that. We re-candled last night (figured it couldn't do any more damage to open up) and we found 15 looked dark and solid throughout with a clear air sac at one end - do I perservere with these for how much longer? There was no obvious movement or noise from inside despite handling. Thank you for the advice - I will add it to the mix when I start the next lot of eggs as soon as these ones are out (one way or another!)
Update - morning of day 24 - wake up to 1 egg pipping and 1 egg HATCHED!! Unbelievable!! Little fella is wandering around and cheeping at the top of its lungs, quite happy & normal looking. Do I put this down to incubator being too cool throughout & therefore up the temperature for the next eggs?
Congratulations on your hatched chick It could be that your incubator has been a little on the low side. Maybe your thermometer needs calibrating or maybe another one. Also the quality of the hatching eggs and how and for how long they were stored before incubation can have an affect on the hatch. Sometimes it's also just how it is, 21 days is just a guide line nothing is set in stone, some hatch sooner and some hatch later. I would definatly check out your thermometer first.
Congrats! So glad you've got some hatching now. Too low incubation temps could account for the late hatch. I would get a thermometer you know to be correct and check the incubator temps against it. You can find medical thermos that are guaranteed to be accurate within 1 or 2 tenths of a degree for under $5. Then you can use that to check your other thermos against. I even used my medical thermo and took the temp of everybody in the whole house just to verify that it was accurate and consistent. It was!
