URGENT am i drowning my chicks?

[chicapee]

No definitely not low, it's set at 37.8C.

I had another one hatch an hour or so after the dead one, it went from pip to hatch pretty quickly but that also had what looked like some unabsorbed yolk/whites and a crooked toe, can't see if it's still crooked though.

There are 2 that pipped and zipped last night but not made any progress since so. i think they may be shrink wrapped due to opening tye incubator a few times (albeit quickly) when i thought the humidity was too high.

I open up the incubator quite often, width no ill affects. How is your hatch now.

 

[Shamo123]

I open up the incubator quite often, width no ill affects. How is your hatch now.

Got 12 so far out of 17. 4 had zipped but i had to help out, not something I'd do usually as they are too weak too live in my experience but these were all stuck inside the egg with the membrane tightly wrapped around them. Now I'm wondering if my humidity was too low...

The 2 i helped out (by helped out i mean peeled out of the egg, bathed for a few minutes then rinsed under a sink) last night are doing fantastically and running around with the rest. I done the same to another 2 an hour or so ago and they seem to be doing OK but I'm keeping an eye on them, their toes are still crooked so they aren't able to stand up or walk properly just yet.

 

[chicapee]

Did you monitor your air cells? It looks like you are doing well, with the hatch. Even if you are having to assist. Each batch I do helps me to make improvements so that the next batch does better.

 

[Shamo123]

Did you monitor your air cells? It looks like you are doing well, with the hatch. Even if you are having to assist. Each batch I do helps me to make improvements so that the next batch does better.

I didn't pay too much attention to the air cells, i just had a look before lockdown and they seemed normal enough (comparing it to pics on here) although they weren't all the same, the eggs were up to 25 days or so old so i did consider the fairly strong possibility that i wouldn't have a great hatch although i did get some older eggs to hatch fine and some of the newer ones struggled or just didn't pip, the older ones did take longer to hatch though.

I've got another batch of eggs I'll be incubating in a day or 2 but i honestly don't know what to do differently if anything at all, this is the 2nd time I've incubated using the brinsea octagon 20 advance.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I open up the incubator quite often, width no ill affects. How is your hatch now.

xs 2 Often is even an understatement for me.

 

[chicapee]

I didn't pay too much attention to the air cells, i just had a look before lockdown and they seemed normal enough (comparing it to pics on here) although they weren't all the same, the eggs were up to 25 days or so old so i did consider the fairly strong possibility that i wouldn't have a great hatch although i did get some older eggs to hatch fine and some of the newer ones struggled or just didn't pip, the older ones did take longer to hatch though.

I've got another batch of eggs I'll be incubating in a day or 2 but i honestly don't know what to do differently if anything at all, this is the 2nd time I've incubated using the brinsea octagon 20 advance.

I have the same incubator and the first time I used it the hatch was a little late so I bumped up the temperature by half a degree and they have been on time ever since. I do not add water the first 18 days, during lockdown I increase it upto around 65% and have great hatches. It may have something to do with the age of the egg. Mine are all laid upto 7 days. But saying that I have put in eggs from the fridge just to fill up the bator and they all hatched. I wash eggs and they hatch. I don't go by the book, I think hatching is as much as an art as a science and you will figure out what works for you in your climate.

 

[Shamo123]

I have the same incubator and the first time I used it the hatch was a little late so I bumped up the temperature by half a degree and they have been on time ever since. I do not add water the first 18 days, during lockdown I increase it upto around 65% and have great hatches. It may have something to do with the age of the egg. Mine are all laid upto 7 days. But saying that I have put in eggs from the fridge just to fill up the bator and they all hatched. I wash eggs and they hatch. I don't go by the book, I think hatching is as much as an art as a science and you will figure out what works for you in your climate.

I hatched some quail at the stock temperature (37.5c) and they came out on time but i cranked it up by 0.3C this time around as i felt temperature was more consistent around the incubator, before there was a 0.5C variation between different spots in the incubator but now its more like 0.2C.

I think I'm going to try and bump the humidity up with the next batch for the 1st 18 days.