Warning for all Hatchers!!!

[Renada_]

Yes, some eggs need a bit longer, and hatch sooner, we've had quite a few day 20 eggs before, and we just had a friend have one hatch on day 19! It wasn't a bantam breed or silkie either. We've hatched quite a few batches of chicks before, and my husband calls them peeps as well, instead of pips. Lol
However, have you read many guides on hatching chicken eggs? What type of incubator are you using? They usually come with a little booklet. I am trying to not be mean, but I am a but confused and concerned. A general rule when it comes to hatching eggs, is that there is a three day "lock down period" prior to hatch day. Day 17 or 18, as a standard for 21 day average chicken eggs, is recommended as the last day to do any candling and to stop turning them. This replicates the mama hen sitting tight in anticipation of her babies hatching. At this point the chicks will be getting into hatching position within their eggs and absorbing the rest of their yolk sac. This not only gives them the immense amount of energy require to hatch, but sustains them for the first 48 hours or so. That way they don't need to eat and drink for that time immediately after hatch. They can just focus on staying warm and resting up. Also, the humidity needs to be kept higher for those last days of incubation. Opening the incubator can mess with that because of the sudden air pressure change and moisture loss. So you don't want to do that unless there is some sort of emergency. Especially if an egg is already pipped! If you open the incubator then, you can essentially shrink-wrap the chick within it's membrane, which most often will result in death for them. After hatching you usually leave them in the incubator for at least a 12- 24 hour period as well, so that they can dry out fully. As newly hatched chicks can chill very very easily. You are obviously still having healthy chicks hatch, they are generally hardy little things. I just wanted to put this out there to make sure that you aren't inadvertently making hatching more difficult for your little chooks! If you need more information, you are already in the correct place. Backyardchickens, has a bottomless well or knowlege on it. Wishing you the best!

I am using a Brinsea Octagon 20 Advance. This is my second hatch and I’ve had quite a few problems this time around. The humidity was very difficult in the beginning because last month was tornado season, and the air outside was very humid some days and then completely dry others. The temperature was perfect the whole time though with no problems at all. I typically wouldn’t check on day 21, but I was stressing because there was no movement or pipping of any kind from the eggs and my last hatch was right on the dot. I know every rule for hatching chicks, I was just checking because the GoPro that I had put there to see movement wasn’t recording any at all. I candled them very quickly and none of them had a problem hatching out. The room I was candling in already had high humidity in the air, and I didn’t tilt the eggs upright, I candled them on their side in the same position that I grabbed them from. Anyway, I candled at the very end of day 21 when it was pretty much over because I was confused on why there wasn’t any movement. That’s when I discovered that there seemed to be eggs that were dead. Only two were still moving around inside their egg, or even looked filled in. So, I was just acting like a concerned parent when I checked them to be sure they were alive.

 

[FutureCowgirl]

I am on Day 21 now and have no sign of hatch. I trying to be patient!

 

[Renada_]

I am on Day 21 now and have no sign of hatch. I trying to be patient!

The first several days go by so fast compared to the last!!

 

[AmyA248]

At the end of yesterday, Day 21, I candled all of my eggs. I found two out of 13 that I could see movement in and were definitely still alive. Well, something in me told me to leave the other eggs in there. And I am glad I did, this morning my mom called me into the kitchen yelling, “you have a peeper!” She still hasn’t grasped that it’s pipper yet.. anyway, the one that pipped was one that I marked with a D, for dead, I was positive it was dead. Well, guess not. Two minutes after the first one, another pipped, this one was also marked with a D. What I’m getting at is, sometimes, even if it appears dead, it isn’t always. The two I was positive were still alive have not pipped yet, but it is still early. One of the eggs that I know is alive has pipped internally already, so it is a matter of time! Just wanted to give a warning to everyone that hatches eggs on here

Thank you for posting this!
I watched an egg for 6 days last summer that I was SURE was dead.
I’d watch it so close my eyes would ache!
I was told to remove it because it could explode, so not knowing anything last year I removed the egg, opened it, to learn what could have gone wrong, and it was ALIVE!
I’m not sure how long before they will explode, or how long to leave an egg you totally believe was is dead, but DO NOT DO WHAT I DID, because I killed a duckling that would have lived, and to this day I still feel sick when I think about what I did and the tragic consequences of my actions.

This was a GREAT post to share!
I wish I had known this a year ago.

Blessings,
Amy

 

[Yard Farmer]

At the end of yesterday, Day 21, I candled all of my eggs. I found two out of 13 that I could see movement in and were definitely still alive. Well, something in me told me to leave the other eggs in there. And I am glad I did, this morning my mom called me into the kitchen yelling, “you have a peeper!” She still hasn’t grasped that it’s pipper yet.. anyway, the one that pipped was one that I marked with a D, for dead, I was positive it was dead. Well, guess not. Two minutes after the first one, another pipped, this one was also marked with a D. What I’m getting at is, sometimes, even if it appears dead, it isn’t always. The two I was positive were still alive have not pipped yet, but it is still early. One of the eggs that I know is alive has pipped internally already, so it is a matter of time! Just wanted to give a warning to everyone that hatches eggs on here

Thank you for putting in the effort to give everyone a heads up!
I've had very similar experiences hatching.