Will my eggs be okay?!

[chickerchick]

Hey there, its my first hatch and I'm on day 22, and I was getting anxious as there was no chirping or wiggling or any signs of life. Also I noticed the incubator needed some more water, so I opened it, which I now regret!
I decided to quickly candle an egg, and there was very very slight movement, but no noises or anything.. Whats going on inside the egg? Will my babies be okay even though I opened the bator? Thanks

 

[Gertiw]

Hi there,
I am by no means an expert in these matters but with my limited experience I think opening the bator for a short while shouldnt harm the eggs. The mums leave their nest for up to an hour sometimes and still have a good hatch rate. Sometimes if the temperature is on average a bit cool they hatch a day or so later. Humidity softens the shell near hatching which makes it easier for them to pip. I know it sounds a bit macabre but I usually do a post mortem on any unhatched eggs to try and ascertain what may have gone wrong. I would wait a day or maybe two before "counting your chickens"Dont turn them in the last few days so they can orient themselves.
Good luck, and would love to know how you go
Regards Gert

 

[DancingWthDucks]

What is your tempreture? Sometimes you can get a staggered hatch due to a low temp during incubation. The best thing to do not interfere and give them some more time, although this can be very hard! For my last hatch they didn't pip until day 22 and the last one hatched on day 24.

If you are still unsure pop over to the incubating with friends thread.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...riends-come-hatch-learn-chat-meet-new-friends

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Hey there, its my first hatch and I'm on day 22, and I was getting anxious as there was no chirping or wiggling or any signs of life. Also I noticed the incubator needed some more water, so I opened it, which I now regret!
I decided to quickly candle an egg, and there was very very slight movement, but no noises or anything.. Whats going on inside the egg? Will my babies be okay even though I opened the bator? Thanks

Opening the bator, especially w/o any pips will not hurt anything. Late hatches are usually the result in low temps during incubation causeing delay in development hatch. My first question would be, what kind of incubator are you using, is it still or forced air? What were your temps and have you ever checked your thermometer for accuracy? What was your humidity the first 17 days?

 

[chickerchick]

Opening the bator, especially w/o any pips will not hurt anything. Late hatches are usually the result in low temps during incubation causeing delay in development hatch. My first question would be, what kind of incubator are you using, is it still or forced air? What were your temps and have you ever checked your thermometer for accuracy? What was your humidity the first 17 days?

Hi there, have forced air incubator, have not checked it for thermometer accuracy, have no humidity meter, but I believe its been pretty low, but i put lots more water in on day 18.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Hi there, have forced air incubator, have not checked it for thermometer accuracy, have no humidity meter, but I believe its been pretty low, but i put lots more water in on day 18.

If you are using a styro bator like the Little Giant or Farm Innovator and are using the digital readouts and do not have an independant thermometer inside, that's probably the problem. For example, the Little Giant 9300 is notorious for being way off. Many people have to set it to 103-104F to get the inside to 101F. Never trust the incubator gages or any thermometer unless checked for accuracy. And a hygrometer is good for guidance along with checking the air cells for growth.

 

[chickerchick]

Okay thanks guys. After this hatch I think i'll test it for accuracy. I'm hoping that the temp was a little too low and something will happen soon. They are also large fowl and I've heard they may take a little longer?
With my friends last hatch only one was fertile, but it never internally pipped We saw movement inside the shell but after a while it gave up. Do you have any idea why? I'm worried the same thing will happen to mine!

 

[chickerchick]

Just saw one shake but no cheeping yet!!!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Just saw one shake but no cheeping yet!!!

 

[DancingWthDucks]

Any progress?