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PapaChaz said:
Well I've always read/heard don't help, that they get out on their own or they won't make it.

My personal feeling is if its going to die in the shell, am i really hurting it if I help? I mean it wouldn't be underdeveloped, so why not help?

Someone clarify the "why" for me please
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I've read the same on just about every site I've been on On my last hatch I had one pip about 1/4 inch and then nothing. I watched for about 8 hours and could see his beak moving in the hole but no more shell removed. I lifted the lid part way and my wife reached in quickly and got the egg. A closer look revealed he didn't have an egg tooth. I took an ice pick and went around the shell careful not to puncture the membrane and connected his hole. I use a warm paper towel, wet the membrane and the next morning he was running with the rest of them. I think you just have to use a little common sense and it's all not chiseled in stone.
As far as the baby's knocking the eggs around, when the 24 of 25 hatched they were rolling them around like marbles but didn't seem to bother them at all. This is just the experience of two hatches so just take it with a grain of salt. Good luck on your next one! I have 60 eggs in the incubator now!

Edit: I forgot to mention I have a broody BO hen that can't be broken unless you put her in the stew pot so I gave her 8 eggs yesterday and she looks like a statue sitting in the nest box.
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PapaChaz said:
Well I've always read/heard don't help, that they get out on their own or they won't make it.

My personal feeling is if its going to die in the shell, am i really hurting it if I help? I mean it wouldn't be underdeveloped, so why not help?

Someone clarify the "why" for me please
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I always opt to help! Have many many happy chicks because of it!

Yes, I always use the egg cartons. When I put them in at lockdown, I make sure all the lowest dips in the air sac face me. That way, I can see every pip from the front! I also poke a hole through the bottoms. Helps get humidity up to the eggs. I only use the cardboard egg cartons.
 
Those of you who are having some trouble with hatching....questions....
Are you storing them pointy side down as you gather them?
Are you washing your hands when you handle the eggs? Oils and bacteria can get into the eggs and kill the chicks
Are you rotating your eggs several times every day as you gather them, waiting to get enough eggs to set?
Do not wash your eggs that you want to hatch
Are you storing them in a cool place while you are getting enough to hatch?

If you are having trouble with hot/cold spots in your bator, try moving the eggs around inside the bator... Move eggs from the front to the back, move from the right to the left, etc. You can do this several times during the 3 weeks. May help even out those problems.

I number every egg and draw a diagram of where those eggs are in the carton. On my list, I usually write down the color of the egg and who I believe was the mom, (EXample: #1 - blue egg, Electra.) That way, I can look and see that a chick hatched out of a certain spot (empty egg), look at my diagram and know exactly which chick hatched....who the mom was, etc. I usually also watch as every chick hatches and write some kind of identifying mark down so I can know one chick from the other. But, if I miss one, I can look at that spot in the carton, look at my diagram and then my list and then get all excited because "Chick #1 hatched. Electra's chicks may be frizzled. It was a yellow chick" Of course, it is much easier if all your chicks will be the same! But, not as much fun!
 
Hi, there group

I have someone looking for RIR and BR's feathered out hens, if you need the sale, pm me and I will give you the number, oh BTW this person is not too knowledgeable on chickens

I have another potential customer who wants feathered out older BO's hens if Silver Hill doesn't take him as a customer, but this customer isn't knowledgeable on chickens either.
 
great tips flower, thanks! I'm definitely going to use an egg carton on the next hatch

I helped one of the first hatch, and I sold those chicks today. I did much the same thing that silver hill talked about doing, just helping get some of the shell out of the way, though I'm not sure what is meant by 'it didn't have an egg tooth'
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Flowerbh said:
Those of you who are having some trouble with hatching....questions....
Are you storing them pointy side down as you gather them?
Are you washing your hands when you handle the eggs?  Oils and bacteria can get into the eggs and kill the chicks
Are you rotating your eggs several times every day as you gather them, waiting to get enough eggs to set?
Do not wash your eggs that you want to hatch
Are you storing them in a cool place while you are getting enough to hatch?
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I store pointy end down. I do wash hands before handling eggs in the incubator.
This batch I brushed off dirt, didn't wash.

I have a fan, don't think there are hot/cool spots.

Eggs either go in a spare turner or cartons are tipped twice a day (one end of the carton on a book)

My whole house is pretty cool. M
Next time we will run two incubators, and run lower humidity on one for lockdown. Mwhatever happens happens during lockdown.
 
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lalaqueen said:
I am excited to see how that goes!! Were they fertilized eggs??
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I hope so! I set 39 of the same eggs last week and 33 candled fertile so I'm confident she has some fertile eggs. Next week I'll try to catch her off the nest and candle them.
I saw your BO that's a pet. My wife has one that runs her down until she picks her up and pets her. We call her bad eye because she hatched with one eye covered with a tiny opening and she can't see with that eye!
 
I took flowers advice and poked a small hole in the air cell end of one of the eggs, nothing. I'm going to do some more tweaking, and if my hatch next week isn't any better, I'll be starting a cabinet incubator build soon

sold the three chicks that hatched two weeks ago, and have these four sold if the lady contacts me back, she said she wanted them today. I already have a few people lined up wanting my hatch next week, AND I have a dozen eggs sold to a couple of ladies from Dallas.

I may need more chickens
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