YO GEORGIANS! :)

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Somebody really wants to start their homesteading....
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Good news is, I just hatched 21 adorable assorted chicks! All different! Will post photos tomorrow!

Bad news is, there were 34 eggs in the bator......worse hatch I have ever had! (Other than the 50% I had in that little mini bator!) The best I can figure about what when wrong is that they all started hatching at the same time and with all those wet chicks and shells, the humidity went from 55% to about 78% in a heartbeat! And it was early in the process. I autopsied those that didn't make it and maybe three died around day 19 (still don't know why they do that!), but the others were all fully developed and no yoke left, they just never pipped internally. Looks like they drowned.....all soaking wet and lots of water in the shells. So, what do you guys do when that happens? Do you lift the lid and let some of the humidity out? Do you remove some of those wet shells or maybe the wet chicks? I just always heard, 'Don't lift the lid or they will all be messed up" Any advice?

I think I will stick to smaller hatches. Maybe there were just too many little bodies in there.
 
Flower my last styrofoam hatch was SO wet, I was having to take chicks out AS they hatched and almost put them under running warm water (wrapped in a rag) and gently rubbing all the albumen/shells off.. It was disgusting. Their navels were rough also, so I doused their bellies in betadine then blew them partly dry and hurried them back to the bator. It worked very well.
 
Now that I have the cabinet I get it.. I plan to leave the "antimicrobial" mat in the bottom of the hatch tray but also put a piece of the shelf liner over that. That should keep almost all of the mess easy to remove. As for the sides of the tray, it's got a plastic coating that I'll be able to clean easily.

I won't have hatches closer than a few days apart so it'll work out great I think. At least I hope so!
 

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