Incubating Chicken Eggs Lockdown and Hatching

Today is 18 which means today is Lockdown!
In a nut shell, lockdown means “stay the heck away from the incubator and don’t even think about opening it!”

 

The baby chicks seem to be doing well,  the air cells looked a bit smaller than I would like but the weight-loss seems adequate and is right on track.

The chicks will begin to position themselves for hatching during these next final days. If you shine a flashlight on the egg, you will be able to see it rock.
During the last few days, humidity will need to be increased up to 65%. Keeping the humidity at this level is a struggle for most Styrofoam incubators. A few tips and tricks to keeping your humidity up is put a wet warm sponge in the bottom of the tray. You could put soaked towels in there and set a little water – like a butter dish in there works as well. Keeping the humidity up is imperative, as it softens the shell and allows the chick to break free. If you can’t reach 65%, just get it as high as you can rewet your sponges daily.  I have hatched many chicks at under 50%.

Also today I took the eggs out of the cradles and laid them on their side.  Some people leave them pointed upright but I like to watch them roll around, I also think it gives them more room once they hatch. I also opened the air vent up to 100%, so they get more airflow, now that I’m done with my lockdown tasks, I solemnly swear to shut the lid and walk away and sit on my hands until all the babies have hatched!

In case you missed it.. Check out Part 1 and Part 2