6 PM tonight is my first official lockdown!! Need advice!

[TyrannosaurusChix]

tonight at 6 is 18 days! I need to know what the best humidity is for an lg incubator with a personally rigged mini fan for circ should be. ( im thinking 65-70%)

And also, should i use egg cartons and keep them upright , or should i lay them down on paper towels?

Also, the air cells seem to have enlarged as the chicks have been growing, and at the pointy end i see a snake like looking thing, looks like a thicker vein or possibly the end of the yolk? This is my first time so maybe i am explaining it wrong! Are these things normal?

 

[BeccaB00]

no eggcartons. Lay them on their sides on paper towels.

Egg cartons can make it hard for them to hatch.

That 'Snake lookin thing' may be a foot.

but I'm not quite sure what you mean. If it looks like a worm, then I have no idea.

 

[4boysmom]

I usually go to around 65%....some go lower and have good results. Once you lock it down, DO NOT OPEN until all the chicks are hatched ( if at all possible )

carton or laying down - everyone will have a different opinion. I've done it both ways. Carton is cleaner and chicks do well. don't use cardboard cartons, they can wick up the water if your troughs are overfilled. ( don't ask me how I know LOL ) Con to the carton is that you can't see if they pipped at the wrong end. Laying flat - works well, con is that they roll the eggs everywhere once they start hatching. I've seen some suggest a ponytail holder to use when laying flat to give them a little indention to stay in and perhaps not roll around - haven't tried this yet.....

Can't answer your air cell question, sorry.


GOOD LUCK!