day 18

[Tessssssssssssss]

yall we are on day 18 in the incubator, what does lockdown mean?

 

[fluffycrow]

Lockdown is basically us trying to mimic what most broodies would be doing on and around day 18.

As with everything concerning live animals, there are always exceptions, but nearing day 18, most broodies will stop going out of the nest to eat and drink, and will spend the next few days on their nest, lightly chirping at their in ovo chicks. This increases the humidity, and helps the chicks hatch, while mum is encouraging them to pip.

Similarly, in the artificial environment of an incubator, we up the humidity to around 65-70%, and refrain from opening the incubator, so that the humidity doesn’t drop.

At the same time, we remove the egg turners, if present (if you have been turning the eggs manually, you stop turning them), and place the eggs on the flat hatching tray of the incubator so that they take their position and hatch. At this stage, the chicks are likely to start chirping from inside the egg, which helps them synchronise their hatch.

If you have been doing dry hatch, I can’t be of much help, as I have never done one myself.

Hope this was helpful, and good luck! If this is your first time hatching, refrain from helping them too much! The vast majority of the times, they’ve got it covered on their own

 

[Tessssssssssssss]

yall we are on day 18 in the incubator, what does lockdown mean?

does anyone have a link to a video for me to play the hen sounds to the eggs in the incubator?

 

[arianna7]

does anyone have a link to a video for me to play the hen sounds to the eggs in the incubator?

lol, im not sure anybody has recorded it, but you might look on youtube. good luck, and cant wait for baby picks!!!

 

[fluffycrow]

does anyone have a link to a video for me to play the hen sounds to the eggs in the incubator?

The chicks don’t need the hen sounds to hatch; the chirps from their brood mates are enough. It’s a nice behaviour that a mother hen would do, but one that’s not necessary by any means.

Some people do attempt to imitate chirping sounds from outside the incubator (I’m guilty of this myself ), but once again, it’s definitely not a requirement

 

[Tessssssssssssss]

yall 1 chicky is pecking through!

 

[Tessssssssssssss]

yall 2 hatched last night, how long before the others hatch?

 

[fluffycrow]

View attachment 4061679yall 2 hatched last night, how long before the others hatch?

Congratulations on your first arrivals! It’s best to leave them in the incubator for around 24 hours or so, which helps them fluff up and gain their footing.

As for when the others will arrive, there is no sure way to tell. Some chicks will be slightly behind. I don’t think any of my hatches have taken more than two days to complete (with the starting point being the hatching of the first chick), but that is nothing more than personal experience.

If you are sure that all the eggs have viable chicks inside them, they are likely to hatch with no issues