My first hatchling pipped this morning after 21 days of waiting

Watched that chick break through the shell at 6 AM and now I'm rethinking my whole approach to humidity levels after seeing how dry the membrane was, anyone else adjust their incubator mid-hatch?

3 comments

3 Comments

black.margaret29d ago

Watched that chick break through" like it's a major life event?

palmer.henry29d ago

21 days is actually the standard incubation period for chickens, so it sounds like your timing was right on the money. If the membrane looked dry, your humidity was probably too low from the start, and that can really cause problems with chicks getting stuck.

hugo5027d ago

Oh man, I actually read something about this not too long ago... apparently that dry membrane problem is super common with first timers. I saw this one lady online who kept a wet sponge in her incubator to keep the humidity up, and she swore by it. But @palmer.henry is right, once that membrane gets crispy the chicks really struggle to turn and break free. Makes me wonder how many people give up on hatching after one bad batch like that.