EMERGENCY - Help please - egg incubator just failed....

Spyda

Spyda

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just as eggs are hatching.

Literally happened an hour ago. The power adaptor has failed on my incubator/brooder. Luckily I found the eggs fairly quickly (as I'm checking on hatching) but they were already getting cold, as was the one chick which had just hatched. I've moved the 3 unhatched eggs and the 2 hatched chicks to a cardboard box and put a heat lamp over them. Problem I am having is getting the humidity high enough to allowing hatching to work. Two of the eggs have holes with chick beaks showing and little movements inside, but one egg has yet to show. There's something moving about inside it, so it's still alive. I've put a wet sponge next to the eggs but because my heat lamp is large, so is the cardboard box they're in and I can't get the humidity above 30%.

Anyone got any ideas what I can do????? Flipping typical this would have to happen tonight of all nights. So close to hatching.

Any advice welcomed. Ugently! Thanks.
 
I have no idea about chicks or hatching bt would a little bit of steam help? Either put it all in the bathroom (like a kid with croup) or keep a bowl of steaming water topped up with some sort of lid (brolly/sheet) to keep the steam in?

Probably stupid but hey, I have never had chickens :)
 
Incubator in the airing cupboard would be my suggestion. Once the eggs have externally pipped they're at real risk of membranes drying out and shrink wrapping the chicks. Batgirl's suggestion of the bathroom is a decent idea too.
 
I can tell it's going to be a long night :rolleyes:

I'm sooo hoping I can keep them going until they've hatched.
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I've put a wet flannel in next to them and the humidity has gone up. But I'm having to stand by to keep the temp regulated at 37 degrees which is easier said than done PLUS I don't trust the electrical appliances around here. Two adaptors have gone on the blink today and I can't bear the idea of my heat lamp going caput if I take my eye off it for more than a second.
 
Cardboard is porous so will absorb humidity, do you have a plastic box? Obviously being conscious of air circulation, the wet sponge perhaps in a dish of warm water with the heatlamp should create the humidity but you don't want too much stuff that will absorb it again.

This is only from my experience with reptiles, not chickens :-)

Also a hot water bottle underneath to boost heat if you need it but heat lamp is probably enough.
 
Thanks everyone. Good idea about moving to a plastic box. I'll go try find one in the kitchen.....
 
Okay, the two 'almost out' chicks have now hatched. One didn't make it, but the other is a small female chick. ATM she is just laying spread eagle under the heat lamp but is cheaping intermittently and will perk up if I touch her. She is a bit smaller than the other two chicks hatched today, though. Hope she makes it. The 'other egg' seems to have died in the shell. I candled it but it was still. When I broke it open the chick was already deceased. RIP little chickies.

Bl**dy incubator :mad::mad::mad::mad:
 
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