Half Way There

The mini heatwave has broken today, and the wet weather is a blessed relief. The chooks are staring at me from the run as I sit at the kitchen table, attempting to hypnotise this human in to letting them out. Either that or they are attempting to guilt trip me in to giving them their freedom. I am crouching a little lower and hiding behind the laptop screen. Soggy pekin foot feathers can easily get matted together, so for now they can stay in.

We are down to four eggs in the incy as of today. I candled at day 7 and suspected that one of the embryos had stopped developing, but it's taken me three days to be sure. The difference between the dud egg and the others is now startling. During candling yesterday, I got a good look at a tiny chick leg, complete with the beginnings of claws. The dud egg had no blood vessels or movement, just a dark spot in the centre which I assume was the beginning of chickenny life. I removed it from the incy this morning, and have my fingers crossed for the other four.

Now, at day ten, I am beginning to wonder who's advice to follow. Traditional wisdom states that bantam eggs hatch on day 18, so turning should cease on day 15.  Once turning has ceased, humidity should be raised and the whole kit and kaboodle should be left alone. However, practical experiences on the Omlet forum suggest that pekin chicks tend to hatch on day 21, the same as regular chickens. So turning should cease on day 18. I don't want to get this wrong, as if I don't get the humidity right at hatching time the chicks may not get out of the egg.

Any advice would be most welcome.