Day 59 of incubation and I am confused.

I am debating in my mind whether to cut my seven eggs or to leave them be for a few more days. I believe that they have been incubated at 86 to 87F steadily, but I want to get some experienced opinions on whether to cut or leave alone. Any comments can help at this point.

At those temps I'd wait a bit longer - are the eggs stuck to each other?

Yes they are stuck together, but it is really 6 eggs below, one on top.

Don't cut yet. I incubated at similar temps and I got my first pip on day 68. I cut 2 eggs on day 67 one piped on 68 and the other on 69. I cut the remaining eggs on day 69. Wait until the eggs fall apart. Mine were completely apart at day 67. That top one will lift right off the others just before hatch time. Also, mine started getting small spots of clear shell in the creases the day before pipping. You can cut early but it wont make them come out any sooner and every day they are cut there is a bigger chance of mold or bacteria introduction to the sterile egg environment.

how dimpled were your eggs at day 53ish because all mine are heavily dimpled and the humidity has stayed the same around 90 to 100%

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Originally Posted by tjohn310

how dimpled were your eggs at day 53ish because all mine are heavily dimpled and the humidity has stayed the same around 90 to 100%

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At those temps probably not much at all if any I'm guessing.

Am cooking virtually everything at 86-86.5 (similar to last year) - Not expecting any pips until day 68 at the earliest

One clutch is on day 64 today, eggs are still firmly stuck together, so these will likely go to 70+ days

Hope this helps

I'm cooking at 86F this summer. Clutch #1 pipped at day 66, clutch #2 at day 69. Clutch #3 is on day 63, and is only just starting to dimple.

When the clutch falls apart, you'll know you're a few days away. And I can't believe I'm about to say "it's safe to cut", but once they fall apart, it probably it is.

Well sorry for ignoring most of you but one normal hatched yesterday morning 9/17/13 and a spider hatched this morning so I will be cutting the rest tonight, just in case. Thank you again.:banana:

Just in case what?

Out of curiosity for everyone commenting with their egg temps...why so low? I usually aim for 88-89, 86 seems like an extreme jump. Is it better for them? Is this experimental?

I don't know about everyone else, but I was at 86F because I live in Phoenix, AZ, and the air conditioner in our house failed several times this summer, and it took over a month to fix/replace all the relevant parts. The first failure took place when we were out of town, and I probably lost 4 out of 20 eggs because of it. 86F meant that I had a few degrees of wiggle room, and probably saved the rest of the eggs when the air conditioning broke the second time.

a lower incubation temp means longer hatch times

I would not cut. However, if you do - make small "V" shaped-window cuts and not a big gaping hole where half the egg spills out.

I incubated at 86.6-87ish and was happy with the results. The eggs pipped at 62 and 63 days and they all came out with no issues, no egg sack, etc. I think people have checked the temps/hatch time on maternal eggs and they are closer to that range. People up the temps to speed the process a few days and when I read reports of babies coming out deformed, egg sacks attached, umbilicus attached, underdeveloped, etc. the person usually cites a higher incubation temp. Lots of resources suggest there is more risk in overheating than underheating the eggs so this is another argument for leaving a little 'wiggle room.' They are very fragile as embryos and small babies and I'd much rather give them a little more time to develop slowly. Science proves that heat can disrupt cell division as well - which is obviously happening aggressively in a developing baby.

/2cents

89 has been my magic number out in 56-59 days usually

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Originally Posted by MrLang

I incubated at 86.6-87ish and was happy with the results. The eggs pipped at 62 and 63 days and they all came out with no issues, no egg sack, etc. I think people have checked the temps/hatch time on maternal eggs and they are closer to that range. People up the temps to speed the process a few days and when I read reports of babies coming out deformed, egg sacks attached, umbilicus attached, underdeveloped, etc. the person usually cites a higher incubation temp. Lots of resources suggest there is more risk in overheating than underheating the eggs so this is another argument for leaving a little 'wiggle room.' They are very fragile as embryos and small babies and I'd much rather give them a little more time to develop slowly. Science proves that heat can disrupt cell division as well - which is obviously happening aggressively in a developing baby.

/2cents

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I agree completely with this argument. I did a ton of research as to the best temperature to incubate at. About 86F is the natural incubation temperature. I would much rather wait longer and have healthier babies, than get it too hot and risk problems. That said, I don't think 89F is a bad temperature, and it has been proven to produce perfectly healthy babies in a shorter time. I just prefer to err on the side of caution.