# Power outage on day 15 of incubation!



## Kris in MI (May 30, 2002)

GRRR!! My power went out for 5.5 hours, and my incubator during that time got down to 77 degrees. What are the chances that the eggs are done for?


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## Wisconsin Ann (Feb 27, 2007)

day 15? they may well survive. Give it a shot. Candle in a few days and be readyto toss some. 

If the power goes out again, you can fill quart jars with warm water, set them in the incubator, and cover the whole thing with a quilt. That will hold the heat in until you can get power going again.


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## PonderosaQ (Jan 12, 2004)

I had the same thing happen last week. Incubator went to the same temp. All my eggs seem to be viable, both duck and chicken. I wasn't home when it happened so there was nothing I could do to help keep them warm Thanks for the suggestion of hot water in jars
Wisconsin Ann.


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## Wisconsin Ann (Feb 27, 2007)

Warm, not hot. You don't want to cook the poor critters 

And it's not from me originally. That one came from Cyngbaeld, as I recall. good way to keep new chicks warm in the brooder, too.


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## LFRJ (Dec 1, 2006)

We had a similar event 5 days from hatch - our home almost burnt down due to our electrical panel erupting. Many hours later - after the fire department left, we lit candles, started a fire to stay warm, etc etc...I drove the incubator a half hour in to work and plugged it back in. Oh, there were casualties - there were pot holes...but I still got one duck and one chick out of the whole debacle. Hatched right out under my desk at work.


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## Kris in MI (May 30, 2002)

Well, I woke up this morning to find one of the eggs had hatched in the night. Another hatched while I was at church, and a third right around dinner time. A fourth is working at it, has a big enough hole I can see it's little face.

So far I don't see any signs of pipping in the other 20 eggs  . But, I guess considering all that they went through with the power outage and temp. drop I'll be glad to have any chicks!


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## LFRJ (Dec 1, 2006)

Well then, there ya go! I bet that was a surprise. Much like the ending of our disaster. Not much to crow about, but enough to teach never to give up hope. (I've read that temp spikes (heat out of control) is much worse than temp drops).

Thanks for the update.


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## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

The good news is that the ones you hatched came from the most viable eggs. They should have the best genes for hatchability to pass to their offspring.


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## onthespot (Oct 7, 2007)

Being cold will delay their hatching. The ones around the outside were coldest for longest and still might hatch. Earlier this week my hovabator spiked to 104 and I took the lid off for a bit to cool the eggs right away while I kept doing chores and checked my email, clicked on Youtube, read jokes, took a shower, went to bed DANG!!! Woke up the next morning and the lid was still off, day 17... temp read 75, humidity, 26. Crum! Well, I just upped the humidity to 65, put the lid on, adjusted the temp to 100 and yesterday and today a BUNCH of chicks have hatched, and more are pipped, Probably already twenty hatched, so there is hope for you not yet hatched eggs. Give them another day or two.


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## mommagoose_99 (Jan 25, 2005)

I concur, you may get more to hatch. They stop growing an d go dormant when the temps drop for a few hours. I keep a closed bottle of water in my incubator all the time now. There are too many storms and outages this time of year. I also keep a warm blanket handy and cover the incuabator everytime the power goes out. The big problem with the blanket is my cat likes to sleep on it and she covers the air vents.
Linda


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