New to incubators and lockdown

We have a borrowed bator -Marsh Rol-X I am so new to incubators so have been reading a lot. We are trying a dryer hatch than most. our humidity has been around 40-45% and temp has been a constant 37.5. I have read about a couple of different days for lockdown..
So, I think from what I have read and been told is this
on day 18, I can take out the guts of the incubator; turning racks etc, and just put the eggs on a layer of paper towel over the screen. We planned on water candling on this day (very cool) and then putting them back into the bator until the hatch? correct?
We do not look at the babies...just through the incubator top
We have been told that Marans often need assistance out of their shells and also it is recommended that they not be placed in with other breeds for this reason, and different hatching humidity requirements..

any comments on what you know?...would love to hear that we are on the right track

Here are my hatching seminar notes...

Incubation

99.5 degrees Celsius, 37.5 degrees Fahrenheit
Humidity 42-45% chicken, 50% waterfowl
Geese and ducks, mist once a day

Hatching

Air pocket in egg is 1/4 to 1/3 the size of the egg before the hatch
15% weight loss in egg
Lockdown is day 19 for land fowl, 26 for waterfowl.
50-60% humidity for chickens
55-65% for waterfowl
Temperature is 99.5 - 97.5 degrees Fahrenheit. Yes, it can drop.

To help or not to help? Wait 24 hours. Perhaps touch a dry membrane with a drop of water.

Leave all chicks in the bator until dry and walking. Do not chill wet chicks.

Yep, what she said, plus I have hatched Marans and they came out quickly with no assistance required. But yes, leave them for the 24 hrs. If they can't get out on their own you probably don't want them anyway, at least not as breeders. Have fun and good luck!!

thanks

We are pipping!! one little Marans is out and stumbling around the other eggs chirping away. There are probably 8 more with chips out of them. We can hardly contain ourselves.... We are parents!

Fun!

We are anticipating pictures of day old chicks!

Farmer Bob wrote:We are anticipating pictures of day old chicks!

Yes please!!!
Can you take pictures with out opening the incubator?
  

We can't take pictures through the incubator, cause the plexiglass is pretty hard to see through. We set 28 and this is day 20 and we have 4 hatched. So will have to wait until they are out in the brooder... then we will take some pics. It is an amazing thing to behold...

Does humidity go up as each chick hatches? how do you keep humidity levels where you want them then?

Yep, it does. Don't worry about it.

I read quite a bit about incubating, hatching..and nothing was ever said about this phenomenon....I was a bit frantic last night  thanks...authentic
10/28 hatched so far