Amazon dropped my incubator off today.. Newbie with some questions!

I am so new at this that my incubator isnt even out of the box yet. I recently bought a couple Cochin hens that were in with roosters of their breed at a breeder, she mentioned their eggs could still be fertile for 2-3 weeks so I figured I would find out. After doing a bunch of research I settled on the Brinsea Octagon 20 and picked up the craddle as well (hoping to increase my likelihood of success). I only have 2 hens that would potentially have fertile eggs right now, its hot out and they have only produced 6 eggs in the last week to 10 days. I want to get these eggs in the incubator as soon as the shakedown test is done.

So now I have questions...

Can I add eggs to the incubator as the hens lay them? Obviously those would still need the full amount of time to incubate but is this a process that can be done every week or so where I save for a week and then add 5-6 more in another part of the bator so I know which should hatch when? Or is it once the doors shut no more can go in until that batch is done?

If I save eggs for a week will the egg laid on day 2 still take the same amount of time in the incubator as day 8s egg? Does the "process" not start until the warmth starts or are they currently developing so hatching would be spaced over the week?

Ive read that the last few days you are supposed to do something different humidity wise. Does that effect my first question about adding more eggs as time goes on?

Do I wash the eggs prior to storing them? Do I wash the eggs prior to inserting into the incubator?

Sorry these are such basic questions but I dont know anything yet Thank you!

-Lou

don't wash the eggs!
put all the eggs in at once as on day 18 you have to put the incubator on lockdown.
the older eggs may take a day longer.
get the incubator to the correct heat and then put the eggs in.
and don't be sorry! we all start out with questions that now seem so easy

The eggs arent washed at this point so at least I havent done that wrong yet √

Can I add eggs up til day 18? My issue is, with only having 2 fertile hens and the heat, im only going to have 6-8 eggs in 8-10 days and I thought I read not to hang on to them any longer than that. So if I put the eggs in today.. in 10 days I will have 6-8 more but they wont last long enough to wait 22 days to open the bator back up. Can I add another batch in 10 days?

you can leave eggs out for up to 2 weeks, but for hatching the eariler the better. washing the eggs removes the bloom which will then let bacteria in the egg. the thing is that on day 18 you have to stop turning the eggs, and if you have eggs in there that still need to be turned that is no good, you have to turn the eggs to keep the embryo from sticking to the inside of the shell.
lack of water can mess with egg laying so make sure they have plenty of water

I would just do the 6-8 eggs every month. You never said if you have a rooster or I just forgot. If you currently do not a rooster you will not be hatching any eggs unless you buy from some one else. Good luck with your new adventure. I have had the best time hatching eggs.

Get the incubator set up and once the temp is holding steady, put in the eggs that you have now. Continue collecting eggs for the next ten days. By that time you will candle the first batch of eggs and see if any are going well. If they are good, well, you have a couple options. Put the new eggs in and deal with a staggered hatch. My neighbor does this constantly, so it can be done but I'm pretty positive it causes hatch rates to nosedive. The other option is to be satisfied with your first batch and eat/discard the fresh eggs once you have confirmed you have chicks developing from the eggs you initially set.

Don't add eggs days later - save all the ones you want and add them all together so they hatch together.
Caroline

I bought eggs from My Pet Chicken.
Caroline

Choco,

I picked up a beautiful rooster when I got the 2 hens. He is a proven breeder arguably not pure bred. The owner said he was a pure Ayam Cemani with a ton of color leakage so she was culling him but others here have said he is a mix because of his comb. I got him for very little money and I think he is gorgeous with the color leakage and im not looking for / will never claim to have pure chicks. So I wanted to play and breed him with the Cochin hens I just got, just to see if anything comes out with his coloring but their feathering. etc. I also have a beautiful Auracana rooster that is still young (raised him from a day old) that I may breed for fun later as well.


SunHwaKwon,

Thank you for letting me know that it is at least possible to do. We will see what happens, I could always just buy a 8-10 egg incubator and then I would be ok time wise for everything. I just hate the thought of investing too much money in something that wont really ever pay me back. I wont breed enough chickens to be a seller and decent incubators arent cheap!



NEW QUESTION:
My incubator ran over night, temp remained constant, the Temperature on their included thermometer which is right at the top was 100 degrees but the digital thermometer I added at egg level was at 96.7 degrees and 41% humidity. I have adjusted it and so far I have it at 99.1 degrees at 41% at egg level but the thermometer at the top now reads 103. I just added a second digital thermometer in there just to make sure my readings are correct and to account for the left to right movement and variance. My question is... I should be worried about temp at Egg level vs temp at the top of the incubator correct?

My incubator, sorry for the odd angle it was rotated (has the cradle attached) but you can see their white thermometer at an angle on the top and my digital one inside (theres another on the opposite side). Which should I go by, mine or theirs to get to the 99.5 at 60%?



Here are pics of that rooster (even if he isnt pure hes a pretty boy and amazing tempered:

that roo is beautiful! you're definitely going to get some neat looking chickens! as for the temp you can have 2 thermometers in the incubator and that way if they both read the same then you know the top one is off and you can account for the difference