Adding eggs to incubator

[icewb8]

Hi I just received my 30 eggs I bought online and over half of them were broken, I will be getting some more next week and I was wondering if it would be alright to add them into the incubator tht will be holding the ones that didnt break, they would just be 4 days later. Would there be any problems with this?

 

[justusnak]

Icewb...im no expert, but from what I have read on here...... I would let them "rest" for a few hours...then with a pencil....mark the date on the....that you put them in...that way you know whish ones are which. And mark the new ones as well. Good luck!!

 

[icewb8]

Yes I will let them rest for atleast 8 hours but I was jsut concerned about having eggs hatching at two different dates in one incubator.

 

[Chickie]

Hi I have heard that if you have staggered hatches the older ones may pick on the younger ones but if you are preparred to keep them sepperate for a while if this happens you should be ok. There is also the problem of them needing more humidity in the last couple of days. Right i'm off to buy chick food as mine hatched last night. Good luck

 

[jimnjay]

The big problem with a staggered hatch is that the humidity during the last 3 days for the first bunch could be fatal for the second group. It is important to watch the humidity during the incubation process so that is is around 50 % during the first 18 days and around 70 percent during the last three. Too much humidity can cause the chicks to to drown in the excess moisture when they pip the internal membrane. Many people solve this problem by using a hatcher for the last three days and keep the incubator at a steady level around 50%.

You can make a hatcher pretty easily. Check out this thread.https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=1166

I show the hatcher I made and tell how I did it.

 

[icewb8]

What exactly is a hatcher? A second incubator? And is all your using in your hatcher a light bulb?

 

[justusnak]

Jimnjay...I just wanted to say...thankyou for your post on the home made incubator.....I was lucky to get about 8 of those styrofoam boxes from my mother. I was haveing a hard time getting the temp to stabalize...so I used a small christmas type light...and a heating pad in the bottom, with a wire rack over it, elevated off of the pad with styrofoam blocks. Because the foam was not even, the rack is slightly at an angle, which allows the eggs to "lean" towards the pointy end slightly. So far.....3 days into it.....my temp is between 99 and 100, and the humidity is staying about 50%.

18 days to go!!! LOL UGH!!

My problem.....STEP AWAY FROM THE BATOR!!!