The incubating & Hatching Eggs Forum is one nightmare after another

[TheCrazyChick]

I set my first batch of eggs in the incubator about an hour ago. My plan is to keep an eye out, but not stress too much. (I ordered inexpensive eggs to practice on.) I, too, was very confused after reading the incubating thread. But I also kept in mind the best advice anybody ever gave me on BYC ... for every 5 people who answer your question, you will get 6 opinions. When it comes to incubating, I think it is more like 9 opinions from every 5 people. LOL. With that being said, just keep a level head, take notes so you know what you did right and wrong for next time, and enjoy the experience.

 

[luvchicks8]

Ok crazy chick hope your better at the no stress part than I am lol. The first 18 days were easy lockdown no sleep check temps all day, longest day at work ever (what if I had a temp spike) ran through my head all day. Tonight I type this next to bator with a glass wine in hand. Lol good luck on your hatch it really is worth it in the end. Heck I have geese going aldo set on same day

 

[Doug Hodges]

Good Morning Doug! There is quite a learning curve for sure! I am a firm believer that anyone can hatch chicks if they can weed out the abundance of misinformation, opinions and look for facts and things that make the most sense, I have backed up and used almost all of the info I refer to for incubation provided in the article link below. I have learned through reading clinical studies and such to trial and error. I also continuously update the info as found. Once you get the basics down then you can start working on great hatches even with shipped eggs......

Areas of MOST IMPORTANCE in Hatching EGGS​

Ventilation (Oxygen), Temperature, Humidity, Egg Turning/Positioning

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-101


anyone at anytime is welcome in the incubating thread with us, if you have questions they are quickly answered
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...ell-detatched-shipped-eggs/8570#post_10776308
the support is tremendous in the thread and we have fun too!



​

So I watched the video and I candled my duck eggs. its been 7 days. I have one that is a little bit questionable. The rest look great except for the sac thingy. It was very tiny on about half the eggs. I think Ive had the humidity to high. I lowered it down to 35 to 40. its been around 60.

 

[Sally Sunshine]

awesome! you have caught it soon enough. remember you will read so many opinions on humidity levels it will drive you INSANE!
Humidity is only used as a "tool" during incubation, you watch/compare air cell growth to determine weight loss or you weigh. you will use humidity to control the loss and obtain the best condition for the eggs.

 

[tajuano]

awesome! you have caught it soon enough. remember you will read so many opinions on humidity levels it will drive you INSANE!
Humidity is only used as a "tool" during incubation, you watch/compare air cell growth to determine weight loss or you weigh. you will use humidity to control the loss and obtain the best condition for the eggs.

Hello, and sorry for butting in, but I have been hatching an duck egg(the rest were unfertile) and my humidity always high, like in 60 and 70, do you think that the egg is no good, the air sack is getting bigger, but when I candle the egg I don't see any movement there at all, and the black part got little tiny bit bigger. This is my first time hatching and we made DIY incubator.

 

[kaisabaijai]

Even with all of the mistakes I am probably making hatching eggs and getting the chicks to adulthood, I am still doing at least as well as the mother hens I have.

The last hen that hatched 12 chicks killed all but four of the chicks within a few days and now a month later she only has 3 left.

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Quote: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-101
It depends on what day it is on, do you see any healthy veining? have a read through the article, there are even videos of duck candles. There are also links for duck hatching, as some breeds are different to incubate than others. you will see those links under the chart in the beginning of the article.

 

[tajuano]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-101
It depends on what day it is on, do you see any healthy veining? have a read through the article, there are even videos of duck candles. There are also links for duck hatching, as some breeds are different to incubate than others. you will see those links under the chart in the beginning of the article.

Thank you for the info, I think that egg is no good, but scared tossing it, at the back of my head there is this question, what if? The egg is all dark inside and I can't see the veins.

 

[bHen]

Thank you for the info, I think that egg is no good, but scared tossing it, at the back of my head there is this question, what if? The egg is all dark inside and I can't see the veins.

You probably made the right decision. Be careful with iffy eggs, if they are bad the can bust in the bator make a huge mess and ruin your other eggs.

 

[stefan333]

I, too, was very confused after reading the incubating thread. But I also kept in mind the best advice anybody ever gave me on BYC ... for every 5 people who answer your question, you will get 6 opinions. When it comes to incubating, I think it is more like 9 opinions from every 5 people. LOL. With that being said, just keep a level head, take notes so you know what you did right and wrong for next time, and enjoy the experience.

So true. I'm one that tries to help, and I always try to give my experience or knowledge I've read in a book or of case studies instead of saying, "this is EXACTLY how you should do it", cause there's a bit of room for opinion, and what works for one person (or incubator, or geographic location) might not work for another. For instance, I candle everyday, and I immediately move my hatched chicks to their brooder. AAAAAHHHHHHH! Big no no to most people, but until someone can give me some hard facts based on scientific evidence I'm gonna keep doing it. With that being said there are some facts to incubating that leave no room for opinion. I've also heard some responses/opinions that are very questionable. I've heard some horrible responses that freak people out. For instance, someone will say they're in lockdown and have the humidity at 60%, and someone will respond with something like, "Oh my word, you're going to kill your chicks. Immediately raise the humidity to 80%." Please don't ever do that. I like these forums, because they've helped me a lot, despite a lot of the misinformation and scare tactics. Long before I ever wrote in them myself, I would read the forums. And I'd have to say you can't go wrong with SallySunshine's advice. She's helped me out a lot with incubation. Much of the advice I give to others I learned from her posts. I like what you wrote TheCrazyChick, so I'm gonna repeat it:

...just keep a level head, take notes so you know what you did right and wrong for next time, and enjoy the experience.