URGENT - Incubator help!

[BackyardDove]

The fellow who I bought my incubator from is a veteran hatcher, and he said to put the pointy end down for the first 18 days. That is how I do it.
Yes, that will definitely improve hatch rate.

Yeah, I realized that's the proper way. I just must've been placing them the wrong way without thinking about it, having the air cell downwards doesn't make sense and I would've known that, but I was probably just mindlessly putting them in the incubator.

Of course we want to see your success!

Thank you!

 

[jrose1970]

You can do it! If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Churchill said, "This is not the end. This is not even the beginning of the end. This is not even the end of the beginning!"
My first hatch was 9 out of 41. That was dumb luck. LOL Yesterday I hatched 30 out of 41! These tips do work. I'm a beginner.
1. Wash your hands before you touch the eggs.
2. Don't even try to clean the eggs.
3. Store them at room temperature.
4. Turn them everyday while in storage.
5. Do not exceed 10 days storage.
6. Start with fertile eggs. LOL
7. Hatch at 60% humidity or better.
8. Stop turning at day 19. (or late on day 18.)
9. For hatching turn the air sack up, if you can figure out where it is. It is opposite the pointy end, but it sort of slides to the side. Lay them horizontally for hatching.
This is just a few tips other folks have given me.
There is much more.

 

[MeepBeep]

2. Don't even try to clean the eggs.

Best to always set clean eggs that don't require cleaning if at all possible as they will generally have the best hatch rate...

But if are going to set dirty eggs, a proper cleaning will have minimal negative effect on that already generally lower hatch rate associated with dirty eggs, but will have the positive effect of lowering cross contamination risk to the incubator or other eggs and this is something I believe should be a serious consideration...

When I have had to clean eggs that were dirty, I do it in a two step process... I wash the egg with a soft scrubber under running warm water until the dirt is washed off (don't try to remove stains, it's not going to happen) after they have been washed under warm water, I fill a glass with common hydrogen peroxide and microwave it a bit so it's warm and above room temp, I then slowly lower the egg in the glass with a spoon and let soak for 60 seconds, remove and let air dry on a clean paper towel then immediately set in the incubator...

I have had very good luck with the above cleaning procedure even some 100% hatch rates when I have used it...

 

[jrose1970]

That's interesting. Thanks for the advice! I'm a newby to incubating.

 

[BackyardDove]

Whether or not to clean your eggs before setting them is really up to the personal preference of the person incubating. I've heard many say "don't clean them at all", others say "clean off the visible debris on the egg", and some say "completely clean the egg in a solution", but all of them will say they have 95-100% hatch rate using their cleaning/no clean methods. So far, I have yet to actually find evidence supporting one claim over the other if terms of hatch rate, but people will defend their methods to the death and claim their way is the best/only way! I would try each method and do what you find works the best. If cleaning works for you, do that. If not cleaning works, then do that. Though, as a general rule of thumb, if you have really dirty eggs, you should clean them or just not use them. But some will argue you need to clean all eggs, whether they look clean or not.

I personally don't clean my eggs at all before setting. I make sure to only put my naturally cleanest eggs in though, I don't put in eggs that are caked in dirt and poop. I do this for both my incubator and my broody hens, and my hens have hatched all the eggs they're given, if they're fertile.

 

[jrose1970]

One thing I've learned in a short time is the eggs are very important. Duh. LOL
But seriously. That made my hatch rate almost double when I learned to wash my hands before handling the eggs.

 

[BackyardDove]

So it's day 7, and I checked the eggs tonight. I had 25 eggs confirmed as definitely growing(obvious blood vessels seen), 9 that might be growing(blood vessels not seen, but yolk is dark), and 6 duds(completely clear). A lot of people say to keep even the completely clear eggs in until the second week, but in my experience, if it's clear at day 7, it's not going to grow. As usual, my eggs were all fertile and growing, minus three pheasant eggs that I wasn't sure were too old for incubation anyways.

I was hoping to have more definitely fertile eggs growing, but 25 is still more eggs than I've incubated before! I bought a meat thermometer and have made sure the temperature has stayed between 99.3-99.8. My incubator has a manual temperature gauge, so it's practically impossible to keep it at 99.5. The air cells are doing nicely, though I need to bump up the humidity just a bit more.

 

[jrose1970]

Those are pretty good percentages. My record is 73%. This weekend I hatched 13 out of 60, but that was after only one day after the due date. I usually give them 3 to 4 days. I can hear a lot of eggs chirping still. LOL

 

[BackyardDove]

Those are pretty good percentages. My record is 73%. This weekend I hatched 13 out of 60, but that was after only one day after the due date. I usually give them 3 to 4 days. I can hear a lot of eggs chirping still. LOL

I've never had a fertility problem with my eggs, in fact, out of all the eggs both me and my hens have incubated, I could count on one hand how many were infertile. It's hatching that I have such a problem with!



In other news, my last hatch is officially a failure. The one pheasant chick that hatched died today, despite my best efforts. I recently found out that, for the first time in owning chickens for four years, I have a lice problem. A particularly nasty kind of lice too, so the tiny new chick didn't stand a chance, even though I treated him as soon as I found out.

 

[jrose1970]

I really hate that about the pheasant. I'm not sure what to do for lice. I think some breeds are harder to hatch than others. My wife has Cuckoo Marans, and they hatch like crazy. The lavender orpingtons almost never hatch in the same incubator.