I'm not an expert, but I have done a ton of reading on it. I have two Farm Innovator Styrofoam bators that I got off of Craigslist. I wanted to start for not much money and don't really need to hatch a bunch of chicks at once. One is just like the one at tractor supply with digital temperature...
I gave it a chance. Cleaned it up and blow dried it. Gave it water and vitamins. It was clear this chick was never going to walk so I had to cull it. This did put me closer to the camp of never assisting a hatch
I recently had a pretty good hatch, especially for my first time and using a styrofoam bator. I waited two days after most of the checks had hatched (3 days after the first) and then candled the eggs that were left. I had one BCM egg that had pipped internally. I made an external pip and the...