This is the first time I have been incubating eggs, so I am pretty clueless. I feel I have killed some of my chicks, but thought I post on here and see what others think.
I'll start in the beginning, so you get the full picture.
I am using a 12 egg, self turning (rolling) fan incubator, no instructions, thermometer or humidity gage with it! I have used my own thermometers from the start, just not sure how correct they are. I have put 12 eggs into it, from 3 different flocks. I have failed to top up the water at stages because I was first told I only need to top it up every 3 days, but I soon realized that this was not sufficient. Also there are two water trays and I am unsure if they both need to be topped up or not. I read somewhere that some incubators are set up to only have one full tray while incubating and both trays filled for hatching.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, 1 chick hatched early on on day 20 and two others hatched very late on day 21, since then not a single noise from the incubator.
In desperation I have now candled the remaining eggs, 5 have got nothing in it and 4 seem to be full and have a large airsack, but absolutely no movement. Does that mean they are all dead? I have kept them in the incubator, but wondering if there is still any hope and when you would open and/or throw them away.
I made a bit mistake in that I did not stop turning them on day 18, would that have possibly killed them? And I have seen a lot of pictures of eggs standing in egg trays with the big end up. Do they have a better chance of hatching like that? I put mine up like that for a bit, but then thought that this was wrong as in a normal nest the chicken would not be able to put them up like that. Did I kill the chick by doing this?
I could really do with some answers. I should have really thought it all through before now!
Thanks to anybody that managed to read this far and is able to help.
I'll start in the beginning, so you get the full picture.
I am using a 12 egg, self turning (rolling) fan incubator, no instructions, thermometer or humidity gage with it! I have used my own thermometers from the start, just not sure how correct they are. I have put 12 eggs into it, from 3 different flocks. I have failed to top up the water at stages because I was first told I only need to top it up every 3 days, but I soon realized that this was not sufficient. Also there are two water trays and I am unsure if they both need to be topped up or not. I read somewhere that some incubators are set up to only have one full tray while incubating and both trays filled for hatching.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, 1 chick hatched early on on day 20 and two others hatched very late on day 21, since then not a single noise from the incubator.
In desperation I have now candled the remaining eggs, 5 have got nothing in it and 4 seem to be full and have a large airsack, but absolutely no movement. Does that mean they are all dead? I have kept them in the incubator, but wondering if there is still any hope and when you would open and/or throw them away.
I made a bit mistake in that I did not stop turning them on day 18, would that have possibly killed them? And I have seen a lot of pictures of eggs standing in egg trays with the big end up. Do they have a better chance of hatching like that? I put mine up like that for a bit, but then thought that this was wrong as in a normal nest the chicken would not be able to put them up like that. Did I kill the chick by doing this?
I could really do with some answers. I should have really thought it all through before now!
Thanks to anybody that managed to read this far and is able to help.
