Worked with a local farmer to get some good eggs. I did not add a drop of water until lock down. Lockdown humdity was at 70-80% Southern Eastern Virginia has a standard humdity level of about 40% I did not candle the eggs at all I did not bother the eggs at all I did not mess with anything. I just used my automatic turner and took them out after they all dryed. I will check the eggs that did not hatch to see if the started to develop at all. I am using a retired Laboratoy incubator. I talked to several older people and they said a egg won't smell rotten enough to worry about unless it is cracked. They said a egg won't blow up unless your temps are too high. After listen to several older people that have been doing this for years I decided that all of the checks people do on different dates cause more issues then it is worth. I will try this a few more time and report back. Thanks
I have only run a few batches in my incubator and I tend to agree with you, I've never had an egg explode even though I run a little warm anyways, my chicks hatch around 18-19 days. My best hatch was a dry hatch that I didn't candle at all
I think the checking on eggs and blasting developing embroys with bright lights causes more problems then it is worth. Commercial hatcherys don't do all of the checking and I would assume they probably hatch around 90% or better.