2015 August hatch-a-long!!

[mojavemike1]

This morning I received 8 Silver Spangled Spitzhauben eggs, which right now are stabilizing. One was cracked, but the membrane was still intact. I waxed it. The eggs came very well wrapped...each egg was double wrapped in bubble wrap and then all the eggs were totally wrapped in big bubble wrap...I don't see how that type of crack could possibly have happened in the box...the crack was like a compression crack (if that's the right word), a small dent in the shell where the cracks emanate from...I don't think that type of crack could have happened if the box was dropped...makes me wonder...'um...
I will set the eggs tomorrow and hatch day should be August 13th...and this time I am weighing them.

I won't be getting my new RCOM KING SURO 20 egg incubator until Friday, so in the meantime I will start the eggs off in the Hova-Bator and then swap them into the KKING SURO once I get it setup.

I stole this pic from the seller's Ebay add.





The cracked egg

 

[FridayYet]

I'm so excited! This is my first time hatching eggs in an incubator, I usually use hens. However, I bought some eggs from Ebay, 8 Orloff eggs, and am so excited to hatch them! They just came today.
I'm going to put the four healthiest looking eggs under my broody and take the eggs she has been brooding and putting them in the incubator with the other 4 orloff eggs.

Best of luck to all hatching in August!

Cool - do you have Russian Orloff already?

 

[GitaBooks]

Cool - do you have Russian Orloff already?

They came today! However, after candling them I see that the air sacs are detached and that means I can't put any of them under my hen but have to carefully incubate them in their carton. I hope a few of them hatch.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

I would start them off in the incubator, and then give them to the hen when/if they stabilize. I have some shipped eggs on day 8(? I can't remember, would have to look). All of them had detached air cells, but they all set at some point before I candled them last night.


Good luck to everyone who joined recently!

 

[GitaBooks]

I would start them off in the incubator, and then give them to the hen when/if they stabilize. I have some shipped eggs on day 8(? I can't remember, would have to look). All of them had detached air cells, but they all set at some point before I candled them last night.


Good luck to everyone who joined recently!

Thank you for the advise! I might try that, especially if my three broodies that broke up because of that irritating skunk ever decide to go broody again.

 

[amberngwin]

What happens once the chicks start hatching? Will the hen stop setting on the rest of the eggs?

 

[GitaBooks]

What happens once the chicks start hatching? Will the hen stop setting on the rest of the eggs?

What do you mean?

 

[junebuggena]

Just set a test batch in my new incubator. Due August 13.

 

[GitaBooks]

Just set a test batch in my new incubator. Due August 13.

I think mine are do just one day after that!

 

[GitaBooks]

I had a few questions about my incubator, as I've never really used one before.

Please feel free to give any suggestions. I want to hatch as many of these eggs as possible.

This is our reptile incubator we originally acquired to hatch out our snake eggs. Our snakes, however, didn't lay this year, so it is open for use.
I let it warm up and stabilize. There are two dishes of water for humidity as well as some vermiculite (used regularly in reptile incubators) which holds water for a longer period of time and so make sure the humidity stays stable.
Right now I have the temperature at 101 F, as it is a still-air incubator. The humidity is around 55%. It is in a walk-in closet in the middle of the house to keep it at a constant temperature so it doesn't fluctuate with the heat of the sun.




I put into it a piece of wire so that the eggs were elevated and would get fresh air. Also, I wasn't sure how clean the sponge was. I cut holes in the bottom of the cartons and let the eggs sit for 24 hours before placing them inside. All of them appear to have loose air-cells (not completely detached), that is why they are in the cartons.


Now for my questions:
Is 55% too low?
Should I have it at 100 F or 102 F instead?
When should I start turning the eggs? (I heard from one person to do it after two days and from another after 7)
When, if at all, should I remove the eggs from the carton? (I will tip the wire to turn the eggs, so that they stay upright)

Thank you in advance for any advise!