A few final incubation questions before I set my eggs. First timer.

[cupman]

Hello. First time hatching here I'm just making a bunch of mutts for my friend's farm. I didn't get to browse too much as I am pretty busy with homework but I just had a couple quick questions:

1) It's muddy and dirty here, chickens are getting mud and poop on my eggs. It isn't too gnarly, I'm trying to gather them every hour or two to prevent grossness but I'm not sure how this would affect the eggs. I know you are not supposed to wash them but will mud have any adverse effects?

2) Does my rooster need to mate with each hen every day to grant fertility or is there a broader window that the hens will lay fertile eggs? I've heard a week but this is just second hand info I'm trying to verify

3) I've heard fertile eggs will survive 10 days if stored under proper circumstances. Again, second hand info, is this accurate?

4) I have the Hovabator 1588 genesis. holds 42 chicken eggs. Is there any downside to cramming the thing to the maximum capacity? Is there better hatch rates with less eggs?

Thanks all, I have 9 eggs saved up and more coming today. I plan on setting my eggs in a couple days and I'm just trying to be as accurate and precise as possible. I would like to get 10 to 15 hens and I know the ratio is 50/50 male to female. Well thanks and I'm off to finish this homework assignment.

 

[TaylorHobbyFarms]

If your eggs are dirty and you want to incubate them, I would at least suggest getting an egg brush and brushing them off, lightly of course. The reason you don't want too much on the eggs is to prevent any bacteria that may hurt the chicks, but you definitely do not want to wash the eggs with water because then any bacteria on the outside of the shell will enter the egg through its pores.

There will be times you miss when the rooster mates with the hens, but when he does, he can fertilize her eggs for up to 10 days.

I have stored eggs for hatching up to 12 days and still had successful hatches. The key is temperature and turning.

In my opinion, how many you place in the incubator will not effect the hatch. If all conditions are right, the more eggs you set, the more chicks will hatch.

Hope this helps.