advice on staggered hatches

[NewChickenMom]

i need advice from all you expert hatchers!! i did one hatch allright, 8 eggs = 100% hatch, so i guess i thought i was an expert and put eggs in on different days thinking i could figure it out. i have another incubator to use as a hatcher, but how does the whole process work?? i have some seramas from priszilla that are 4 days older than the rest of the eggs, and then in that younger batch, i put a couple of my birds eggs in to check fertility and put them 3 of them in on 3 sequential days...can they hatch with the rest of them?

someone explain this to me...

 

[Parson's Wife]

If you can keep up with them, on day 18 switch the older eggs to the other incubator...have it warmed and moist several days in advance. You should be set. You can just leave the other eggs in the hatcher until they hatch, or if your other eggs have hatched in a timely manner...you can switch out, if the others have hatched ok. Just watch your temps & humidity levels.

 

[arlee453]

Been doing a lot of staggered hatches this summer.

What I do is mark each group of eggs I set with a different color sharpie. Since I'm hand turning at this point, I just mark the "X" I use to determine which way I've turned in the approprate color. Then I mark in the calendar which eggs are due to go to the hatcher on what days.

That way I just look at the calendar and know that it's the day to set the pink eggs to the hatcher, etc, and I can tell at a glance what eggs are which without having to decipher numbers or anything else written on the eggs.

 

[NewChickenMom]

well, poo, that is a good idea...i'll have to do that next time..i guess i'll just move the seramas over because i know when they went in and just up the humidity and stop turning the others all at the same time, the bought eggs all went in together, its just my bird's eggs that went in on different days, if they don't hatch, my birds will just lay more right??

thanks for the good idea arlee!!