BlacksheepCardigans
Songster
Honestly, the first step is the incubator. I see so many people spend $50 on shipping eggs and then put them in a still-air LG, which promptly kills them all.
Invest in the incubator first. Then hone your technique with inexpensive eggs; you'll find that your second and subsequent hatches are a lot better. Get yourself the shipped eggs you want - the higher-dollar ones - once you know you're giving them the best possible chance.
I started with $5/dozen easter eggers, then got wonderful local eggs, then got $1/egg silkies. I set my fourth hatch in a row a week ago, and feel like I finally know my technique enough to risk some $$ on shipped eggs.
Here's what I do (this is in NH, sea level, Brinsea Eco):
- Let the eggs come up to room temp. Wash any dirty ones in hot water. I do not let them sit after this - I don't want them to warm and cool with the temperature of the room. Once they get above 70 degrees they're going to want to start developing, so as soon as they're up to room temp I want them continuing toward incubation temp, not going down.
- Candle to see if the air cell is OK (this works well in light eggs; darker eggs are harder)
- Set them UPRIGHT and then incubate them UPRIGHT, without turning, for two days, at 99.5-100.3 (this is the temperature they stay during the whole incubation - the Brinsea will keep them even more solid than this swing but those are the boundaries outside of which I would intervene). This seems to solidify the air cell's position at the top of the egg; on the third day (again, light eggs make this easier) I can see veining around the air cell.
- On day 3, start turning them. I turn them while they stay upright (I don't turn them on their sides). The Brinsea makes this easy.
- I turn constantly - 20-30 times a day if I can make it happen - for the first week (day 3-10). This is because I don't have an autoturner. After that I relax a little but they're still turned 5-10 times a day.
- Humidity around 37-40% until day 18
- I candle around a week old and then again at two weeks old and for the last time before I raise the humidity on day 18.
- On day 18 they are set upright, they stop being turned, and I raise the humidity to 65+.
I hatch them upright, I remove them every few hours to the brooder and discard shells.
My silkies are hatching today. Their shipping was AWFUL - not the seller's technique but the USPS. They took five and a half days to get here and they were pretty well shaken up and VERY cold. She sent 31, first candle to remove clears reduced that to 23, second candle to 20, all 20 went to lockdown. It just ticked over to day 21 an hour or so ago, and I've got nine hatched and a bunch more pipped. I have high hopes of getting as many as 15 of the 23 (when you're calculating hatch rates you don't count clears), which I would consider an outrageously good hatch rate. I suppose I might even get the full 20, which would make me want to run out and get a lottery ticket.
Invest in the incubator first. Then hone your technique with inexpensive eggs; you'll find that your second and subsequent hatches are a lot better. Get yourself the shipped eggs you want - the higher-dollar ones - once you know you're giving them the best possible chance.
I started with $5/dozen easter eggers, then got wonderful local eggs, then got $1/egg silkies. I set my fourth hatch in a row a week ago, and feel like I finally know my technique enough to risk some $$ on shipped eggs.
Here's what I do (this is in NH, sea level, Brinsea Eco):
- Let the eggs come up to room temp. Wash any dirty ones in hot water. I do not let them sit after this - I don't want them to warm and cool with the temperature of the room. Once they get above 70 degrees they're going to want to start developing, so as soon as they're up to room temp I want them continuing toward incubation temp, not going down.
- Candle to see if the air cell is OK (this works well in light eggs; darker eggs are harder)
- Set them UPRIGHT and then incubate them UPRIGHT, without turning, for two days, at 99.5-100.3 (this is the temperature they stay during the whole incubation - the Brinsea will keep them even more solid than this swing but those are the boundaries outside of which I would intervene). This seems to solidify the air cell's position at the top of the egg; on the third day (again, light eggs make this easier) I can see veining around the air cell.
- On day 3, start turning them. I turn them while they stay upright (I don't turn them on their sides). The Brinsea makes this easy.
- I turn constantly - 20-30 times a day if I can make it happen - for the first week (day 3-10). This is because I don't have an autoturner. After that I relax a little but they're still turned 5-10 times a day.
- Humidity around 37-40% until day 18
- I candle around a week old and then again at two weeks old and for the last time before I raise the humidity on day 18.
- On day 18 they are set upright, they stop being turned, and I raise the humidity to 65+.
I hatch them upright, I remove them every few hours to the brooder and discard shells.
My silkies are hatching today. Their shipping was AWFUL - not the seller's technique but the USPS. They took five and a half days to get here and they were pretty well shaken up and VERY cold. She sent 31, first candle to remove clears reduced that to 23, second candle to 20, all 20 went to lockdown. It just ticked over to day 21 an hour or so ago, and I've got nine hatched and a bunch more pipped. I have high hopes of getting as many as 15 of the 23 (when you're calculating hatch rates you don't count clears), which I would consider an outrageously good hatch rate. I suppose I might even get the full 20, which would make me want to run out and get a lottery ticket.
