Air-plane eggs & trial run w/Brinsea 20 ECO

[mmaddie's mom]

This hatch will be w/eggs that my husband hand carried home on the plane (see "fertile eggs on plane...")

This is also my first time using an incubator and not a broody. I'm sure I will have many, MANY questions for you experienced incubator-ers out there.

The brand new Brinsea 20 ECO is all together, plugged in, water in one resevoir and warming up... hopefully.

The air-plane eggs are waiting patiently @ room temp. and w/one end tipped up a few inches.

If all goes as planned, the eggs will go in tonight w/hatch date April 1-2 ? (I think)...
which will be nice because I met my husband 35 years ago on April 1/April Fools' Day! Anniversary chickies!

All advice will be WELCOME and gratefully received.

This is a trial run for a bigger trip to San Francisco in May, when I hope to bring home and hatch some pure-breed souvenir chicks... living souvenirs!

 

[gryeyes]

Ooooh! I love eggsperiments!

You know to put the eggs in and then NOT mess with the settings for 24 hours, right? It takes a while for the eggs to come up to temp. If you start messing with the temp before then, you will always be tweaking it. Wait 24 hrs, then tweak.

 

[mmaddie's mom]

Thanks... I know absolutely NOTHING... so keep the advice coming!

My eggs a not perfectly clean... I don't want to wash them, but should I wipe them w/a damp cloth? or leave as is?

 

[gryeyes]

Leave 'em. The "bloom" layer from the hen helps seal the egg and keep out bacteria. Of course, if there are chunks o' poo or dirt on the eggs, pick those off.

 

[mmaddie's mom]

Bator temp holding just a hair under 100.

Tipped to 4 and 8 o'clock and no spillage!

Scrapped "clumps" off of eggs... they weren't too bad... just a couple.

Placed 12 eggs (8 white & 4 brown) in tray, small pointy end down.

Will not open for 24 hours.

BUT... do I tip/turn during that 24 hours? or start that after 24 hours?

... told you I would have a LOT of stupid questions.

 

[jeremy]

How exciting! I've wondered how eggs carried home on a plane would fare, what beds are you setting?

I'm in the Bay Area BTW. The weather should be lovely here in May. What are you planning on doing while you visit?

 

[dsqard]

You start "turning" them today. Most people recommend three times a day. Do you have an additonal thermometer inside the bator down near the eggs? I found that the reading at the top of the bator was a degree higher than what is at the level of the eggs and I have the Brinsea Octagon Advance so it is forced air. I got the Spot Check thermometer (has a probe you can stick through the vent hole on the top of the bator) to check temperatures. It works great. Good luck on your hatch!

 

[mmaddie's mom]

Quote:
Don't understand "what beds are you setting?" ?

We will be visiting w/my husband's cousin and site-seeing... believe it or not I have never been to Ca. before.
Also spending a few days in Napa... wine tasting

Plan to spend my last full day there seeing the countryside and picking up several dozen eggs... hopefully Banty Ameraucana and Banty Wellsummer (or some other dark brown banty egg layer). Don't have that lined up yet, but I still have a couple of months to pin that down... open for suggestions.

 

[mmaddie's mom]

Quote:
I only have the thermometer at the top that comes with it. Where do I get a Spot Check thermometer and does it also tell me the humidity?
How do I check the humidity? What is the right humidty?
Thanks.

 

[jeremy]

LOL I meant what eggs are you setting in your incubator, not beds.

I'm using BYC on my phone so the auto predict sometimes enters the wrong words!

True dark egg laying bantams might be hard to come by, but I do know of a breeder in Sacramento who was just recently hatching bantam Welsummers. Her BYC name is wolftracks and she's a nice woman.

If your interested in large fowl, I do have Blue Wheaten Ameraucanas that should be giving me eggs consistently in May. I would love to be able to send you home with some eggs!