Are more eggs in the incubator better???

[cochinfan05]

So I'm impatiently waiting for a delivery of a dozen eBay Silkie eggs. I'll be using my old still air styro bator, which is a pain, but tends to keep a steady temp after I fiddle with it a couple days. What I find is that it does tend to have warmer and cooler spot throughout it. (I have 4 aquarium thermometers and 2 digital in there). So I was wondering if I put some of my girls eggs in there too......would that help keep the temp steadier in the whole bator? Like having more eggs in there? I thought I may have read that someplace.....or maybe I just want to hatch more eggs....

 

[junebuggena]

On this site, the answer is always yes. More eggs are better! More chicks are better! More chickens! MORE, MORE!
Not the place you come to to get talked out of anything chick/chicken related.
We enable and encourage.

Having said that, your incubator should be stable, no matter how many or how few eggs you have set in it.

 

[cochinfan05]

Hahahahaha. Plus the chicks from my flock will be mixes of bantam Cochin, d'uccles and silkie. There are apt to be some extremely cute mutts!!!!

 

[MeepBeep]

More eggs might have a marginal buffering effect, just like putting water bottles in would have, but it's not likely to alleviate the hot and cold spots...

I would simply position the eggs in a 'median' location in the incubator, I find that the cheap silverware drawer type basket organizers work very well for containing eggs to specific locations in the incubator, if you don't have a turner... If you do fill the incubator rotate the eggs every time you turn them or every 12-24 hours so they even out...

 

[cochinfan05]

More eggs might have a marginal buffering effect, just like putting water bottles in would have, but it's not likely to alleviate the hot and cold spots...

I would simply position the eggs in a 'median' location in the incubator, I find that the cheap silverware drawer type basket organizers work very well for containing eggs to specific locations in the incubator, if you don't have a turner... If you do fill the incubator rotate the eggs every time you turn them or every 12-24 hours so they even out...

I do have a turner. Do you think rotating the top every day would be beneficial? The heating element is located there. I think the little turner motor puts out some heat too.

 

[MeepBeep]

Not sure what you mean by 'top egg'...

Considering you know the hot and cold spots just rotate the eggs though all the temperature zones every day if you are unable to keep them all in a median temperature zone location in the turner... Example move the eggs one position every 24 hours from medium --> hot --> medium --> cold and repeat assuming the hot is not too hot and the cold is not too cold... This will ensure they all hatch at the same time and none are incubated to fast or slow...

 

[cochinfan05]

Sorry I wasn't clear. I meant the top of the incubator were the heating element is.

 

[MeepBeep]

Sorry I wasn't clear. I meant the top of the incubator were the heating element is.

In a still air incubator, I ideally all the eggs will be at the same level...