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- #121
Trinitydraco
Songster
I am going to give my 2 cents on the matter. I am fairly new to hatching but having great luck with it. So here is what I do:
1. clean incubator with 4:1 water/bleach and let dry in the sun
2. Check eggs for proper hydration. Put the fertile eggs (under 10 days old) in a clear container of water. If the float to the top they are no good. If the sink but do not lay flat let them sit in the water to absorb enough for the hatch. You will know they have enough when they lay flat on the bottom. Do NOT wipe them off. The bloom can survive the water just not any rubbing while wet. Place on towel and let air dry.
3. spray eggs with an egg prep solution to sterilize. You can buy it or make it. Use 50/50 non chlorine water and non flavored (the brown stuff) Listerine. It kills germs without hurting your eggs.
4. I let my eggs sit small end down after all this overnight to make sure the aircell is set. If you had your eggs shipped you need to do this for at least 24 hours.
5. Pop those little suckers into the incubator! If you use a turner make sure they are air cell up. If not just put them on their side.
6. Keep humidity low for the first 18 days. I do a partial dry hatch by not adding any water to the incubator until lockdown. By making sure they have enough water before I set them they can afford to loose the water they need to make the air cells nice and big so they don't drown when they try to pip.
7. Resist the urge to candle everyday. It's hard but the more they get handled the more the bloom rubs off and the risk of bacteria getting into the egg gets higher. Most chicks that die right before lockdown died of infection. Limit your contact if turning them by hand only 3 times a day or using a turner.
8. When candling on day 7, 10, 14 and 18 keep track of the air cell development and make sure it is getting bigger. If you are monitoring the humidity in the first 18 days keep it at least below 50%. the lower the better really.
9. Jack the humidity as high as you can on day 18 for the lockdown. I fill each reservoir and put in a soaked washcloth in the corner. It's about surface area, not depth when it comes to getting the humidity high. This technique gets me between 70-85% humidity. Precision I find is not what is important in hatching. It's making sure they loose enough water during those first 18 days to make nice big air cells and then making sure the humidity is high enough for them to not get shrink-wrapped once they pip. It's hard but try not to open the bator once in lockdown. If you did your job the chicks won't need any help, just time so be patient! If you have to remove hatched chicks before the hatch is over do it in batches to minimize humidity and temp loss to those still hatching.
10. Do NOT help babies dry off! They have just absorbed the yolk and their bellies are very delicate. Even gentle rubbing with a piece of tissue can cause internal damage…(learned this the hard way)
So that's my hatch procedure! Some have said I go overboard with the germ control but you can't argue with my results! My worst hatch that had incubator problems was 70% and the rest are 90-100%. I think most of it is understanding WHY you need to have the humidity at the levels you do more than getting it spot on a number. Knowing what you are doing it for and what to look for takes the mystery and guess work out of it. I hope this helps!
We are going into lockdown so I am using the tongue method! Screw it! As long as the eggs are the same temp as my mouth they are fine!
I haven't tried shipped eggs yet but have to next hatch as I can't get Svart Hona eggs locally and that's then next breed I am hatching. 
