can freshly laid eggs be put in an incubator?

[showjumper_girl2002]

my dad's muscovy has started laying eggs again. she's not brooding yet because she's only laid 4 so far and laying about 1 a day so isn't ready to brood just yet. my question is can i start taking any of the eggs and incubate them or do i wait and take them when she starts brooding? basically, can an egg that has been freshly laid (a few days) but not being sat on full time yet be taken and put in an incubator? it's my first time doing this and i want to get everything right so i have the best chance for them to hatch

 

[Blue Hill Farm]

The answer is YES! Eggs are always best when freshest - for eating and incubating.

Though I've read not to put a "just laid egg" inside the bator - give it a few hours at least, maybe even 6 to be safe. If you start collecting the eggs, keep them in a cool, humid place (basements work great for this) fat end up in an egg carton. Tilt the carton 3x a day by sticking a rolled up washcloth or book under one side and alternating. Easy peasy.

Good luck and happy hatching!

 

[showjumper_girl2002]

Thanks! Also I ordered an incubator that holds 24, does it have to be full to work good or can I put less than that in?

 

[mandelyn]

Yes, fresher the better. You can place 1 or 24 eggs in. I like to collect 5 before setting them, just to make sure I get enough babies that I don't need to buy a friend if only one hatches.

Try not to stagger the hatch too badly, within a day or two is fine, but a week or more can cause lockdown and hatching problems. For example, collect 5, then also place egg 6 and 7 in there. Mark them with the hatch date, 7/14 for example. So you would have 5 eggs marked 7/14, one with 7/15, one with 7/16. If you go for collecting another 5 and then set those as well, they'll be another week behind and things can go down hill.

You can also collect for 10 days, really the longest to retain viability. Some say 7 day. If your house has a/c and stays a constant temp, that increases the time you can collect. If your house has the windows thrown open and the temperature fluctuates a lot then you want to set them sooner rather than later.

Don't forget to turn the eggs you collect 3 times a day while waiting to set them. I did a staggered hatch with my ducks, I found one, and didn't think I'd find more, but I found two more. Then I received shipped eggs I had bought, and set them too. 4 different hatch dates over the span of 5 days. The 3 I found all hatched, just one from the shipped eggs. You wouldn't want to stagger more than that.

 

[dbcooper02]

You don't need to fill the incubator full. I'd save up 7 ro 10 days worth of eggs and load them all at once. For a first time incubation I wouldn't reccomend adding any more eggs until that batch is done in 5 weeks. Unless you have a secind incubator to use as a hatcher, staggered hatching can be a real pain.

 

[showjumper_girl2002]

Quote:
Right now they're in the nest with mom, she's not brooding yet but laing 1 a day (has 4 right now). Can I leave them there till my incubator gets here? I ordered it yesterday, the first egg is probobly about 4 days old. Also i'm not sure which ones were laid when as far as knowing when they're due....or does the due date not start till they're in the incubator?