On June 12, my Sussex, Houdini, disappeared And I thought she had been snatched by a predator since we live in the mountains and I tend to lose chickens to coyotes...in fact the following day, one of my Buff Orpingtons got snatched near the house. On June 16, Houdini reappeared and I thought she had likely gone broody. I followed her to her nest and she had laid 22 eggs. Her nest was only about 30’ from where the BO had been snatched and, although she was well hidden, I was concerned about Houdini’s safety nesting in the brush. So, I moved her and her eggs to a dog crate in the coop, but she then refused to sit on them. A few hours later I decided to move the eggs to my brand new Little Giant incubator In the house.
My question now is, what should I use for my hatch date? I need that date to know when to remove the turning rack and put the eggs in lockdown. Should I count from June 12 when Houdini first started to set, or should I count from June 16, when I put the eggs in the incubator? If I go from the day she started to set, hatch should start on July 3 or 4, when we will have a house full of people for the holiday weekend and I want to be attentive to both the hatch and my guests. Oh, and I candled the eggs before I put them in the incubator and they all appeared to be developing. Today they are continuing their development and have a small air cell with dark contents.
My question now is, what should I use for my hatch date? I need that date to know when to remove the turning rack and put the eggs in lockdown. Should I count from June 12 when Houdini first started to set, or should I count from June 16, when I put the eggs in the incubator? If I go from the day she started to set, hatch should start on July 3 or 4, when we will have a house full of people for the holiday weekend and I want to be attentive to both the hatch and my guests. Oh, and I candled the eggs before I put them in the incubator and they all appeared to be developing. Today they are continuing their development and have a small air cell with dark contents.