Determining Incubation Start Date

[Lrpete]

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.

 

[WVduckchick]

In the Article section here, there is a day-by-day candling chart that may help you (sorry, I don't have time to find it at the moment)
But I would suggest that you just keep candling and watch for the eggs to get to where you only see a thin bit of clear-ish area next to the membrane of the air cell. At that point, it would be safe to stop turning. You could wait until they start drawing down to increase the humidity, depending on air cell size at that point.

Good luck with the hatch, and glad you found Houdini!

 

[quackingdom]

I'd start counting from July 12. If that's when she started sitting, that's probably when the eggs started developing. In my experience, three or four days is the earliest you can see signs of development, and you said they showed development by June 16.

 

[Lrpete]

I'd start counting from July 12. If that's when she started sitting, that's probably when the eggs started developing. In my experience, three or four days is the earliest you can see signs of development, and you said they showed development by June 16.

Thank you so much. That’s kinda what I thought.

 

[Lrpete]

I have another question about this clutch in the incubator. My Buff Orp hatched 5 eggs a week ago and all the babies are thriving with a very attentive mom. The incubator eggs should start hatching in another week. If I put these babies in the brooder box with the BO and her babies, will she adopt them and take care of them as her own or will she be too distracted by her own babies to take on the new ones?

 

[Tonyroo]

I don't think she will adopt them.
And as far as knowing the hatch date for hatching date, candle every egg and use this chart to know which day they are actually at, then you have your hatch date.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ion-through-incubation-of-chicken-eggs.47879/