do I need to change wick for every hatch?

[wahmommy]

Trying my first hatch- I borrowed a school incubator (Lyons Turn X with automatic turner) and the manual suggests I change the wick for every hatch. I don't think I have another wick I just have the one that they used in the classroom last April. It's only been used once before though. I could order a new wick from Lyons, but I already bought the fertilized eggs which will be three days old today. I also need to have the incubator up and running for 24-48 hours per the instructions, so that will be 4 days outside the incubator, right? Is that still okay? Right now they are stored in an egg carton in a cabinet in our temperature controlled home.

Any other tips before I get started?

TIA!

 

[dbcooper02]

Turn-X is a fun incubator. I don't know of anything else that gives you a better view of the hatching process. You will probably be OK with the existing wick. Sometimes after extended use with mineral rich water they accumulate a crust of minerals that renders them useless. If you use distilled water a wick should last a long time. No problem with the age of the eggs. Seven days is a nominal cut-off date, but even older eggs can and will hatch.