Eggs are finally here! Couple of questions.....

[Hottchick]

Finally! They're here! Seems like it took forever. This is my first ever attempt at hatching. I got 15 black sexlink eggs to incubate and hatch as my son's school science project (good excuse, right?). We are refrigerating 7 of the eggs and not 8 of them to compare hatch rates (to fufill his requirements for his project with a hypothesis and all that jazz). How long do you think they should stay in the fridge? I am thinking 4 hours? I am then planning on letting them get back to room temperature so they stand a chance. 8 hours to get back to room temp from the fridge, is that sufficient? I don't want to have to stay up all night to get them into the bator.

One egg had a couple of hairline cracks. It's a goner isn't it? I used it as one of the fridge eggs.

I'm nervous, never hatched before. I'm afraid of a total washout but I'm also nervous that I will have too many little chicks to rehome when all is said and done.

 

[terrilhb]

don't put them in the fridge. from what i have read on here they need to sit out for 8 to 24 hrs. Good luck. sorry i did not read where you are doing an experiment. LOL my bad. thought you were asking if you should put them in fridge. guess i should slow down and read everything 1st

 

[scbatz33]

Quote:
She has to...it's part of the "experiment". Here's what I would do.......

8 eggs in fridge for 20 hours to "settle" just like the 7 will be settling on the counter. Then pull them out and let them warm up on the counter the final 4 of the 24 hour period.

As for the cracked egg. Little clear nail polish on the crack should fix it.

 

[scbatz33]

Oh and remember to mark them so you know which is which. And pointy end down for the "resting" period.

FYI, I always let my shipped eggs sit over night - ie 24 hours. and set aprox 7 in the morning. Not that 7 is any significance, it just makes things easier for record keeping and timing/counting days.

 

[GreenGoddess]

Quote:
Good luck with your experiment... Honestly, 4 hours is not long enough time to make a difference either way... It would take almost that long for the internal temp if the egg to get to the temp of the fridge... I would keep them in at least 12-18 hours and then leave them sit out for about 4 hours or so to come to room temp... I'm still not sure if that short of time in the fridge is going to alter the chances of hatching but it's a better experiment than only 4 hours...

Goddess

 

[Hottchick]

Thanks for the advice. Maybe I'll let them stay in the fridge until this evening which will be around 12 hours. They went in at 10:15 when I got them this morning. Is 4 hours to come back to room temperature sufficient time?

Or do you think I should take them out before bed tonight, let them sit on the counter until early tomorrow morning and then put them all in the bator?

Is waiting almost 24 hours for shipped eggs too long to get them into the bator?

 

[GreenGoddess]

Quote:
I would try for 6 hours to come back to room temp if at all possible but 4 hours should suffice.. As for the resting period, you will notice that everyone has a different opinion... Some people will only let them rest for 8 hours while others let them rest for 24 hours or more... So to answer your other question, no 24 hours is not too long... When I have shipped eggs, I go between that and give them 10-12 hours...

Goddess

 

[BerrytangleFarm]

I got a couple dozen eggs from a local woman. One was supposed to be for eating since she had them in the refrigerator for who-knows-how-long. I took two of those out just to see and put them in the incubator. They all sat at room temperature for a few days because I was waiting for some shipped eggs to get here and join them. One of the refrigerated egs is developing nicely at Day 16.

--Deborah

 

[Hottchick]

Cool. I think I will wait until early in the morning to get them into the bator then. That would give me a Saturday hatch date when my son will be home from school to watch. Of course, I'm counting my chickens before they hatch. Or before they even go into the incubator! Anyway......

I have read on here of people incubating store bought free range eggs also. I guess you just never know.