So yesterday I took the egg turner out of my foam bator.
Had already cut holes/bottoms off of egg cartons and lids, too. Put each group of eggs in an egg carton on the wire. But also set the egg carton inside another one to raise them up higher like the turner was. Put a dowel under one side of the carton.
So the staggered hatch has 12 eggs each of 2 cartons on dowels.
Then the seven eggs are on their sides in the lid of a carton, stacked inside 2 more lids so to bring them up level with the others.
Thermometers all set on tops of the eggs. Humidity set beside the lockdown eggs. Put paper towels inside paper towel core and soaked them and placed 2 of these around the outside of the lockdown eggs.
So only had to tweak the thermostat a hair or two and temps looking good.
On day 18 the 7 eggs had heartbeats and that was yesterday. I did open it very briefly and moved the dowel to the other side of the carton and humidity didn't drop. That was yesterday evening. Today and tomorrow I'm not opening anything.
No chirps/peeps/pips yet. I hope the seven do well! Hate getting them this far along and then nothing hatching so we will keep our fingers crossed. I add water through a needlehole with a needle/syringe directly onto the paper towel holder.
Humidity is up from the 55% to lockdown humidity of 80%.
Broody hen is sitting so tight she is looking 'dazed'. I put a bowl of water right up to her beak and dipped it in and she didn't even swallow. Just looking stare eyed and tight on those eggs. Hope those hatch too. Hoping for Sunday. We will see.
What do you do with them all? Keep for meat & eggs or are you breeding? I just wanted 5 or 6 for eggs, but I have 30 more waiting to go in the incubator when this one is done!
