Ever add eggs after incubation been started? Need advice please!

[minpinmama]

I have a predicament and need advice. I have two incubators, one with 40 eggs in it on day 8
and room for 9 more eggs, this was started a week ago. The other is on with a single chicken egg
at 22 days.
I received 19 more eggs today and need to have them in the incubator in the morning and need to do it
without buying a 3rd incubator. What would you do?
1) Add to the already started clutch or
2)wait one more day and on day 23 forget the single egg and start all over again with the new 19 eggs?

I've put the lone egg to my ear and hear no pipping at all. Candled it and it appears solid, however it is only one of 17 that made it this far.

Hmmm what to do

what to do ? ! ? ! ?

 

[Rescuedrvr4u]

Just my opinion, but I would NOT add it to the bator that has the 40 eggs. I am new to this, only on my 2nd hatch, but adding to an already started hatch was a huge problem for me in the way that...once you get to lockdown for the first eggs (40), you can't open the incubator to turn the last eggs (added 9). Plus, your humidity needs to be much higher in lockdown than what the added 9 will need. By the time your first eggs have hatched and the babies are dry and ready to come out, and maybe need to eat, you can't open the bator because the second half (added 9) of the eggs are on lockdown. This is called a scattered hatch and can be maddening. I learned from experience. I would go ahead and add it to the lone egg, very quickly, and still give that single egg another day or 2, but no more without sure signs of life. Just my opinion...good luck.

 

[speedy2020]

I have a predicament and need advice. I have two incubators, one with 40 eggs in it on day 8
and room for 9 more eggs, this was started a week ago. The other is on with a single chicken egg
at 22 days.
I received 19 more eggs today and need to have them in the incubator in the morning and need to do it
without buying a 3rd incubator. What would you do?
1) Add to the already started clutch or
2)wait one more day and on day 23 forget the single egg and start all over again with the new 19 eggs?

I've put the lone egg to my ear and hear no pipping at all. Candled it and it appears solid, however it is only one of 17 that made it this far.

Hmmm what to do

what to do ? ! ? ! ?

The 1st thing you need to do is candle your 40 eggs. Any eggs not develop, remove from the incubator to free some room. Then mark all the new eggs by date or symbol that can identify them later and put all your eggs in the incubator with 8 days batch. You need to use the wood block underneath to turn the eggs by moving one end to another about 3x or more a day if over fill & can't use the turner. Since the 2nd incubator at 22 days and should be available for you to transfer over in a few days. I hope I didn't confuse you. Good luck.

 

[chkinut]

i happen to agree with Rescuedrvr4u. i would put them in the bator with one egg. it just seems easier in the long run. although i do look up to people who can do the staggered hatches. i don't trust myself with it though, lol. i HAVE staggered a hatch in the past, but only by a couple days.

 

[mustangsaguaro]

I have to agree w/ speedy. Since 40 of your eggs are on Day 7-9 you need to candle and toss any you know for sure are not fertile. Any questionable eggs I would keep and wait to candle again at Day 10 or 14. I recently had a few questionable eggs that I decided to keep and thank goodness I did because 2 of my questionables were in fact good and fertile. Then add what eggs you can in. You will have a staggered hatch doing it this way so you need to mark your eggs accordingly. And since you have 2 incubators from the sounds of it. Your 2nd one will act as the hatcher for those first 40 or however many make it to Day 18.

Do you currently use an egg turner? If so no problem there. If the incubator is full and you need to add more eggs, what you can do is take some paper towels and put them on the eggs in the turner then put the remaining eggs on top of the ones in the turner. I have heard of people doing this. I believe they call it stacking the eggs during incubation when they have a full bator. You can do a search hear for doing a stack egg method. But again remember you need to mark which eggs are which.

Once your other incubator becomes available due to the one long egg if it hatches you will have room in there to put the eggs.

Hope this helps and I have not confused you anymore.

 

[minpinmama]

Thank you all, appreciate the suggestions, Newsflash!!!

Just 20 mins ago the lone egg survivor pipped a ting hole, I am so glad I waited.
I think I was a little discouraged since15 of 17 eggs were not viable and one was a quitter, but we could see this one surviving inside the egg. My granddaughters already picked out names for this little lone survivor. Now all we need is to get this little one all pipped out and dried and I have my other incubator back.

In all the advice above I was concerned Putting it with the loan chick? The egg turner is out since lockdown.
Both my incubators have egg turners.
Candling is hard on the 40, as they are all Black Copper Maran eggs, I'm new at this so over cautious with my candling decisions.

 

[stone_family3]

If the 2nd incubator is at 22 days I'd wait till the last possible minute and put the new eggs in incubator with just one egg in it.

 

[cva34]

If the 2nd incubator is at 22 days I'd wait till the last possible minute and put the new eggs in incubator with just one egg in it.

Sounds good ..Sounds like you could use a hatcher!!!!...cva34

 

[chkinut]

I have to agree w/ speedy. Since 40 of your eggs are on Day 7-9 you need to candle and toss any you know for sure are not fertile. Any questionable eggs I would keep and wait to candle again at Day 10 or 14. I recently had a few questionable eggs that I decided to keep and thank goodness I did because 2 of my questionables were in fact good and fertile. Then add what eggs you can in. You will have a staggered hatch doing it this way so you need to mark your eggs accordingly. And since you have 2 incubators from the sounds of it. Your 2nd one will act as the hatcher for those first 40 or however many make it to Day 18.

Do you currently use an egg turner? If so no problem there. If the incubator is full and you need to add more eggs, what you can do is take some paper towels and put them on the eggs in the turner then put the remaining eggs on top of the ones in the turner. I have heard of people doing this. I believe they call it stacking the eggs during incubation when they have a full bator. You can do a search hear for doing a stack egg method. But again remember you need to mark which eggs are which.

Once your other incubator becomes available due to the one long egg if it hatches you will have room in there to put the eggs.

Hope this helps and I have not confused you anymore.

i was thinking of adding more eggs than my bator can hold with my egg turner. i have a hovabator 1588 with egg turner. so it holds 42 eggs. well, in about 10 days, a friend of mine want me to hatch some eggs AND i want to hatch some eggs of my own. i will have 24 eggs and i'm not sure how many he will have. but in case there is 50 eggs i was going to put them on top of the eggs in the turner. but i never thought to put a paper towel on top of the eggs in the turner. why would i need to do this? i'm not doubting you, i'm just curious and willing to learn. and i plan on putting paper towels on them now after reading your post. but what would happen if i didn't use the paper towels. how could that hurt the eggs? and will the paper towels cause the heat and humidity to get screwy? i have a fan in my bator btw. thanks for any help!

 

[minpinmama]

The 40 eggs in bator #2 are at day 8.

It was bator 1 that had the one lone egg at day #22.
Today is Day #23 and he started pipping this morning thankfully, still in but can see his /or hers little beak,
I did add 9 eggs to incubator #2 that is on Day 8 of incubation and kept close tabs on the temp in case it dropped to much putting the new eggs in.