First Attempt at Hatching (Pictures!)

[Rin]

Eggs are expected to arrive on Tuesday and I wonder if some things I looked up are accurate or rumors or other. Some last minute adjustments, I know. But further tips/tweeks are also appreciated. Also a few baby questions.
WILL be updated with pictures as soon as they arrive!

Okay, as posted before I have a Hovabator 1602N - currently quite stable at 101.1(at the top of eggs) with a humidity of 30%
No added fan or automatic turner. In addition to that, these are at least 8 shipped eggs. With that said -

Fact Check - are these true or... (based on various info hunting)

- Putting (washed ofc) rocks in the water in the bottom of the tray will help hold heat and humidity when you open your 'bator.
- Putting your eggs in an egg carton (large side up and one thats also clean) and propping one end up and switching the side propped up effectively "turns" them.
- You want your eggs in the same position they've always been during incubation - so if laid out naturally, that. But if in a carton or turner, that instead.
- You want to let your eggs settle at room temperature in a carton large side up for several hours before actually placing them in the 'bator.

Various Silly Questions

- Does having your chicks hatch out of egg cartons make their job harder or just look it?
- Does using distilled vs. drinking water have any effect on the eggs/chicks/humidity?
- Is it okay if I'm only able to turn them say three times one day but 5+ times the next as long as I keep the turning at odd numbers?

Working a Schedule

What does the schedule you use to keep track of turning and important egg-dates look like? I'm trying to put one together that reminds me to turn them and candle the 7th, 14th and 18th(before lockdown) but I'm thinking of just marking little tallies on my calendar along with candling/lockdown dates.

Wish me luck! Here's hoping they arrive lacking post office abuse! :>

 

[Mahonri]

Quote:
The rock thing could work. I have my doubts.
I've seen a number of folks do the prop thing... it works
24 hours at room temp is best prior to placing them... and I always prop them and "turn" them during that process as well.
I actually think having them in the carton makes it easier for them.
I use tap water in my bator.
Turn them at least 3 times a day.
I only candle on day 10 and 17-18 (day of lockdown)... the less handling, the better I say.


All that said, I only got 12 of 41 shipped eggs both times I incubated. 5 of 12 were roos the first time, 4 of 12 were roos the 2nd time.

 

[Rin]

Quote:
Yea, that one sounds like it could be either totally true or totally false to me, but My Pet Chicken said it so.. maybe.... though, I've not seen or heard of anyone here doing that.
Woo! Good to know that works though because I'm really hoping to do that. I want to spend as little time as possible with the lid popped and me man handling them.
Oooh, really? Easier sounds good to me :>

So the 10th and the 18th - sounds good to me. Anyone else candle on these dates?

and Thank you for your reply! :> I appreciate the input.

 

[srsmith69]

When I was researching thermal masses for greenhouses, I read that a much larger volume of rocks was needed to equal the thermal mass in a much smaller quantity of water. Don't remember the specifics, but I remember thinking I'd never have enough room for thermal mass from rocks. Water stores more heat per volume than rocks. If you want to increase the heat retention in your incubator, try baby food bottles of water with the lids on, or whatever water containers will fit in the bator. As long as the lid is on, it won't effect humidity. Then when you get to lockdown, if you need to up the humidity, just remove the lids.

 

[Rin]

Quote:
That's a veryyy clever idea, actually. I might have to try this. Have you ever done it before inside of an incubator?

 

[srsmith69]

I've got two homemade incubators that are in large styrofoam coolers. So baby food jars are to small. I do have a quart mason jar and two 1/2 liter water bottles in each incubator wherever there is empty space that won't interfere with air circulation. I definitely think the water helps to regulate the temperatures of the eggs.

 

[Rin]

Quote:
I will definitely try this then. Thank you very much! :>

Man, I'm getting so anxious now. I can hardly contain myself. This does not bode well for the actual wait.. then again in the time I waited for the other hatchery just to /deliver/ my eggs I could have hatched two batches already.

 

[Rin]

A day late but they all arrived in wonderful condition

Not a crack in sight and I can tell the post office took care with this one. Not an egg was out of place until I opened it and not a single one has a crack in it

Despite the flurry of paper and bubble wrap yes I did take care in unwrapping. XD

All 9 of my egg babies carefully placed in their carton with <3

Pretty much all I could see when candling all of them. I can't really make out the air sacks yet

And yes I candled them all properly as I put them in the egg carton to make sure noone had any hidden cracks. All of them seemed very porey like this one, should I be worried?

I'm letting them rest like this tonight but sometime tomorrow I intend to set them

Added the water filled baby food containers by the way, had to sit them on the wire though which is fine. Definitely seems to help a bit at least with keeping temps more regular.

 

[Rin]

Okay, I didn't properly candle. Just quickly took a flashlight to one last night while turning them and... I'm on day 4 now and is it possible for their air sacks to become more visible now or am I possibly seeing blood rings and already failed? :< Quickly looked at one only to see it and checked another and saw the same exact thing. ><

 

[neferset]

I tried the rocks thing. I thought it was working for a while, but I still dropped temps once with a weather shift. Proponents for them, if there are any, might say that I maybe didn't drop as much as I would have. I can't say, since I don't know. My rocks were too big to fit in the bottoms, so even if they didn't do anything else, they did help hold the screen in place. I don't think there is any way rocks could help with humidity, though. Sponges are better for humidity.

It's only day 4. You should be starting to see air cells a bit better. Sometimes you can see embryos that early and sometimes not. If you aren't used to candling yet, being your first hatch, I wouldn't be so quick to diagnose a blood ring. A good spidery vein can sometimes look just like a blood ring if you aren't completely comfy with candling. That said, the air cell shouldn't look bloody exactly. Usually just like a bubble with veins all around it.