green_thumb
Songster
Hi All!
Been several years since I posted (when I first got chicks) but I figured I’d add catalog my experience of trying to hatch incubator eggs.
I have a roo, so I let my Cochin sit on a clutch of 12 in spring of 2020. We ended up with 6 chicks! I didn’t separate “mama” so I think most of the losses were either bad from the get-go or kicked into the nest box wall by other girls
Anyways, I’m trying to add some egg colors to my flock so I had a dozen eggs shipped in. Since I read so many horror stories about shipped eggs having low rates, I also bought a local dozen and then added a few of my own to the mix.
I’m hatching in a NR 360. Let shipped eggs settle for 24 hours (they were very well packed!) and the local eggs for about 4 or so. Decided to start incubating them upright in cut-out carton cups to give the shipped eggs time to stabilize and with hopes that I could check for fertility before discarding to get down to the 22 eggs that fit the automatic turner (greedy, I know
)
Started the eggs at 3 pm last Saturday. I read so much about air cells and shipping that I decided not to turn for the first few days (including the local eggs) as several people suggested. Now, today on day 4, I started freaking out a bit when reading about how important turning is especially early on. I’ve been propping up each side of the incubator a bit, switching about 3 times per day, but this only resulted in a very slight angle (nowhere close to the recommended 45 degrees).
I candled tonight and gave my best shot at picking the eggs that didn’t look promising to get down to the number that fit my autoturner. I definitely saw clear veining in most of the eggs I candled and was pretty pleased when eggtopsies showed only one of my selected “discard” eggs showed progressing life (two unfertilized , one progressing with movement, one that started but looked like it quit right away).
I’ve now started the autoturner and am a bit worried since my embryos didn’t really seem to float around much (or at all?) like I thought they are supposed to, and looked a little “stuck.” Obviously, not much I can do about it now, and I really am not too confident that I can tell what I’m looking at anyways.
Hopefully not turning for days 0-4 doesn’t screw me, but I will continue to come back for updates! I am definitely trying to keep my expectations realistic for my first hatch, with shipped eggs at that, but it is very hard not to obsess and try and give them the best chance I can!
Been several years since I posted (when I first got chicks) but I figured I’d add catalog my experience of trying to hatch incubator eggs.
I have a roo, so I let my Cochin sit on a clutch of 12 in spring of 2020. We ended up with 6 chicks! I didn’t separate “mama” so I think most of the losses were either bad from the get-go or kicked into the nest box wall by other girls
Anyways, I’m trying to add some egg colors to my flock so I had a dozen eggs shipped in. Since I read so many horror stories about shipped eggs having low rates, I also bought a local dozen and then added a few of my own to the mix.
I’m hatching in a NR 360. Let shipped eggs settle for 24 hours (they were very well packed!) and the local eggs for about 4 or so. Decided to start incubating them upright in cut-out carton cups to give the shipped eggs time to stabilize and with hopes that I could check for fertility before discarding to get down to the 22 eggs that fit the automatic turner (greedy, I know
)Started the eggs at 3 pm last Saturday. I read so much about air cells and shipping that I decided not to turn for the first few days (including the local eggs) as several people suggested. Now, today on day 4, I started freaking out a bit when reading about how important turning is especially early on. I’ve been propping up each side of the incubator a bit, switching about 3 times per day, but this only resulted in a very slight angle (nowhere close to the recommended 45 degrees).
I candled tonight and gave my best shot at picking the eggs that didn’t look promising to get down to the number that fit my autoturner. I definitely saw clear veining in most of the eggs I candled and was pretty pleased when eggtopsies showed only one of my selected “discard” eggs showed progressing life (two unfertilized , one progressing with movement, one that started but looked like it quit right away).
I’ve now started the autoturner and am a bit worried since my embryos didn’t really seem to float around much (or at all?) like I thought they are supposed to, and looked a little “stuck.” Obviously, not much I can do about it now, and I really am not too confident that I can tell what I’m looking at anyways.
Hopefully not turning for days 0-4 doesn’t screw me, but I will continue to come back for updates! I am definitely trying to keep my expectations realistic for my first hatch, with shipped eggs at that, but it is very hard not to obsess and try and give them the best chance I can!
From the 22 that started in the turner, I think I’m down to 10/12 shipped eggs, 7/8 local, and 2/2 from my own coop.
