newchickychick
Songster
Hello all! I decided to splurge and got us the Maticoopx30. It's my first ever incubator! I've been eyes deep in research the past few days, and intend to continue through it deeply the next few months. We don't PLAN to incubate any eggs over the next while, as I want to be sure I've properly researched everything I can (how and when to assist hatches, HOW to assist hatches if it is necessary, ways to help humidity, how to properly judge development by candling, how to let shipped eggs settle for proper incubation, etc.).
The main part of my research so far has been the humidity and temperatures between days 1-17 and lockdown for 18-21, knowing to not open the incubator unless for emergency during lockdown, to leave chicks in the incubator post-hatch to let the others hatch since they can survive 2-3 days just fine off their yolks, to let shipped eggs settle at room temperature with pointy end down for at least 24-48 hours prior to setting them in the incubator, to try to avoid staggered hatches if at all possible as it can be difficult to manage/maintain, and so on and so forth. (Correct me if I'm wrong on any of this too!) I'm still wanting to be sure I know how to fix dethatched air cells properly as well, and I've got some videos saved to watch for deeper research.
However, I'm curious to know how y'all started getting ready for your first ever hatch? Did you just go for it when you got an incubator and just adjust/experiment as it went on? Did you run it for a few months without eggs to watch how the humidity/temperature worked (our current intention!)? Did you test run it once and then dive in? Did you start with really "cheap" eggs (if bought)/gathered eggs? Or did you dive in on a splurge-y breed of eggs? Did you opt for gathered eggs or shipped for your first hatch?
I'm always open for any/all advice. This is a "for future thought" sort of thread, but I'd like to be as best prepared as possible for eventually planning our first ever hatch! We want to be sure we're prepared and handle it responsibly. We know accidents can happen, but we want to be sure we've done everything in our power to be knowledgeable and not cause any undue damage or stress when the day comes that we do our first hatch. We figured shipped eggs may be one of the most reliable ways for us to find a couple of certain breeds we're curious about for next year. But would a shipped egg hatch too much to handle for a first hatch? Is a handful of months' time even enough to really prepare for our first hatch, or should we be set to at least a year before actually following through with our first hatch?
Thanks ahead of time for your experiences and advice!
The main part of my research so far has been the humidity and temperatures between days 1-17 and lockdown for 18-21, knowing to not open the incubator unless for emergency during lockdown, to leave chicks in the incubator post-hatch to let the others hatch since they can survive 2-3 days just fine off their yolks, to let shipped eggs settle at room temperature with pointy end down for at least 24-48 hours prior to setting them in the incubator, to try to avoid staggered hatches if at all possible as it can be difficult to manage/maintain, and so on and so forth. (Correct me if I'm wrong on any of this too!) I'm still wanting to be sure I know how to fix dethatched air cells properly as well, and I've got some videos saved to watch for deeper research.
However, I'm curious to know how y'all started getting ready for your first ever hatch? Did you just go for it when you got an incubator and just adjust/experiment as it went on? Did you run it for a few months without eggs to watch how the humidity/temperature worked (our current intention!)? Did you test run it once and then dive in? Did you start with really "cheap" eggs (if bought)/gathered eggs? Or did you dive in on a splurge-y breed of eggs? Did you opt for gathered eggs or shipped for your first hatch?
I'm always open for any/all advice. This is a "for future thought" sort of thread, but I'd like to be as best prepared as possible for eventually planning our first ever hatch! We want to be sure we're prepared and handle it responsibly. We know accidents can happen, but we want to be sure we've done everything in our power to be knowledgeable and not cause any undue damage or stress when the day comes that we do our first hatch. We figured shipped eggs may be one of the most reliable ways for us to find a couple of certain breeds we're curious about for next year. But would a shipped egg hatch too much to handle for a first hatch? Is a handful of months' time even enough to really prepare for our first hatch, or should we be set to at least a year before actually following through with our first hatch?
Thanks ahead of time for your experiences and advice!
I forgot once until a week had gone by. It was okay, though.
