First time doing this from scratch....

[LaneyAngel]

I have hatched ONE egg in my incubator previously... so, I'm not a first timer at all....

But the first egg had a chicken sitting on it for 10 days until she decided she didnt want to do it anymore, so I incubated...


This time around though, I got the eggs (not knowing whether or not they were even fertile) on the day of hatching from my only laying hen, Cosette.

So, they've been in the bator since day #1.
I've been candling them every 2nd day or so to see what I can see.

Eggs were laid on February 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th respectively....
The two eggs from the 11th and 12th I just today have seen signs of life, veins and a little black dotty eyeball. The other two, nothing yet.

Now I know your basic chicken hatching time period is 21 days. Is that 21 days from the day they were laid.... 21 days from when they started being bated, or 21 days from now, when I can see veins and baby eyeball.

How often do I rotate the eggs, whats a good amount of times per day? All that stuff.... since this time around, we're going from scratch.

 

[katrinag]

Starts the day you put them in the bator. If you put them in late in the afternoon count the next day as 1. You can hand turn 2-3x a day.
Keep the temps stable.

 

[gallo34]

21 from now...in the future...if you decide to store eggs until you get a clutch...store them in a cartoon...with the point down...this will help you keep from putting an egg in the bator...everyday and having different sized chicks...under the brooder...the larger chicks will tend to bully the younger ones...most rotate eggs twice a day...

looks like you are having some fun...good luck

 

[LaneyAngel]

gotta love conflicting answers.

 

[Snakeoil]

Turn your eggs three times a day, I use to turn in the morning, as soon as I got home from work and then right before bedtime. You can mark them with a pencil using an "x" and a "o".

 

[LaneyAngel]

Can anyone else confirm either of the above answers?

 

[katrinag]

This might help you.
http://www.msstate.edu/dept/poultry/hatch.htm

 

[Chickapooh23]

Quote:
Start counting the day you put them in the incubator. That day is 0, the next day is 1 and so forth. Mark them with an X and an O and turn them 3 times a day.

I am a little confused. Did you start them all on the same day or did you put them in the incubator each day as they were laid, with a staggered start day? You should be able to candle them on day 7 and get a good idea of what is going on unless they are dark or green/blue eggs.

 

[LaneyAngel]

They got put in each day as they were laid.

Mostly around the same time each day (there is a set time each day I go feed the chooks and stuffs)... but yeah, 4 days in a row, 1 egg went in on each day.

 

[momofdrew]

my hen went broody with one egg... I put 2 eggs more under her the next day and then 2 more the next day eggs and 2 more the day after that...I got 3 hatches one a day for 3 days so each one was 21 days to hatch...1 egg cracked second week 2 were not viable and one was still born...having a broody hen is different then having a machine do the work...