First time incubating! Excited/Nervous!

[redonthehead]

We're in day 16. We originally set 15 eggs. We've got a home made incubator and just set a day's worth of eggs, not knowing if any were fertilized. More than anything it's just been an experiment to see what would happen. After candling we're now down to 6 eggs that are actually producing something. We're definitely excited to see what comes of this, but we're also wondering I guess what to expect. I believe as of day 17 or 18 we no longer have to turn the eggs, but what happens after that? When should we expect to see some action? What are your best tips/suggestions for when they start hatching?

They're just "mutt" chickens as we have such a variety of chickens... we have no idea which of our roosters even did the job... I do have 2 Americana eggs set, and my daughter said she saw "Buff give Blackhead fertilizer", so we should in theory end up with a cross of an Americana/Buff Orpington. I'm really excited/nervous to see what happens. I hope at least one of them hatches!

Anyway, thanks for reading!

 

[ScissorChick]

Welcome to BYC!

On day 18, also known as 'lockdown', you should stop turning the eggs, up

the humidity around 60-70% (some have better luck with lower humidity, &

others with higher) and keep the incubator closed. You should expect some

peeping and chirping around day 20, and some pips and zips on day 21-22.

Some are late hatchers, so don't worry about it if they're a bit late.

Good luck!