First time incubating ;-)

[RoosterFish]

I bought my 8 year old daughter a Little Giant #10200 and an automatic egg turner yesterday Mar, 12 2013. Today we put 41 eggs in it I don't know who is the most excited me or her. Any and all advice is more than welcome and appreciated. I can tell this is going to be a long 3 weeks ??? Will any of them hatch? How many? Have I wasted 41eggs we could have ate / gave to neighbors or friends ? If they don't hatch I will have to go buy baby chicks while she's at school and put them in her incubator. Please remember our eggs in your prayers ! ( lol )

 

[brezlynsmom]

Watch the humidity. Candle around day10

 

[RoosterFish]

Humidity ? It has three cups built into it and directions said keep water in them ? Will that work or do I need to do something different ?

And you say candle around day 10 , will do. My ? Is can you candle brown eggs?

 

[tec27]

click the link for the "learning center" at the top of this website and read everything in it.

 

[RoosterFish]

Lost power yesterday at 3 pm it is almost 30 hours ago temp is 64 in the incubator I plan to clean out in the am and try again when we get power!!!

 

[melodie_a]

Oh dear! So sorry about your hatch. I am sure you are terribly disappointed.

 

[maryhysong]

Lost power yesterday at 3 pm it is almost 30 hours ago temp is 64 in the incubator I plan to clean out in the am and try again when we get power!!!

If your eggs have only been in a few days and if they don't get any colder that 50 or so I think you still have a good chance at hatching. I would at least leave them in until they have been with heat for 7-10 days (that is don't count the day or so without heat). Then candle and see if any of them made it. Eggs are miracles and often manage to do things we don't think they can do.

I have not had this experience myself but read here on the forums about incubating eggs for 3-5 days as normal and then cooling them off and shipping them, the incubation being finished at the final destination. Apparently this is very successful and it helps 'set' the air cell so that it isn't damaged as much in transit.

 

[RoosterFish]

Today is day 20, Sunday I took the eggs out of the egg turner and layed them on the wire mesh and today I looked in the viewing window and seen to of the eggs moving and then I noticed I could hear baby chicks I can not wait for my daughter to get home from school she has been so excited about this since we started and just last night she told me she was going to be a good chicken mommy and we didn't plan it but Friday is her 8th birthday how lucky !!!!

 

[CedarAcres]

That is so exciting! I've never hatched any myself, although I really want to!

 

[Daisy9696]

I have some questions! 1) What happened if you putnyour eggs into lockdown a day early?
2) It's day 22 and no pips yet, should I be worried?