How many eggs have you guys successfully left in lockdown for hatching in a Brinsea 20?
We are on our second hatch for 2012. In our first round (January) we started with 21 eggs, pulled about 4-5 blanks, and hatched 8. So this time around we did as I've read many of you do and packed our Brinsea Octagon with 31 eggs. Of those, 16 were long distance shipped eggs and 15 came from our hens (half we were unsure if fertile). We expected to pull several.
Well... we are on day 15 and we have only pulled 4 eggs...
Of the remaining 27 eggs, eight are very dark Marans eggs that we have yet to be able to candle well enough to judge them confidently, so like last time around, we're giving them the benefit of the doubt and leaving them in (most of those are ones we were pretty sure were going to be fertile anyway, we've hatched off that hen before and she's the rooster's favorite lady). The remaining 19 all have positive development and movement.
Holy moly.
Thankfully I will have some extra helping hands next weekend for hatching, since we may not have a choice but to carefully & quickly pull chicks out of the incubator as they hatch and dry to make room for the rest.
But I'm curious to know if anyone else here has had a good hatch with a full Brinsea? And how did you manage eggs/chicks on hatch day? (without a second incubator)
We are on our second hatch for 2012. In our first round (January) we started with 21 eggs, pulled about 4-5 blanks, and hatched 8. So this time around we did as I've read many of you do and packed our Brinsea Octagon with 31 eggs. Of those, 16 were long distance shipped eggs and 15 came from our hens (half we were unsure if fertile). We expected to pull several.
Well... we are on day 15 and we have only pulled 4 eggs...

Of the remaining 27 eggs, eight are very dark Marans eggs that we have yet to be able to candle well enough to judge them confidently, so like last time around, we're giving them the benefit of the doubt and leaving them in (most of those are ones we were pretty sure were going to be fertile anyway, we've hatched off that hen before and she's the rooster's favorite lady). The remaining 19 all have positive development and movement.
Holy moly.
Thankfully I will have some extra helping hands next weekend for hatching, since we may not have a choice but to carefully & quickly pull chicks out of the incubator as they hatch and dry to make room for the rest.
But I'm curious to know if anyone else here has had a good hatch with a full Brinsea? And how did you manage eggs/chicks on hatch day? (without a second incubator)