A few weeks ago I started collecting eggs to put in the incubator. They sat on my kitchen counter in a basket for a few days, depending on when they were collected. I do free range my chickens, so it's also possible they sat in a nest outside for a day or two before being collected, although I know where most of the nests are. I have a couple of broodies, but they are setting on nests in the coop, nothing that was collected from the incubator came from a nest with an actively sitting hen.
The eggs were put into the incubator the Thursday before Memorial Day weekend. So image my surprise today when I went in to check the incubator temperature and found 2 chicks running around in there. 1 is completely dried and fluffed, probably hatched yesterday. The other is dry but not fluffed, probably hatched this morning.
I know it's been warm here, but is it possible it was warm enough for these eggs to actually start incubating outside the incubator? That's the only thing I can think of, considering it's been 16-17 days (depending on if you count the day I put them in) since I set them, I wasn't even going to put them into lock down until tomorrow.
I have on occasion found eggs that were laid in a nest that is only in the shade part time, I've actually cracked open a few duck eggs (they drop them in the weirdest places) that had started to cook from being in the sun. The first time it happened it freaked me out, but then one day when collecting eggs I picked one up that wasn't just warm but hot to the touch, and realized what was happening.
Has anyone else ever heard of something like this happening? I candled a couple of days ago and tossed the ones that weren't developing, some were fuller/darker than others but I didn't really think anything of it.
The two that couldn't wait to meet the world. The one on the right looks like a BLRW, I believe the one on the left is a SLW but I have eggs from my Wyandotte and layer flocks in the incubator and didn't bother to mark which was which since I'm keeping all of them, and currently both flocks are free ranging so ...
The eggs were put into the incubator the Thursday before Memorial Day weekend. So image my surprise today when I went in to check the incubator temperature and found 2 chicks running around in there. 1 is completely dried and fluffed, probably hatched yesterday. The other is dry but not fluffed, probably hatched this morning.
I know it's been warm here, but is it possible it was warm enough for these eggs to actually start incubating outside the incubator? That's the only thing I can think of, considering it's been 16-17 days (depending on if you count the day I put them in) since I set them, I wasn't even going to put them into lock down until tomorrow.
I have on occasion found eggs that were laid in a nest that is only in the shade part time, I've actually cracked open a few duck eggs (they drop them in the weirdest places) that had started to cook from being in the sun. The first time it happened it freaked me out, but then one day when collecting eggs I picked one up that wasn't just warm but hot to the touch, and realized what was happening.
Has anyone else ever heard of something like this happening? I candled a couple of days ago and tossed the ones that weren't developing, some were fuller/darker than others but I didn't really think anything of it.
The two that couldn't wait to meet the world. The one on the right looks like a BLRW, I believe the one on the left is a SLW but I have eggs from my Wyandotte and layer flocks in the incubator and didn't bother to mark which was which since I'm keeping all of them, and currently both flocks are free ranging so ...
