Hey everyon, here is my light Sussex and buff Orpington at day 9, will candle them at day 13 and keep this post apdate, this is my first hatch ever, let me know your thoughts and advice, thank you xx
My suggestion is to keep track of heat and humidity so you can better evaluate your hatch. I don't know if you calibrated your thermometer or hygrometer to confirm how accurate they are, they are not always real accurate. If you can without disturbing the hatch it might be a good idea to do that so you know what you are dealing with. Or do it after the hatch. You don't have to candle, a lot of people don't. It does nothing to help them hatch. But it is fun and educational. I generally candle on Day 7 and again when they go into lockdown. I do not discard any eggs at day 7 but do toss the clears as I go to lockdown to get more room in the incubator for hatch. It reduces the clutter. I would not discard anything when you candle at Day 13. Get a hatch under your belt before you start doing anything dramatic like discarding eggs based in candling. Get your brooder set up by lockdown so you are not scrambling at the last minute. You don't have to put food in but try the waterer to see if it leaks. You are probably going to be stressed, most people are. It's still exciting for me no matter how many times I've hatched. Things probably will not go exactly as you expect. Some may be early or late. Some may take a long time after they pip to finish hatching. Instead of panicking which doesn't help anything at all, come on here and ask people about it. A lot of the time it is not really a problem. If it is there are some experts on here that can help you through it. Good luck with the hatch, it should be a fun ride.