Hatching Marans Eggs

[Seth_12]

I am planning on hatching some marans eggs and I heard they can be tricky hatching in a incubator. I have a Brinsea Mini ii EX that has a automatic humidity pump. The humidity is what seems to be the big factor in hatching these. What is your experience hatching marans?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I haven't hatched any, but i know they're usually a pain to try and candle because they're so dark colored

 

[ShannonsChimkens]

I think the struggle with them is the candling part. I normally try to candle with other eggs before day 10, but they always seem to be in question until about day 14/15 or so. That’s when you see the much darker “area” in 3/4 of the egg. At that point, you can tell which are clears and pull them if needed.

Edited to add about humidity. I have hatched them with a bunch of different types and I don’t pay much attention to humidity. They hatch very well for me in about 35%, no water added for 18 days. The draw down of the air cell seems to be spot on where it should be just before hatching. Every home’s humidity levels are different though.