Have I cooked my eggs in the bator?

[total newbe]

Hi Everyone, My son has a new incubator and it's very fickle. I'll set it for 100 degrees and it will be stable for a while and then go up to 105 degrees. It's happened twice now since we have placed the eggs in it. I'm afraid it's cooked our eggs. How much fluctuation can the eggs stand? Thanks!

 

[LoneStarHen]

I would say it depends on how long it was that high. I've had hatches where there were some 105 spikes and I typically have a great hatch rate. On my New Years hatch there was a huge spike overnight to around 110. I don't know how long it was like that, and I almost threw all of the eggs out. My incubator is usually pretty reliable and it's never done that before. However, almost all of the eggs hatched and they're all happy and healthy.

How long have the eggs been in there? You might be able to candle them and see if they are moving, depending on what incubation day it is.

 

[Crisses]

I've also had spikes and my batch hatched out fine. I figure that birds hatch eggs in the summer in really hot places (egg production DOES go down if it gets bad though) -- so as long as it doesn't get to a heat wave and stay super hot it should be OK.

What day are you on? Have you candled? I'd say you can see a "swimmer" around day 10 if you're patient. I candled eggs last night and the only one I didn't see moving around I saw a heartbeat.... I hold the egg still and move a light around the top of the egg (large end of the egg) until I see some action. lol

As long as you're gentle with the eggs, you can candle them even daily until lockdown. Momma hen gets off the nest to eat and drink as much as 1 time a day....

 

[total newbe]

Thanks so much for the response. Today is a week. All my eggs 30 or them are either Amaracana or Welsumer. As i understand it candling does not work well on them. I was worried so I cracket one of the eggs and it had a large white membrain kind of blob attached to the yolk. So it was definately doing something. This is our first time doing this so if it doesn't work out we'll just try again in 14 days. Happy Hatching, Whitney

 

[LoneStarHen]

I find that even in the green and blue eggs I can see the network of blood vessels. I can't always see the chick. I candle with a mag lite.