Help please :)

[kburen]

Hi everyone! I'm new here. I am a Kindergarten teacher currently getting help from the local 4-H to hatch chickens in my classroom for the students to see, (don't worry, all chickens hatched are going to a GREAT home where they will be loved and spoiled!). I have a slight problem, and need some help. 2 of us teachers have incubators and are hatching. The eggs are due to hatch next wednesday. As of now, I see NOTHING when I look in my eggs (by nothing, I mean no veins, no embrio...some I can see a darker area that appears to be the yolk). The 4-H woman came by today to check it out and agrees that "it doesn't look good". We decided what's best to do is to wait and see what happens next week. Several eggs clearly have the blood vein in them. Here's my guess about what happened: The day that we put the eggs in the incubator stayed constant temp. all day (and the day before). I think someone got into my room (a student) when the custodian was cleaning at the end of the day (we have several students who are either the child of the custodian or he babysits them) and turned the incubator up. When I came in the next morning, it was up to 110 degrees. I think they were "killed" at this point. The other teachers has been fine and we can see veins and embrios in her eggs...We've even watched them "kick" and move around! Totally cool if you ask me!!!

Anyway....I found someone who lives near me who has a rooster with his hens and was able to purchase a dozen eggs from him today. If I get them in the incubator tomorrow they should hatch 2 days before we get done with school. The problem is, I have to take the other eggs off the automatic turner thursday before we leave for a long weekend. I plan to hand-turn the NEW eggs before the others hatch (or we find that they really are "gone") but we're home for 4 days. I know they need to be turned daily....however, in the past other teachers have not had the turners and not been able to turn over the weekend and things have gone fine. Would 4 days be too long for them to go unturned without problems? I can beg for a key to get in and turn them at least twice during the 4 day weekend, but don't know if I can get it at all. Thanks for taking the time to read and help me out!!

 

[Guitartists]

From what I have heard others say, it's the first few days or so that is most crucial... but I have heard it done many ways.. turned x amount of times a day, not turned until day 3, not turned after day 3, not turned at all...lol

 

[CUDA]

If you can't tell they are good eggs by now, they aren't. I would scrap all the eggs that look bad, and if you have any that look questionable, put them in one of the other incubators. Then clean your incubator, and sanitize it, get it back holding temp, then put the new eggs in would be my advice. Good luck!

 

[kburen]

The 4H woman came by today and brought me another incubator for my new eggs. I plan to leave those in there and see what happens with the originals. The other teacher with hers will be giving me some (maybe a half dozen) of hers that are developed well in case mine are bad so that my kids can see them hatch. Fingers are crossed for my new ones in the new incubator!