Help. This is my last saving grace.

[PluckyJen]

Hi all. I lost my mother hen buttercup today. Rooster oveagressively mated and broke her neck. Breed. Silkies. Age almost 2 years.
Rooster is now gone. Mom is buried and I am sitting with 9 eggs mom was sitting on for the last week. I opened one egg as I was sure it was only a day or two but it's definitely longer. If I look at charts of fertile eggs growing. We are 1 week in. My neighbour's have loaned me an incubator to try save these eggs. I have never worked one. Help please. All the brilliant chicken dads and moms.i will post as many pics as I can. This has been lying in a shed rusting for quite some time. I managed to scrub the water trough for humidity. Can I just top it up by opening door or do I have to connect a hose to the inlet that's already on it. I want to keep it inside house thank u so so much in advance. Here's the pics

 

[nuthatched]

Have you checked out the website on the label for an instruction manual?

 

[PluckyJen]

Have you checked out the website on the label for an instruction manual?

I have one. We are busy reading through it. It's water damaged so the website might be an idea.

 

[BGcoop]

Personally I wouldn’t worry about the water hose and would just fill it manually (I am not familiar with that incubator though)

 

[PluckyJen]

So we don't have a screw in light bulb which it requires to work. It's 9pm here in South africa and stores are closed. Is there anything I can do to keep the eggs OK through the night? They were already cool by the time I got to them today.
I'll only be able to go out tomorrow morning to get a bulb.

 

[PluckyJen]

I know some people courier eggs across country so I'm wondering it they will be ok for the night. In a safe place

 

[gimmie birdies]

I know how you feel. I had a wonderful rooster who was an EE bantam roo. He was killed by 2 Full sized roosters. I grabbed a silky egg I knew he was the dad to. (from the fridge.) I put the egg under a hen, with 2 other eggs. I hatched all 3. ONly one was the baby of the EE bantam roo. I thought it was a rooster as it grew, because it would always attack my leg. Then one day SHE laid an egg. I picked her up and hugged her, and told her I loved her, and she never attacked me again.

 

[PluckyJen]

I know how you feel. I had a wonderful rooster who was an EE bantam roo. He was killed by 2 Full sized roosters. I grabbed a silky egg I knew he was the dad to. (from the fridge.) I put the egg under a hen, with 2 other eggs. I hatched all 3. ONly one was the baby of the EE bantam roo. I thought it was a rooster as it grew, because it would always attack my leg. Then one day SHE laid an egg. I picked her up and hugged her, and told her I loved her, and she never attacked me again.

Awwww. That is so beautiful. It's really awful losing our kids. Some roos are unpredictable beyond.

 

[PluckyJen]

So the incubator has an error problem. Something wrong with it. Using it anyway with a light,mug of water and thermometer. We on 37.5 to 37.8. Praying this works.

 

[BGcoop]

Good luck to you