Thank you so much - very excited about this new adventure in chickening
Thanks for the Welcome! I am really wanting a higher percentage this go round - just like all of us!
WOW 80%!!! I am really impressed by this!!!
Taking a stab at this. Here's my theory. When a hen sits on the eggs she rotates the eggs outward and then back in again. So the ones at the center are pushed outward and the outside eggs are pushed towards the center. This way the eggs are all exposed to various temperatures throughout the incubation process and in the end it pretty much equals out. Even though we maintain a constant 99.5 (hypothetically speaking) I would think the eggs towards the center are going to be warmer, even if only by a slight degree, and the ones towards the outside will be cooler. When we turn the eggs we shift the position that they are in but do not move their actual position in the bator. They stay in the same area of the bator for the entire process. I may just test this theory on my next hatch to see if it has any effect on the hatching time.
I go into lock down at the start of Day 19.
My first time and what the breeder (who I bought the incubator from & gave me some of his eggs) told me to do was day 18 and sure enough, just about on the mark at day 19 I had my first hatch out. He called it right in saying the speckled sussex tended to hatch at 19 days, all three ended up hatching before day 20. My two welsummers hatched out during day 20 and the langshan hatched out day 21. I assume, him be a very respected breeder with lots of expereince knew "his" chckens and/or breeds. My understanding from him was that there is kind of a norm per breed or at least he knew his breed lines and the norm. for them.
