Hiring Someone’s Else to Hatch my Eggs?

[Adrien515]

Hey guys, I just ordered 12 BCM eggs and 6 Ameraucana eggs for the grand total of $110... that’s a lot of money!! I’ve only incubated a total of three times, the first time confusing humidity and temp, second time I left for a week and the person didn’t read the instruction, third time power went out and lost them all. So, I’m not really trusting my ability. Plus, I heard BCM eggs are harder to hatch then the average egg. I’ve been thinking about getting someone else to hatch the eggs for me.. if I do this, how can I figure out if they have a good hatch rate? More inportent, how much should I pay them? It’s 18 eggs, and they wouldn’t have to raise the chicks, just hatch the eggs. Should I five more money the more successful the hatch is?? Maybe a free chick or two? They’re good breeds. Where would I even find a person to do this?? I’m so anxious. If you think hiring someone is a bad idea, tell me why and maybe give me some advice to have an extra successful hatch of my own!

 

[Chickassan]

Ok, I'm not an expert on this but there's no possible way to determine if someone would get a good hatch rate or not just too many unknown variables. I'd not pay anyone too much to do it as if they have a turner the only labor involved is candleing and adding water and the only expense is electricity, so highball maybe 25 bucks? Advice for hatching your own. Make sure you have 21 to 23 days free of distractions. Have at least 2 thermometers and 2 humidity gauges in case one is faulty. Plug your incubator into a battery backup like they use for computers in case of power outages. Most importantly, read! Read all the incubator goof up stories on here you can stomach and don't repeat those and learn how or if it can be fixed if you do.

 

[lazy gardener]

I consider $25 to be a pittance. Even with the top of the line bator, there is the know how that goes into the venture. No, you should not pay based on the success of the hatch. The expert bator master can not work a miracle with an addled egg.

It's like paying the mechanic to work on your car. You pay him the big bucks not because he knows how to use a screw driver, but b/c he has the shop, the equipment, and knows which screw to turn.

Not to mention, the person you pay is giving up the use of their bator to hatch their own eggs. Essentially that person is giving up 3 weeks of profit he could make from hatching and selling his own chicks.

Personally, I would not order shipped eggs until I had become an expert at hatching local eggs.

 

[Kusanar]

There is someone near me that sells quail eggs and they will hatch them as well if you want. The way that they do it is that you pay for all of the eggs up front, then they put that many in the incubator, then once they have hatched, you pay a certain amount per chick, so you don't pay for any dead in shell chicks, but you did pay for the egg.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi...

Yes, I think hiring someone is a bad idea.

Reason being without knowing what kind of disease they have faced in their own flock or WHERE they may have hatched other eggs from... things like certain diseases can be inside the hatching eggs and pass to every subsequent hatch from that incubator.. is my fear. And for me... I WON'T put unknown eggs in MY bator risking the future of my own flock.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21809762

I hatch FBCM.. and they are NO harder than any other... just harder to candle (So I only candle at lock down to see if there is full development and air sack or blankness). Also, a power outage can happen to anyone. It can be dealt with if you are home and aware. If you are going to be away, make arrangement for a neighbor to call you if it happens. Use heat sinks. And don't set eggs when you know you're gonna be out of town for a week. My days aren't distraction free, but I KNOW I have the time each night to do what is needed. Yes, I think you spent too much for those eggs and at that price I would consider getting chicks when taking into account hatch rate after shipping and male female ratios and stuff. I hope they were at LEAST NPIP certified. Good for you for looking for good quality birds, I hope they are!

Make sure to rest your eggs before setting since they are shipped.

ttps://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/incubating-w-friends-come-hatch-learn-chat-w-hosts-sally-sunshine-bantychooks.1046313/page-5385#post-16540512

Run a "dry" incubation. I go around 35-40% humidity days 1-18 and 60-65% through hatch. Regardless of ambient humidity, that only effects how much water it takes to achieve your target inside the bator. Move the eggs to a new location inside the bator daily to ensure even development and combat temp variances.

An invaluable resource...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hatching-eggs-101.64195/

With some dedication... I believe you can do just as well as anybody else.. even if they have experience! I'm totally willing to help you try along the way and be as much support as possible, as I'm sure many others here will also.

I consider $25 to be a pittance.

You've always got me learning new words!

 

[Adrien515]

Hi...

Yes, I think hiring someone is a bad idea.

Reason being without knowing what kind of disease they have faced in their own flock or WHERE they may have hatched other eggs from... things like certain diseases can be inside the hatching eggs and pass to every subsequent hatch from that incubator.. is my fear. And for me... I WON'T put unknown eggs in MY bator risking the future of my own flock.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21809762

I hatch FBCM.. and they are NO harder than any other... just harder to candle (So I only candle at lock down to see if there is full development and air sack or blankness). Also, a power outage can happen to anyone. It can be dealt with if you are home and aware. If you are going to be away, make arrangement for a neighbor to call you if it happens. Use heat sinks. And don't set eggs when you know you're gonna be out of town for a week. My days aren't distraction free, but I KNOW I have the time each night to do what is needed. Yes, I think you spent too much for those eggs and at that price I would consider getting chicks when taking into account hatch rate after shipping and male female ratios and stuff. I hope they were at LEAST NPIP certified. Good for you for looking for good quality birds, I hope they are!

Make sure to rest your eggs before setting since they are shipped.

ttps://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/incubating-w-friends-come-hatch-learn-chat-w-hosts-sally-sunshine-bantychooks.1046313/page-5385#post-16540512

Run a "dry" incubation. I go around 35-40% humidity days 1-18 and 60-65% through hatch. Regardless of ambient humidity, that only effects how much water it takes to achieve your target inside the bator. Move the eggs to a new location inside the bator daily to ensure even development and combat temp variances.

An invaluable resource...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hatching-eggs-101.64195/

With some dedication... I believe you can do just as well as anybody else.. even if they have experience! I'm totally willing to help you try along the way and be as much support as possible, as I'm sure many others here will also.


You've always got me learning new words!

Extremely helpful!! But isnt 35-40% kinda low for humodity? And what do you mean by dry hatch?

 

[lazy gardener]

No, That IMO is what ensures a good hatch. Dry hatch is a bit of a misnomer. You don't run the bator completely dry. But you do run it dryer than what used to be recommended.

 

[Adrien515]

No, That IMO is what ensures a good hatch. Dry hatch is a bit of a misnomer. You don't run the bator completely dry. But you do run it dryer than what used to be recommended.

IMO?

 

[lazy gardener]

In my opinion

 

[Adrien515]

J

Hi...

Yes, I think hiring someone is a bad idea.

Reason being without knowing what kind of disease they have faced in their own flock or WHERE they may have hatched other eggs from... things like certain diseases can be inside the hatching eggs and pass to every subsequent hatch from that incubator.. is my fear. And for me... I WON'T put unknown eggs in MY bator risking the future of my own flock.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21809762

I hatch FBCM.. and they are NO harder than any other... just harder to candle (So I only candle at lock down to see if there is full development and air sack or blankness). Also, a power outage can happen to anyone. It can be dealt with if you are home and aware. If you are going to be away, make arrangement for a neighbor to call you if it happens. Use heat sinks. And don't set eggs when you know you're gonna be out of town for a week. My days aren't distraction free, but I KNOW I have the time each night to do what is needed. Yes, I think you spent too much for those eggs and at that price I would consider getting chicks when taking into account hatch rate after shipping and male female ratios and stuff. I hope they were at LEAST NPIP certified. Good for you for looking for good quality birds, I hope they are!

Make sure to rest your eggs before setting since they are shipped.

ttps://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/incubating-w-friends-come-hatch-learn-chat-w-hosts-sally-sunshine-bantychooks.1046313/page-5385#post-16540512

Run a "dry" incubation. I go around 35-40% humidity days 1-18 and 60-65% through hatch. Regardless of ambient humidity, that only effects how much water it takes to achieve your target inside the bator. Move the eggs to a new location inside the bator daily to ensure even development and combat temp variances.

An invaluable resource...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hatching-eggs-101.64195/

With some dedication... I believe you can do just as well as anybody else.. even if they have experience! I'm totally willing to help you try along the way and be as much support as possible, as I'm sure many others here will also.


You've always got me learning new words!

I have all my eggs, and I’m letting them settle. ITs been 22 hours so far in a short 2 hours I’ll set them in the incubator. A lot of people have recommended having the humidity between 30-40%... but I live in the south east of Texas and it’s pretty humid. My incubator has been running for almost a week, and not once has it gone below 45 or above 50. It likes to stay at 47% most of the time, dipping around 45-50%. How can I lower it?