How long do you let your Brinsea 20 run before adding eggs?

[hd_darcy]

I have never hatched before, and I'm so excited

I turned my Brinsea Eco 20 on about 3:30 today. I'm wondering if I could add my eggs before bed? Should I wait until morning. I would prefer to be able to put them in tonight because in three weeks exactly it is my birthday! I would love chicks on my b-day

My temp is staying steady at 99.6 as well.

Thanks!

 

[Denninmi]

I have the Brinsea Octagon 20 Advanced -- basically the same unit, I believe, just a little fancier controls.

The manual that came with mine said to let it run one hour before setting eggs, IIRC.

 

[mediazeal]

I have added eggs as soon as the temp and humidity seemed right.
It's a sweet machine
good luck with your hatch

 

[hd_darcy]

Thank you for the response! My temp dropped a lot as I was placing the eggs in there. Of course, I wasn't too "speedy" since this is my first time. I hope it's okay.

Boy, it's going to be a LONG 21 days!!

Thanks again!!

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

All's well. The eggs can handle up to several hours of cooling. Just try not to open too often for humidity sakes, especially the last 3 days. HAPPY HATCHING!

 

[hd_darcy]

Okay, got it! I will only open to add water... I'm not even sure if I will attempt to candle at all. Could I just skip that part? I think I would be too nervous handling the eggs! LOL..

 

[rpower]

hd_darcy :

I'm not even sure if I will attempt to candle at all. Could I just skip that part?

I would not skip this. Candling allows you to monitor many things including the egg fertility, embryo development and weight loss rate. By being able to identify and remove non-viable eggs (infertile or early death) you can also avoid the risk of a rotten egg exploding and contaminating your hatch with dangerous germs.
And candling does not harm your eggs. Just as the mother would naturally leave the nest for a short time each day, you can safely take your incubating eggs out of the incubator for the few times you will be candling them.
During incubation the air sac size should increase as moisture evaporates from the egg. Eggs need to loose about 13% of their original weight during incubation. If your humidity level is about right, the air sac should increase at different days of incubation according to the diagram shown here.
If the incubation humidity is too low (very dry conditions), the air sac will be larger than normal and the humidity in the incubator should be increased to reduce the rate of water loss. If the air space is smaller than normal then the opposite applies. and don't be nervous. you will do just fine. Good luck!! Keep us updated!