How To Hatch Eggs and get a 90% Hatch Rate

[Sylviaanne]

The new way is to leave the eggs with the detached air cell big end straight up in the incubator. Two or three times a day, twist the eggs 180 degrees. Be very gentle when handling them though. Check them after two days to see if the air cells are back to normal. Leave them another day or so but start turning them normally after 4 days max.

Remember, this if only for shipped eggs with detached or very damaged air cells. If the air cells are fine, begin incubating and turning like normal.

Shipped eggs with air cell damage like that should be hatched at lockdown big end up in egg cartons.

Great! I will just turn off the egg turner for lockdown. Thank you for the information.

I didn't remember to set them in egg cartons and let them sit for, what was it? 24 hours before putting them in the incubator? I was so excited to get them that I just put them immediately in the incubator. Not in the egg turner. A few days later when the eggs in the other incubator with the egg turner hatched, I cleaned it and sanitized it and after I candled the eggs and found the floating air cells, put them in the egg turner. They have been in the egg turner since 6/22, at that time 17 days to hatching. They are due on 7/9. I know there is nothing I can do about the floating air sacks but I am worried about them anyways.

 

[ronott1]

Great! I will just turn off the egg turner for lockdown. Thank you for the information.

I didn't remember to set them in egg cartons and let them sit for, what was it? 24 hours before putting them in the incubator? I was so excited to get them that I just put them immediately in the incubator. Not in the egg turner. A few days later when the eggs in the other incubator with the egg turner hatched, I cleaned it and sanitized it and after I candled the eggs and found the floating air cells, put them in the egg turner. They have been in the egg turner since 6/22, at that time 17 days to hatching. They are due on 7/9. I know there is nothing I can do about the floating air sacks but I am worried about them anyways.

Shipped eggs will have a lower hatch rate--Shipping stress and poor packing will cause damage that the eggs have to repair. Detached air cells hatch at about a 25% rate. The special technique will help increase the hatch rate but will not get the hatch rate up to local not shipped eggs hatch rate.

I hope you have a great hatch!

 

[Sylviaanne]

Shipped eggs will have a lower hatch rate--Shipping stress and poor packing will cause damage that the eggs have to repair. Detached air cells hatch at about a 25% rate. The special technique will help increase the hatch rate but will not get the hatch rate up to local not shipped eggs hatch rate.

I hope you have a great hatch!

LOL Thank you but I don't expect to get more than 3 but more than that might hatch that have floating air sacks. I'm just not going to count them before they hatch. LOL

 

[MeepBeep]

I think everyone has to find out what works best for them and it can vary all over the place...

This year I can honestly say I have done none of the above besides getting my eggs locally or using my own, and I have a 94% hatch rate across chickens, bantams, peafowl and guinea fowl, all in a cheap foam incubator...

Going to try some mail ordered eggs shortly...

 

[Sylviaanne]

I think everyone has to find out what works best for them and it can vary all over the place...

This year I can honestly say I have done none of the above besides getting my eggs locally or using my own, and I have a 94% hatch rate across chickens, bantams, peafowl and guinea fowl, all in a cheap foam incubator...

Going to try some mail ordered eggs shortly...

Well, I appreciate the lady doing the swap with me but I don't think I want to lose so many eggs again so I very likely won't do it again. She said she thinks she will only get 7 out of the eggs I sent her. I will be surprised if I get that many. I just don't think I can trust the post office again.

 

[crtyjlee]

Any suggestions on ideal humidity levels

 

[ronott1]

Any suggestions on ideal humidity levels

Humidity depends on the eggs you are hatching and the air cell development.

You can use a chart or weigh them. Generally, Marans and other dark eggs need lower humidity, in the 30% range. White and eggs with less bloom do better closer to 45% or so.

This is an air cell development chart:

 

[crtyjlee]

Good to know. ..im on day 15 with white bantam eggs. My humidity has been between 35-45%

 

[ronott1]

Good to know. ..im on day 15 with white bantam eggs. My humidity has been between 35-45%

Perfect!

Temperatures are more important. If you have a fan forced incubator, it needs to be within one degree of 99.5 degrees. I set my Brinsea for 99.9. Get as accurate of a thermometer that you can find and try to keep the incubator in a place where the room temperature is stable. No drafts or direct sunlight.

At day 15, pull any plugs that are in the incubator. Ventilation is important at the end of incubation. I do not use plugs in my incubators and keep the vent all the way open on the Brinsea incubator.

 

[MeepBeep]

Temperatures are more important. If you have a fan forced incubator, it needs to be within one degree of 99.5 degrees. I set my Brinsea for 99.9. Get as accurate of a thermometer that you can find and try to keep the incubator in a place where the room temperature is stable. No drafts or direct sunlight.

I only use air temp to get a rough idea, as soon as air temp is in and around 99.5° I dial in and monitor incubator temps with a 'fake egg' from that point on... Since I have been doing a lot of peafowl this year it's a 4oz baby bottle filled with water (a little larger but not too much bigger than a peafowl egg) the nipple is installed backwards and it's a newborn nipple so it has a single hole... I can either leave the thermometer in there or take it out, the nipple seals back up pretty well it doesn't really leak at all, this bottle stays in the incubator 24/7 and I use that to monitor the temps vs air as it more closely mimics the average internal egg temps...