How to start with fertile eggs?

[Kimbroe1981]

I'm going to pick up 2 laying hens today and their eggs are fertile. I thought it would be cool to try and hatch a few eggs as a summer project this summer for my 6 year old boy (I also have a 2 year old girl). We already have chickens, but no roosters, so I thought this would be a fun and exciting experience for the kiddos. The lady we're getting the hens from is also giving us her incubator since she's downsizing her flock.

What do i need to do to get these eggs to hatch (turning, temp, humidity)?

How long do I have until the hens are not fertile?

How long can the eggs sit out before putting in the incubator?

How long does it typically take to hatch?

Thank you in advance for all your answers and comments!

I can't wait to get my 2 new girls!!

 

[sumi]

This should answer some of your questions:

Incubating & Hatching Eggs Important Topic Index - Please Review

Enjoy your chickens and

 

[Kimbroe1981]

Thank you for the reply!

I'm so excited. The incubator she gave me for free is the little giant 9200!! She also gave me 18 fertile eggs from her girls. There's all different mixes in there. I can't wait to see what I got! Hopefully in 3 weeks we'll have some new babies.

 

[sumi]

Wow, that's a nice gift! Good luck with your first hatch. Don't hesitate to ask if there's anything you're not sure about. Hope you get lots of chicks!

 

[Kimbroe1981]

Well just candled the eggs. Today was day 7. Most of them were very porous and had the ring of death on them

. 3 of them were not fertile, and 4 are still in the incubator

. The 4 we left in there had some veins in them and little black spot (i assume is the eye) but they weren't moving. We decided to keep them in the incubator to see if they grow. If nothing comes out of these eggs, we'll actually go to a breeder and get a few and try again. I'm not real sure what the ring of death means or the extremely porous eggs. Maybe someone can shine some light on that subject! Thank You.

 

[sumi]

Sending good hatch vibes

 

[Kimbroe1981]

Well, Poop! I'm pretty sure the last 4 eggs are dead. I kinda thought they were on Sunday, but decided to keep them in the incubator anyways. I got disposed of 2 of the eggs today that I was certain were gone. Left 2 in there, but there are no veins in the eggs and no movement from inside. Will check them again in a couple of days. If nothing, will dispose of them. I'm so upset, even more so then my kiddos. On the upside, my 2 big girls that I got (from the same lady that gave me the fertile eggs & incubator), they've been producing an egg about every other day. Yay! So thankful for that!

 

[sumi]

Oh no!

Get some fertile eggs somewhere and try again? Glad you're getting lots of eggs though

 

[Kimbroe1981]

I just ordered 12 Americauna Eggs off ebay from a lady who has a hobby farm and 100% positive feedback. I should be getting them next week.

 

[sumi]

Good luck! I really hope it goes well for you this time.

Keep us posted.