Don't get too hung up on this stuff. The guidelines are just that, general recommendations, not laws of nature. They are there because something can happen, not because it absloutely, without fail, every time will happen. It can happen. Many of us violate some of the guidelines, either on purpose or by accident and still do pretty well. Just do the best you can.
If you follow every guideline to the letter, you are not guaranteed perfect success. There are too many factors you know nothing about that can affect things. If you violate a guideline, you are not guaranteed absolute failure. You'd be surprised at how tough some of those eggs and chicks are. All the guidelines do is improve your odds of success. If you violate a guideline your odds drop some. Which guidelines you violate and how badly you violate them will alter the odds differently, obviously. Some people do something "wrong" and don't see any consequences. They think that guideline is rubbish. There are some myths on this forum, I'll agree, but in general the guidleines are there because something bad can happen and has for some people. Not that it happens every time to everybody, but that it can happen.
The guidelines say to not open the incubator during lockdown. I've shrink-wrapped chicks doing that, so it can happen. But I did not shrink-wrap every chick that had not hatched. Sometimes I don't shrink-wrap any. I don't open the incubator during lockdown unless I have a reason. I understand I may or may not be hurting another chick, but you do what you need to do and deal with the consequences.
Not turning the eggs during the incubation period can cause problems, but there are many stories on here where people did not turn them for a time and still got eggs to hatch normal chicks. Not turning them for a few days can cause a problem, not that it absolutely will or that it usually will. It can, and the longer the eggs are not turned the greater your odds of a problem, but there are no guarantees of problems.
I suggest if you make a mistake, carry on the best you can. Things happen. Try to learn from it. For you, I'd suggest maybe marking the eggs clearly when you put them in the incubator so you can tell at a glance which one belongs where. Different colored sharpies writing the date you set them maybe?
If you follow every guideline to the letter, you are not guaranteed perfect success. There are too many factors you know nothing about that can affect things. If you violate a guideline, you are not guaranteed absolute failure. You'd be surprised at how tough some of those eggs and chicks are. All the guidelines do is improve your odds of success. If you violate a guideline your odds drop some. Which guidelines you violate and how badly you violate them will alter the odds differently, obviously. Some people do something "wrong" and don't see any consequences. They think that guideline is rubbish. There are some myths on this forum, I'll agree, but in general the guidleines are there because something bad can happen and has for some people. Not that it happens every time to everybody, but that it can happen.
The guidelines say to not open the incubator during lockdown. I've shrink-wrapped chicks doing that, so it can happen. But I did not shrink-wrap every chick that had not hatched. Sometimes I don't shrink-wrap any. I don't open the incubator during lockdown unless I have a reason. I understand I may or may not be hurting another chick, but you do what you need to do and deal with the consequences.
Not turning the eggs during the incubation period can cause problems, but there are many stories on here where people did not turn them for a time and still got eggs to hatch normal chicks. Not turning them for a few days can cause a problem, not that it absolutely will or that it usually will. It can, and the longer the eggs are not turned the greater your odds of a problem, but there are no guarantees of problems.
I suggest if you make a mistake, carry on the best you can. Things happen. Try to learn from it. For you, I'd suggest maybe marking the eggs clearly when you put them in the incubator so you can tell at a glance which one belongs where. Different colored sharpies writing the date you set them maybe?
