Incubating different embryonic stages in same incubator

[ChickenNuggie]

I need a lot of advice. I have two broody hens in my coop, and it turns out that one was sitting on three eggs that are in different stages of development than the ones we gave her. At some point, other hens have snuck into her box and laid some eggs and we were unaware. Drat!!

That said, on candling tonight before “lockdown” I removed the ones that were not quite hatch ready, shoved them in my bra (I do NOT have the bosom for this) and moved them to an incubator in my kitchen. Problem is, they look to be at various stages. We may have one closer to day 18, one about day 14-ish, and another around day 7 to 10. This was all estimated via candling and observing lighted space, vascular/embryo development, movement, and air sac size. I’m looking for advice on how to manage the hatch. Without knowing exactly when their dates are, we won’t know when to lock down the bator. The younger eggs will still need to be turned, but the older one is supposed to be still with increased humidity until hatch day. What happens if I stop turning the older one now, but it’s only at day 16 instead of 18? What happens if I continue turning it with the younger ones? This is foreign to me, as I’ve only ever loaded eggs of the same age and incubated from the start. Any and all advice is appreciated.

 

[chelseachook]

We may have one closer to day 18

I would leave that one under the hen.
And put the other two in the incubator. I would do lockdown for the older egg at day 18 like normal but open the incubator every so often to turn the younger egg. Doing it that way may decrease their chances of hatching but it's better than leaving them under the mum to eventually be abandoned. Hope all goes well .

 

[mcdze]

just leave it locked down from the start, and leave the turner on ... ive been doing staggered hatches as a norm lately since my rooster is getting unpredictable in his performance .. hes getting replaced soon .. but ive not had any issues doing the above .. it might depend on your turner is the only issue, i guess its possible they could get injured but so far, i havent had injuries doing it ..