Marion smith
In the Brooder
- Jul 23, 2017
- 22
- 18
- 44
So after reading so many threads and forums about the super strict guidelines for incubating eggs I finally started my first batch! I bought a forced air incubator from TSC and put 40 eggs in it over the course of three days. I opened the incubator many times to check progress and to replenish water. I checked on it every day once a day to make sure it was still working. This incubator also came with an auto turner. Eggs started hatching three days early. As the chicks got dry and fluffy I took them out and gave them to a gen who recently hatched out chicks about a week previously. Yes, I opened the incubator for fairly long amounts of time while taking fluffy chicks out even while other eggs were hatching and pipping . Yes the temperature dropped and the humidity dropped quite a bit during this time. Every day for over a week new eggs would hatch with no problem. We did lose one chick that was trying to pip through, another chick tilted the egg and it couldn't hatch and died in the egg. However we are going on 10 days after the 21 mark and we have five eggs left all of which are hatching as we speak. So, I hope this post is encouraging for those starting out, because it's not rocket science and they're not as fragile as a lot of threads make them out to be. We had man many fluctuations in temperature and humidity and all the chicks are healthy and doing great! Their adoptive mom takes them outside to free range every day! Want to see for yourself? I'm Milk and Honey Acreage on Instagram.
