Incubating for the First Time in 15 Years...

[ColtHandorf]

Well this should be a fun journey. After about two weeks of settling in my Silver-laced Orpington pair have begun laying. She went four days and took two off and has laid two days in a row. I’ve gone ahead and set all six eggs. I wasn’t sure how well she’d lay so I set the first three and the fourth egg the following day. I went ahead and added the two new ones today. I may add two more and then I’ll probably stop as the hatch will be massively staggered at that point. I’m hoping if I let her keep some eggs she might go broody and hatch a set on her own. Of course that will cut down on her production, but I’m also in the process of obtaining another larger incubator and then some more hens. So I’m hoping that will help out as well.

I’m using an Rcom 10 incubator. It’s quite fancy. I borrowed it from a friend who wasn’t using it at the moment. It’s maintaining a steady temp of 99.5 and humidity fluctuates between 45-50% humidity. I’d have to check but I think I’m on I’m on day four? I don’t have the date in front of me. Conveniently the incubator has multiple settings for different types of birds so I set it to chicken and programmed the temp and humidity. It turns the eggs well and everything seems to be off to a good start. I’ll probably wait until this weekend to candle eggs. I tried to mark the air cells, but the shells were too dark to even make them out so I won’t be weighing them or gauging the humidity through air cell growth. The incubator has successfully hatched chickens though so I’m confident that if he is actually fertilizing her when he’s mating I should have a couple of cute chicks in a few weeks.

The incubator is programmed to stop turning he eggs on day 18. Is it advisable for me to continue hand turning the straggling eggs until they’ve reached day 18 or will they be ok not being turned? I understand 60% humidity is desired for hatching. Should I just ramp it up to 60% at the appropriate time for the first four eggs and hope for the best? Or is there a better way of doing it?

Anyway, I’ll do my best to keep the thread updated regularly as I go along. It’ll be a re-learning experience for sure.

Out of curiosity, when is the earliest I can expect to see any development in the eggs? I think I used to candle on day 10 and 16-17 way back when.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The incubator is programmed to stop turning he eggs on day 18. Is it advisable for me to continue hand turning the straggling eggs until they’ve reached day 18 or will they be ok not being turned?

Turning the eggs has two main benefits. It helps prevent the yolk or developing chick from coming into contact with the inside of the porous shell where it could get stuck and die. Turning also helps body parts form in the right places. By two weeks of age all body parts have formed (but may need to grow some more) and a membrane has formed to protect the chick from that porous shell. That's a good thing because the chick will soon be big enough that it will touch the shell. What this means is that those late eggs do not need to be turned.

I understand 60% humidity is desired for hatching. Should I just ramp it up to 60% at the appropriate time for the first four eggs and hope for the best? Or is there a better way of doing it?

Personally I prefer a higher humidity for hatching but 60% may work for you. A lot of these things are opinions and personal preferences, often based on experience but also often based on what we've read. Try it and see what happens. When the first one hatches the humidity may climb anyway from that additional moisture.

The purpose of controlling the humidity during incubation is that the egg needs to lose a certain amount of moisture through that porous shell before hatch. But during hatch that same membrane that protects the chick from touching the inside of that porous shell can shrink around the chick if it gets too dry, which prevents the chick from hatching. Humidity during incubation and during lockdown (especially after external pip) is important but you can write a book on that.

The good thing is that nature was nice enough to provide a fairly large window on how much moisture needs to be lost during incubation. In your staggered hatch I don't know how much moisture will have been lost in your early eggs or later eggs but I'd up the humidity when those first eggs need it (which is the majority of your eggs) and hope it works out for the later eggs. It probably will.

Out of curiosity, when is the earliest I can expect to see any development in the eggs? I think I used to candle on day 10 and 16-17 way back when.

It depends on how dark your egg shells are, how good your candling equipment and technique is, and a bit on your experience. With white eggs and good equipment you can probably see something at 3 days. With my green eggs I often can't see anything for sure at 7 days but usually I can tell if they have started developing. Some of that is gut feel from experience rather than seeing anything specific. You can candle them any time you wish, as long as you keep your hands and equipment clean and don't drop one and crack it you will not hurt them. Maybe find out what the earliest is for you by trial and error?

 

[ColtHandorf]

Thank you so much. That was very informative. I knew the reasoning for turning and humidity but the why was interesting. The eggs aren't horribly dark. But they are certainly not white. I used to bred Pendesencas, Marans, and Welsummers and they aren't that dark obviously but candling something not white for the first time in that long surprised me when I couldn't even see an air cell. I'm used to candling finch and parrot eggs that are white or a light cream.

As of this morning I'm on day 17 so I'll probably let it go another three or four days at least. I'm dreading the disappointment of none of them being fertile. While the birds were at a friend's house we set all of her eggs but none developed. I'm fairly certain he wasn't actually breeding her though as she was in perfect feather. When I picked them up the loss of feathers on her back heavily indicated that he was breeding her and I witness it multiple times a day since they've come home. So they are doing everything right. I even cracked open the last egg she laid at my friend's and it appeared fertilized to me.

So far the incubator is holding quite steady and rapidly, within a couple of minutes adjust for temperature and humidity the few times I've had to open it. It's so much nicer than the Little Giants I've used in the past, but I do miss my GQF Sportsman. lol

Edited to add: I should have mentioned I'm using an IncuBright candler.

 

[ColtHandorf]

Things are still cooking right along. Temperature is holding steady at 99.5 degrees and the humidity floats around 45% at it's lowest to 52% at the highest.

Now I remember how loooooong 21 days feels like since I can barely stand waiting ten days to candle. I think it's too soon now, but I might take a peek Sunday which would be day seven.

She did not lay an egg yesterday, so I'm glad I put the last two in the incubator. I'm getting a pair of American Buff Geese tomorrow and hopefully the incubator their "parents" have if they can find it. So I should be able to set another clutch as well as the goose's eggs she's laid at her new home.

 

[aart]

I think it's too soon now, but I might take a peek Sunday which would be day seven.

Well, you could candle a few...I usually do days 7-10-14-18 and trace air cells..
..but I had some wonky air cells when candling prior to setting so checked those and a few others, got to see 'spider' veins and a heartbeat on day 4.

 

[ColtHandorf]

So I couldn't stand it and I candled the two oldest eggs and could for sure see a heartbeat in one of them when I got home from work on Friday! I figure I'd wait until today or tomorrow to candle everything. The brown shells certainly make it harder to see what I'm looking at though. The finches and the other hookbills have certainly spoiled me with their white shells.

I also picked up a pair of American Buff Geese this weekend. She laid an egg in the car on the way home and her old owners gave me the two eggs she'd laid over the weekend. They also gave me their Little Giant incubator so I could artificially incubate them. I'm not sure what I should do with them. And they desperately need to be cleaned up. She laid the first two in the mud and rolled the newest one through her and her hubby's poo in the kennel.

 

[ColtHandorf]

I candled over the weekend and all six eggs are fertile and developing. I'm quite excited to see fluffy butts starting to hatch out Sunday if my math is right.

 

[aart]

Mine are due in a few days.

 

[ColtHandorf]

My how time flies. I peeked at the incubator and realized the digital display says 2 after counting down each day from 21 since the incubation started. It even adjusted the humidity on it's own (as it's programmed to do) from 45% (or so) to 65% yesterday when i got home from work. Everyone send good hatching vibes and hope that I get some little chicks. I'm so nervous all over again.

 

[aart]

I'm so nervous all over again.

It's nerve racking for sure.
Hang in there, Have Fun!