Incubating/hatching Newbie with a brief question ...

[Sequin]

... I have one SS roo and hen and would like to try incubating/hatching some of their eggs - but how do I keep the eggs until I have the number I want to put in the incubator? Like, if I want to try a hatch of 6, how/what do I do with the egg(s) I collected on day one? Thanks so much for any and all suggestions and advice. I really want to learn how to do this and increase my flock with some of my own stock if possible.

 

[emvickrey]

I collect eggs for a week then put them in the bator. I keep them in egg cartons in a cooler room. One we don't heat. But not cold like the fridge. I also lean the carton one way, then when I turn the eggs in the bator I go in the room and lean the carton the other direction. I do this every time. I write the date on the top with a pencil and who it came from. I have a coding system you might say.

Then when they are put in the bator on day 7 sometimes day 8 I record the date and which eggs went in by the date and code on the egg. I record the time I turn them and the temp and wet bulb in the morning, I also make notes like temp drop due to weather change. I also keep track of when I add water and when I add more to bring up humidity for a hatch. You can find the documents in "Incubating and Hatching Eggs", and you can find that here at BYC. I would start with the home page. I do a chart for every hatch. If I didn't I couldn't keep up with which hatch when.


Oh, store the eggs big side up. That's where the air cell is. Keep it top side. If you can't tell use a strong flash light in a pitch black room. Shine it through the egg. The end that looks hollow is the air cell.

Good luck