incubating newbies

[hunter1hall]

Happy to report that i just hatched 11 out of 13 eggs. 9 of them were cuckoo marans and the other two were light brown leghorn bantams. I just want to say that its not as difficult as some would have you believe. I had several spikes in temps, and humidity issues, but dont give up. When I first moved them into the hatcher, my temp spiked to 103.5 for at least 12 hours. They are in a forced air incubator, so i was certain they were cooked. I just lowered the temp, and waited it out. I kept the humidity between 60 and 72%. I did this by spraying water mist through the vent hole on top. It worked like a champ. Anyway, this is my second hatch and I just wanted all the newbies to know they can do it.

 

[Wynette]

Congrats on such a good hatch! Yes, 103.5 for 12 hours likely would have killed most embryos, depending what stage they were in. So, I think you were really lucky! It's always a good learning experience, regardless, in my opinion!

 

[TamiHunter]

Thank you for the words of encouragement! I am always thinking is there something else i SHOULD BE DOING? Or, am I doing everything ok? This is my first time and have 7 in. Put them in on the 23rd and candled them this morning. They are fertile but see no veins or anything like that. I'm so worried about EVERYTHING...

 

[Wynette]

Don't "over" candle, TamiH - you really can't see much at 3 days, especially if you're new at candling. Goodness, I don't candle before day 5 because it's really just too difficult to see anything. I candle on day 5, 10, and then again on 18 when I turn the turner off.

If you make sure your temps are consistent, and humidity is consistent, you have air flow to some degree via vents, and they are getting turned as they should, that's pretty much all you need to do for the first 18 days!

 

[mstricer]

Quote:
Darn that means no sense in me candling mine then,

 

[hunter1hall]

I candle when I move them to the hatcher for lockdown. It keeps you in suspense, and will probably make you crazy, but I think it helps in the long run. The less you mess with em, the better off you are.

On a side note, turns out the last cuckoo marans egg hatched yesterday while I was at work. That makes 12 out of 13! I hope I can duplicate this success in the future!

 

[Junkmanme]

hunter1hall,

PERHAPS you would like to add YOUR input to the following thread.....?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=247080