Incubation question :-)

[KatrinaFox02]

Hello, this is my first post but I have been a "lurker" for a year or so. Last year I tried to hatch my own eggs twice - the first time was a disaster in that 8 out of 8 eggs started to hatch but appeared to my unskilled eye to not be progressing. One died in the shell, so I helped the others. Only 2 survived my assistance -() and they died after a week. My second attempt wasn't much better due to only 2 of the eggs being fertile, then one died as before and the other I helped and it died a week later.

This year I have been ready lots and lots and come to the conclusion that I should leave them the hell alone once day 18 comes and I don't need to turn them. My question is this: I started incubating them in the evening on day 1, which means that day 21 is sat eve. Are they likely to start hatching out saturday evening or more likely t be sunday? They are a mixture of silkie and pekin bantams eggs.

I know it's probably a daft question, but I am over-excited again this year and want to make sure I get it right this time. I only have a tiny Brinsea mini-eco incubator and the fan thingy is quite loud so I can't here any peeping from the eggs, but I don't want to take them out and listen like I did last year.

Thanks for reading

 

[Bill 101]

You've answered your own question

Yes, they could tart hatching on Saturday evening & yes, they could hatch Sunday.

In reading your results from previous hatches, maybe a better question id What is temperature & humidity supposed to be.

I would guess from a couple words you use (daft & Pekin Bantams) your are located in the E.U. The point being that you can give us temp & humidity in Celsius & we can convert if necessary.

 

[KatrinaFox02]

Yes am in the UK.
My incubator is so basic it has no humidity gauage, humidity is just controlled by filling either 1 or 2 chambers with water. I did try using a digital hygrometer last year but it was difficult to find a suitable place in the incubator for it, and the readings always seemed to be nonsense. The incubator temp is always a very steady 38 oC - it seems to hold its temp very steady. I have been truning the eggs 3 times a day for the first 18 days. I candled at day 10 and again at day 18 and discarded 2 out of the 8 eggs which were infertile. On day 18 I could clearly see tiny chicks in the eggs and movement. As I said, last time I listened for peeping from the eggs so I knew they were ok, but I think my interference in taking them about of the incubator to hear them might have contributed to their hatching probs. That, and I probably didn't give them anywhere near long enough to hatch by themselves.

I do worry about the humidity, and considered putting a couple of small soaked sponges in to help, but obviously this means opening the incubator and with it being so small (only hold 8 tiny bantam eggs) I understand that opening the incubator makes the humidity drop so much that it takes hours to build back up.

 

[Bill 101]

Because I've never used a still air or basic incubator before, all mine are forced air, I don't feel qualified to suggest what temp or humidity to use. Perhaps someone with that type experience will see this post & respond

 

[jimbowk]

I just got an incubator and am going to give it a shot, my daughter is real excited. I was wondering about the statement you made about opening the incubator and that bieng bad for the eggs. would that not be the same as the hen getting off of eggs? Our hen hatched one egg a few months ago, she got off the eggs for a good half hour once and a while and the chick was fine.

I'm just trying to get tips for when I incubate eggs. Mine is not a forced air also,

jim