Incubator for Shipped Eggs

[SilkieLoverFarm]

I'm late to this thread but I rather obsessively hatched chicks last year and I readily accepted every incubator that I found a good deal on, lol! You made a good choice on the Nurture Right 360 in my opinion, I now have 2 Nurture Right 360s, an IncuView, and a Hovabator, but I also used a Farm Innovators, Little Giant, and the dreaded China Bator. The order in which I just listed them is my personal preference, so even after trying all of the incubators out, the Nurture Right is still my favorite.

I primarily hatch locally sourced eggs but the one hatch I did in the Nurture Right with shipped eggs went better than expected considering many of the eggs I received had detached or saddled air cells upon arrival and I still had a 88% hatch rate and I placed them directly into the horizontal turner after allowing them to rest.

You might not be able to see the air cell as readily with fresh eggs because as the chick develops the air cell also grows and it lights up better.
I use a small high lumen flashlight for candling and it works fantastic.
View attachment 2010405

Ha! I love that you actually tried all those! Yeah I think the incuview was my other favorite option. I'm amazed at how stable the 360 is, the humidity stability is mind boggling to me. So awesome. I'm going to have to look at some little high power flash lights to see if I can candle successfully through the window. I'm at two weeks. Lockdown is coming soon. I think I'm going to try my next shipped batch lay down in the turners also. I tried the stand up egg carton hand turning tilting method this time around and I lost so many of them. I can't blame the method. I know it could have been shipping, I had a lot that developed and quit. Could have been the incubator fluctuation. Although the temperature seemed to be really stable. It's hard to say exactly what it was with shipped eggs and the bator I was using. The one that I was using however I have used on my own flocks eggs and it did okay. But it's definitely not rock-solid stable like the 360. I feel like with the 360 I actually have a good chance at a good hatch rate with shipped eggs now. Glad to hear you did!

 

[LynnaePB]

So I bought the 360. Lol. Love how stable it is! If this works this good, I might buy another down the road

Just tried candling through the window, not on lockdown yet. They're in the turner. But couldn't see the air cell at all. Tried 3 different lights that I use to candle. What light are you using? Do you angle a special way? I tried a bunch of different ways. Can you usually see the air cell while in the turner? Seems like in your pic, it's the same distance away.

Patience with eggs is not my strong suit.. lol

I hope it works really well for you, glad to hear you are liking it so far!

I find it easier to see the closer I am to the last few days of incubation (that air cell really lights up when it's bigger). I place the eggs fairly close to the window but yeah it's a similar distance to when they are in the turner (sometimes maybe a little closer). I do have to play around with angles a bit to get a good look inside.

I remember trying to candle throughout incubation through the window daily with some of my shipped eggs while in the turner. It kind of worked. You don't get a great view but it's enough of a view that during lockdown you can see internal pips pretty well.

I use a 500 lumen candler. I got it off amazon when I needed something that was small enough to candle quail eggs (it worked really well for those). The exact one I got isn't in stock anymore, I found a nearly identical one that is in stock but it's kind of hard to tell if it comes with a charger like mine did or not.

This is the one I got that isn't in stock unfortunately.

https://www.amazon.com/Powerful-Professional-Incubator-Rechargeable-Illustrated/dp/B07CZWKXG8

And this is the one I found that looks very similar.

https://www.amazon.com/Lifebasis-Co...=egg+candler+quail&qid=1579940347&sr=8-3&th=1
I really like my candler, it's easy to gently rest the end at the aircell while the eggs are in the turner without having to pick them up. With eggs from my own flock I candle daily like this with the lid off (during lockdown is usually the only time I candle through the window). I probably candle way too much but patience with eggs isn't my strong suite either and it's so interesting seeing them grow every day! I'm better about leaving my shipped eggs alone since they are more fragile. So far I've got a 100% hatch rate from fertile eggs the few times I've incubated eggs from my flock so I don't think the candling is hurting them.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

I just checked Amazon to share the link for my 1300 lumen flashlight but it's no longer available either! It's nice to get a multi setting one like this for if you ever get darker eggs because they're much harder to candle than Silkie eggs.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07F8QTB2N/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
They do still have a 1200 lumen flashlight available though.

https://www.amazon.com/Tactical-Fla...=sofirn+1200+lumen&qid=1579955746&s=hi&sr=1-3

 

[Matilda Belle]

I may sound like a @BrinseaUS rep (I’m not!!) but I swear by the brand. They are pricier than other brands but worth every penny. I’ve had 100% hatch rates every time. I have the 7 egg mini advance and just today purchased the 14 egg maxi. Can’t wait to start hatching more!

 

[Jedstar]

I just candled them last night and moved them over into the new incubator. So I'm trying to do the through the window method. Because honestly I hate having to wait and I want to know they're okay.. lol. But I also know that I shouldn't take them out again tonight and look at them again. So I'm trying really really hard, not to. Heh

Well just wait till lock down time and then put them down the bottom

 

[Jedstar]

It

Ha! I love that you actually tried all those! Yeah I think the incuview was my other favorite option. I'm amazed at how stable the 360 is, the humidity stability is mind boggling to me. So awesome. I'm going to have to look at some little high power flash lights to see if I can candle successfully through the window. I'm at two weeks. Lockdown is coming soon. I think I'm going to try my next shipped batch lay down in the turners also. I tried the stand up egg carton hand turning tilting method this time around and I lost so many of them. I can't blame the method. I know it could have been shipping, I had a lot that developed and quit. Could have been the incubator fluctuation. Although the temperature seemed to be really stable. It's hard to say exactly what it was with shipped eggs and the bator I was using. The one that I was using however I have used on my own flocks eggs and it did okay. But it's definitely not rock-solid stable like the 360. I feel like with the 360 I actually have a good chance at a good hatch rate with shipped eggs now. Glad to hear you did!
[/QUOTE yeah it is so hard to tell with shipped posted eggs. All depends on how well the seller wrapps and packages the eggs up.and the post workers. My latest hatch I hatched 9 RIR out of 12 that were posted from Mother Hen Australia. There packaging was so good. The other 3 eggs were 2 died inside and one unfertile. That was in my Janoel 48 automatic egg turner with humidity gauge and temp and days display.

 

[Jedstar]

So far I've only sexed bout 3 maybe 4 girls.

 

[NNYchick]

Ha! I love that you actually tried all those! Yeah I think the incuview was my other favorite option. I'm amazed at how stable the 360 is, the humidity stability is mind boggling to me. So awesome. I'm going to have to look at some little high power flash lights to see if I can candle successfully through the window. I'm at two weeks. Lockdown is coming soon. I think I'm going to try my next shipped batch lay down in the turners also. I tried the stand up egg carton hand turning tilting method this time around and I lost so many of them. I can't blame the method. I know it could have been shipping, I had a lot that developed and quit. Could have been the incubator fluctuation. Although the temperature seemed to be really stable. It's hard to say exactly what it was with shipped eggs and the bator I was using. The one that I was using however I have used on my own flocks eggs and it did okay. But it's definitely not rock-solid stable like the 360. I feel like with the 360 I actually have a good chance at a good hatch rate with shipped eggs now. Glad to hear you did!

Have you had a chance to try shipped eggs laying in the turner? If so how was your hatch compared to standing up in the egg carton? I’m getting shipped Ameraucana eggs next week and I’m not sure if I should start them out in a carton or just put them in laying in the turner.

 

[Happy Helper]

I just hatched 18 eggs this weekend. 13 were shipped eggs from Meyer Hatchery, 9 of them hatched. I put in 9 eggs from my chickens and all 9 hatched. The temperature was constant during the entire hatch. I had a little problem with the humidity but it was mostly my fault and now I understand what not to do when I go into lockdown. I over reacted when the humidity would not come up to 55% so I added too much water. I just love this incubator and I am ready to put in another batch tomorrow.

 

[NNYchick]

I just hatched 18 eggs this weekend. 13 were shipped eggs from Meyer Hatchery, 9 of them hatched. I put in 9 eggs from my chickens and all 9 hatched. The temperature was constant during the entire hatch. I had a little problem with the humidity but it was mostly my fault and now I understand what not to do when I go into lockdown. I over reacted when the humidity would not come up to 55% so I added too much water. I just love this incubator and I am ready to put in another batch tomorrow.

9 out of 13 is great for shipped eggs. Do you lay them in the turner or prop them up in carton?