Is hatching with an incubator only for the experienced? Can anyone do?

[Fudgie]

Just remember this ...... "Don't Open the incubator when they start PIPPING! DON't Don't Don't!!!!

We are researching this and have found(my DH is out of town this week while hatching is going on. We have had 30 of the 36 hatch and 3 were pipped when I left this morning and I think it is due to no one opening the incubator. DH cannot help himself he has to remove the eggs by opening up the entire incubator loosing heat and humidity.

NOW, with that said, I open up the window at the top and remove eggs when there seems to be no more room for chickies to move around but that is all , and I have noticed the heat and humidity do not take a nosedive during that time.

 

[clayhillcouple]

We bought a LG and Egg turner for the 1st 18 days. Then I built a Bator for the hatching phase from info that found here. So far we've hatched 10 R/R's and 4 Rocks and 1 Cornish Hen and 1 Peking Duck so far. Weds we should up to 19 more hatching. All from 4 R/R's hens-1 set of PR's and 1 set of Cornish Hens that we bought a year ago.

 

[Hens_And_Chicks]

If I could hatch a set of eggs with little knowledge and no experience and get 5 to actually live, anyone can do it. I'm on the earn as you learn plan and BYC is the greatest accidental link I ever found! I was researching a breed and opened a link and found this awesome board filled with awesome people!

I'm a confessed hatchaholic, in love with my chickens and chicks and currently have a bator FULL of eggs - I'm nuts

 

[countrybum]

Crazy4, not to persuade you not to buy eggs from ebay, or eggbid, but I have to agree with the one that said, buy from this site. I have purchased eggs from both, ebay and eggbid. One lady sent me eggs that as soon as I opened the box you could smell the rotting. I hatched out 2 of 12, when I emailed her the very next day and told her some were rotten, she went off on me like a bomb and told me they were all collected the same day. I have a very poor hatch rate from buying from those to, so just be careful.

I ended up buying what I wanted from the Cackle Hatchery and received my day old chicks, now I incubate my own eggs and have a 95% hatch rate, which is getting better with the warmer weather. I started hatching in January and a few of my eggs got to cold.

My best information to you is, buy your first chicks at a day old and hatch out your own eggs in the next 4 to 5 months. Buying over ebay, or eggbid is not a good thing. You can spend $30+ dollars for eggs and shipping and be lucky to hatch out 2. This is from experience. I spent almost $200 on eggs and shipping and have maybe 6 chickens to show for it. Even fertile eggs hatched, but the chicks died within a couple days. This was buying 6 or more eggs at a time and they usually send 1 or 2 extra.

 

[Fudgie]

Quote:
I totally agree. It seems the people on BYC really take care in packaging the eggs properly to avoid unnecessary roughness. Of course you cannot depend on the USPS to not toss them but if packaged correctly that is half the battle!

 

[pascopol]

Quote:
Shipping eggs is risky, no matter what the source.

Buying eggs on this forum is no different, they are still "shipped eggs" unless you pick'em up.

In any case if you decide to take risk of shipping eggs you need to know and trust your source.

The best is to incubate your own, but anybody needs to get started, or aquire new breeds etc.

Life is tough, especially for shipped eggs.

 

[jvls1942]

Quote:
I do not doubt that all the eggs were collected at the same time.

BUT how long did they lay in the nest outside before she found them???

 

[dancingbear]

Just a suggestion for "practice" eggs...see if you can find somebody local who has fertile eggs, and if you don't want to keep the chicks from thise, because they're not the breed you want, etc., maybe they'd be willing to let you have some fertile eggs to practice with, and take the chicks you hatch when you're done. Then you'd know you can do it, do research to correct any problems you might have, try more practice eggs, then order the more costly eggs of your preferred breed. BTW, BYC had a seller's index where you can contact members who sell eggs from different breeds. And here it is! https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=66038