June Hatch A Long

[Kris5902]

I’m so anxious to get home and check my Marans eggs! I think next incubation I will rotate the eggs in the turner for sure when I candle... like move the rows forward a few times to even out the average temperatures over the entire hatch? Could this help with cooler spots?

 

[Kris5902]

There can definitely still be hot and cold spots in an incubator. It's another reason why I like the Nurture Right 360 so much because it rotates the eggs all the way around the incubator so they aren't in any one spot all day.
There are definitely soooo many other possible factors. Heat and humidity are just the more common and easier explanations. Genetics play a role, bacteria, how long the egg rested before being set. All of these things have an impact.

Mine was one of the last eggs I gathered it was only three days old when it went into the incubator, my DIS and one shrink wrapped chick that didn’t survive (still don’t t know about the one I oiled before I had to leave...) were among the first of the ones I collected. I remember when candling that there was one with a distinctly more porous shell, looked a bit like #5 in @Knighstar679 pics, but with my most excellent 7yo helper I neglected to note which egg... though I’m thinking* it was my cup baby. So far I’m at 73% hatch rate though, so I’m fairly happy!

 

[CluckNDoodle]

I’m so anxious to get home and check my Marans eggs! I think next incubation I will rotate the eggs in the turner for sure when I candle... like move the rows forward a few times to even out the average temperatures over the entire hatch? Could this help with cooler spots?

I know some people do that. There are actually "sweet spots" in some incubators for better hatch rates. There is a picture somewhere in a thread that I've come across showing placement of eggs for the highest hatch rate, I'll see if I can find it but this would vary by incubator.
Overall everything stays more consistent in an incubator when it's full of eggs because they will start to give off their own heat and even moisture. After a certain point in incubation large hatcheries actually have a room full of eggs and focus on cooling rather than heating because there are so many developing eggs in the room that they actually increase the room temperature. That wouldn't apply to us but I thought it was pretty cool!

 

[Knighstar679]

Mine was one of the last eggs I gathered it was only three days old when it went into the incubator, my DIS and one shrink wrapped chick that didn’t survive (still don’t t know about the one I oiled before I had to leave...) were among the first of the ones I collected. I remember when candling that there was one with a distinctly more porous shell, looked a bit like #5 in @Knighstar679 pics, but with my most excellent 7yo helper I neglected to note which egg... though I’m thinking* it was my cup baby. So far I’m at 73% hatch rate though, so I’m fairly happy!

I can’t tell anything about #5 in those eggs. I am leaving them all in until Tuesday then I will pull the clears. I think my air cells got a little big for my first week. So I jacked up my humidity. I keep hoping they will get to the point I can put them in my side turner. I seem to get more even developing eggs with that.

 

[jolenesdad]

I have a Brinsea with removable turning trays and you can take the whole tray of 7 chicken eggs out. Super easy to switch them and rotate them back to front without even handling the eggs. I guess I should take note of that.

I’m so loving these white eggs I can peek in on without handling, I’ve barely taken an egg out so far this hatch. Last hatch I had to remove a tray at a time to candle all the eggs and I broke a developing marans egg at 10 days squeezing the tray.

That’s my one complaint with the ovation. The trays are tight for large eggs. I don’t see how they can really say they’re perfect for chicken and duck eggs. Several of my duck eggs wouldn’t possibly fit.

 

[jolenesdad]

I can’t tell anything about #5 in those eggs. I am leaving them all in until Tuesday then I will pull the clears. I think my air cells got a little big for my first week. So I jacked up my humidity. I keep hoping they will get to the point I can put them in my side turner. I seem to get more even developing eggs with that.

They look a tad larger.

I think by Tuesday you’ll be able to tell in number five. I’ve had a few porous legbar eggs that didn’t hatch but did develop and I could see the movement. I think they needed a humidity adjustment but I didn’t do it for them because the other eggs were spot on.

 

[two j farm]

I was ready for her today.

 

[Kris5902]

Ok, got home and as I worried I lost the shrink wrapped egg I oiled, the oil dried on, Husband didn’t re oil it, he was worried to open the incubator. And the poor thing was basically shellacked in place. Of my 7 remaining Marans eggs, from my probably too young but I tried anyway pullet, two are good, chirping and alive. One is shrink wrapped much like the last chick... not internally pipped yet... but with a dried out inner membrane. It’s my fault, I know. I have oiled it... it’s still very much alive, humidity and temp returning to 70% and good... how often will I need to re oil this chick? Is there anything else I should do?

You can see it’s still alive but I can’t see the beak at all... it looks much like the first one did. I’m almost done here, down to my last three eggs, the others all quit, not especially early but not particularly late. Considering how young mama is I’m not as surprised by this.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

I was ready for her today.

lol! I don't mean to laugh, because it's clearly necessary but the things we do for our chickens!

 

[Kris5902]

Should I try Saran Wrap over it or something to help keep it moist? Humidity is back to 76%. I have to get my sick cat home and medicate him and his sister (vet apt picking him up was why I was away) but then I’m going to come right back down