Magicfly/Janoel12 Incubating Maximum Eggs- Shipped

[CaptainCupcake]

So I decided to attempt hatching Shipped eggs off of eBay. I ordered Black Copper Marans and Bielefelder eggs. The Bielefelder eggs came in today (Friday), and the Marans will be in by Tuesday. They were supposed to get here the same day, but I guess there was a typo in the description on when the breeder was going to ship the Marans. I just have the one incubator, and i was planning on putting them all in together, as I've read other people were successful filling it up with the eggs on their sides. However, Now i'm reading that shipped eggs should be incubated standing up, and that I shouldn't turn them for the first 3 days of incubation?

So I'm wondering, do I incubate the eggs standing up & when/how do I turn them? And should I wait for the Marans to come in and put them in at the same time, or can I put the Bielefelder eggs in tomorrow (after they settle for 24 hrs) then add the Marans when they come in? (That would be 3-4 days later)

I've Cut up a couple egg cartons to help get the eggs to stand up (pic one), my only issue will be the automatic egg turner arm goes down too low (pic 2). I cant turn it off, so I'm going to have to lay a couple on their sides on that spot. (my tester eggs I used to see if it would work were from my own chickens lol).

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

Are the air cells badly damaged.?

 

[CaptainCupcake]

I candled them when I unpacked them and thought I saw a couple with saddle shapes, but I just candled them again, after 24 hrs rest, and I can’t see an air cell in any of them. They seem to be lighter on the pointy ends, but I’m thinking the shells aren’t as thick there.

 

[Evanloveschickens]

Have they hatched yet?

 

[CaptainCupcake]

Have they hatched yet?

Not yet. I had 6 make it to lockdown, and the due date is tomorrow. I had them in an upright position in the incubator all the way to lockdown (tilting 3x’s a day), and got nervous leaving them upright for hatching so they are on their sides. Only ever seen one of the eggs moving. Getting nervous because after lockdown, the temp in the incubator won’t get higher than 98 degrees, hovering at 97.5.

 

[Evanloveschickens]

Not yet. I had 6 make it to lockdown, and the due date is tomorrow. I had them in an upright position in the incubator all the way to lockdown (tilting 3x’s a day), and got nervous leaving them upright for hatching so they are on their sides. Only ever seen one of the eggs moving. Getting nervous because after lockdown, the temp in the incubator won’t get higher than 98 degrees, hovering at 97.5.

Uh oh, doesn’t sound very promising. Any updates? Sorry about that.

 

[CaptainCupcake]

Uh oh, doesn’t sound very promising. Any updates? Sorry about that.

one chick hatched a couple hours ago and another just pipped. I candled them last night before I went to bed and they looked dead. Did a float test on the four remaining ones who haven’t shown any sig of life, one looked like it might have been moving, so I put it back, and the other three didn’t move at all when I left it in the water for a minute. did some eggtopsies on the three, one looks like it died before absorbing any of the white or yolk, the second a
Had a very small air cell and seemed very watery. The third, I got scared because I’m not sure If it started to move or if it just moved weird so I put it back in the incubator

Ps- I know I shouldn’t mess with them so much but I had other eggs in the incubator with them and I’m always afraid ofbad eggs exploding. And I’m impatient.

the first three pics are egg 1, last three are the watery egg.

 

[Eggscaping]

So I decided to attempt hatching Shipped eggs off of eBay. I ordered Black Copper Marans and Bielefelder eggs. The Bielefelder eggs came in today (Friday), and the Marans will be in by Tuesday. They were supposed to get here the same day, but I guess there was a typo in the description on when the breeder was going to ship the Marans. I just have the one incubator, and i was planning on putting them all in together, as I've read other people were successful filling it up with the eggs on their sides. However, Now i'm reading that shipped eggs should be incubated standing up, and that I shouldn't turn them for the first 3 days of incubation?

So I'm wondering, do I incubate the eggs standing up & when/how do I turn them? And should I wait for the Marans to come in and put them in at the same time, or can I put the Bielefelder eggs in tomorrow (after they settle for 24 hrs) then add the Marans when they come in? (That would be 3-4 days later)

I've Cut up a couple egg cartons to help get the eggs to stand up (pic one), my only issue will be the automatic egg turner arm goes down too low (pic 2). I cant turn it off, so I'm going to have to lay a couple on their sides on that spot. (my tester eggs I used to see if it would work were from my own chickens lol).

View attachment 2191743View attachment 2191744

Here is my experience from ordering 8 Swedish Flower Hen eggs from EBay. I got 8, all 8 hatched. I had a constant temp of 100 in incubator, humidity fluctuated all over the place until lockdown, at which point I held it at 75%. Candling didn't help much, I posted the pics here and some opinions were that only one egg was good, the others were dead. But as stated, all 8 hatched.
Depending on your incubator, you put the eggs in however they fit. If you have an automatic egg turner, that probably puts them on their side, as the eggs have to be turned side to side to stop the chick from getting affixed to one side so it can't move in the shell. Remember, the mama hen turns them a lot.
I wouldn't put eggs in at separate days, you can hold eggs for a time so there's no rush unless your shipped eggs are old. My incubator put the eggs on their sides, where one side (the heavy side) was slightly raised - a natural position under a hen. If you are turning the eggs yourself, you have to do it at LEAST 3 times a day - more is better. You'll do better, IMHO if you have all the eggs due the same day. Less nail-biting.
It's not that you shouldn't turn the eggs for the first 3 days of incubating, it's that you should give them a "no turn" waiting time after shipping to let air cells settle. Once you're incubating, you should turn them.
My air cells were all over the place, some I couldn't even see when I candled them so - don't assume that they're not viable. As stated, all mine hatched. Good luck!

 

[CaptainCupcake]

Ended up with 3 total Bielefelder chicks out of 10 eggs. 2 hens and a roo. The egg I had cracked open and was nervous was still alive, wasn’t. It probably died around day 14 or so. Now I just have to wait and see how many Marans hatch in 2 days. Those ones I didn’t touch as much lol

 

[Evanloveschickens]

Do you guys recommend this incubator?