March Hatch-Along Thread- Come Hatch With Us!!!!!

[RoosterMoose]

Hi! did you let your eggs sit pointed end down overnight- or atleast for 8-10 hours before setting them? I ask this b/c all I've done is shipped eggs and this does help them. Also set them pointed end down in the bator w/o turning for the first 5-7 days- helps the air cells settle & chick to develop. You might also want to have your humidity a little lower that 50 for the first 18 days... just passing along some tips I learned from the folks on here that helped me

Appreciate the tips! And yes I did let them sit in the egg cartons for about 8 hours to stabilize. I do have some knowledge incubating from my past farming and FFA days, but this is my first time actually doing it myself and I did a bit of research online and that's what led me here to BYC My wife say's I've become obsessed with chickens LOL

 

[redriver]

[COLOR=4B0082]what % of humidity do you like to keep?  Days 1-18 I don't add water unless it goes below 20%. During lockdown I crank it up to over 65%[/COLOR]

Mine got down to 20%. Added water and it jumped up to 70%! It is down to 59% after a couple of hours. Debating what to do, if anything. Suggestions?

 

[SilkieRose]

Hey All! Rolling over from February, too ! I started lockdown tonight!!!

!!!! My grandma gave me 2 blues, 2 greens, & 1 brown egg... Who knows what might happen?! I haven't candled them once

! Hoping for the best!!!

Happy hatching everybody!!!

 

[ladyrsanti]

Back again. I candled the eggs. As expected, I couldn't see into the EE or BCM eggs at all or not enough to be helpful. Only one egg looked unfertilized of the ones I could see, which is good. My candler must not be great because I couldn't see veins. Guess I should find something better.

QUESTION ABOUT WEIGHING.

I've taken detailed notes on the weights of the eggs. What percentage of weight lost is average for 7 days, 14 days and 18 days? I know you're supposed to lose 13% overall. I got an average of 3.7g lost which works out to 6% lost at 7 days and wondered if that's normal. The air cells that I could see changed considerably but because I've never done this before, I have no idea if it's normal.

Then, what about oddballs? I had one egg lose 7g and the egg next to it lose 1g (remembering that the average is 3.7g). What does that mean?

 

[hokankai]

I look to get around 11-13% lost by day 18. 5-6% on day 7, 10+% on day 14, and 11-13% on day 18

Some eggs have thicker shells which hinders water loss.

 

[Cynthia12]

Mine got down to 20%. Added water and it jumped up to 70%! It is down to 59% after a couple of hours. Debating what to do, if anything. Suggestions?

Are you on lock down? Or just starting..lock down..keep it around low to mid 60's. 59 is good.

If just starting out..you don't want the humidity that high. Get it down to the 20's to mid 30's. Some don't even use water during the incubation. Just keep lifting the lid until it goes down.

 

[ladyrsanti]

I look to get around 11-13% lost by day 18. 5-6% on day 7, 10+% on day 14, and 11-13% on day 18

Some eggs have thicker shells which hinders water loss.

Awesome! Thanks a bunch

 

[redriver]

Are you on lock down?   Or just starting..lock down..keep it around low to mid 60's.  59 is good. 

If just starting out..you don't want the humidity that high.  Get it down to the 20's to mid 30's.  Some don't even use water during the incubation.  Just keep lifting the lid until it goes down. 

No. I am only on day 5. It is super dry where I live, so my goal is to keep it around 35-40%. It is hanging at 59% still, with all the vent plugs out. I think I am going to leave it and weigh my eggs on day seven. That will tell me how I'm doing, and if I need to keep it totally dry the rest of the incubation, or not.

 

[hokankai]

Ahhh, just checked the bator...99.7 water temp and 35% humidity. Perfect!

I hate the waiting part. LOL

 

[PugBug]

I'll be here! I just wont be setting any eggs for a week yet.

I want ducks too! Where would I put them though? I have been looking at the mandarins. They are so pretty! There's a guy by us that is selling them... he wants a FORTUNE!

It was mandarins I first wanted, they are so beautiful- but I've read they are not so friendly or easy to tame- calls on the other hand are both... I might end up w/ none the way it's looking - IF not I'll just put more fish in the pond