Ok, so I lied - I said I was done candling, but I had to check one last time.
As of today out of 50 eggs I have 32 that are for sure at the same point of development. The rest I am unsure of, but they don't stink, so they stay. I found a couple that I had thought were clear that, today, actually turned out to be developing like the good eggs. That is why I'm not pulling any of them out right now.
8 of the good eggs are large cochin, most of the rest are Shelley's eggs (I picked up at her house) and a few are mine. The majority of the clear looking ones are from my hens.
Now, I have had chicks out of my Roo before, so I'm thinking that if they are not fertile that maybe it is because he isn't "catching" the girls because they all free range, now, or perhaps (Mooney, for instance) is just too fluffy butt for him to get the job done properly. so to speak.
Or, maybe he just slowed down for the winter also
.
My average temps thus far have been between 99 and 102 - only time they dip below 99 is when I open the top for some reason.
The average humidity is a bit more fluctuated - 39 - 50. I am not as concerned about humidity, a this point, as I was about temp, though. I've read on here about dry incubation, and I've had folks tell me to make sure the humidity is just right - so who do you believe?
Thursday is when I stop turning. I'll be taking the ones out of the egg cartons then and laying them on their sides and upping the humidity.
If I do get all 32 to hatch I will consider it a huge success -- more than I expected. If only 20 or so hatch, I'll still be quite pleased.
Meri
