My First Batch?

[Ringtailtwister]

I set my first batch of eggs 10 days ago started out with 36 eggs and here is how its went so far. Got home one of the largest eggs was broken down to 35. About 6 days in I dropped the lid and broke another large egg. It was very fertile with eyes already developing. Both where RIR and that left me 10 RIR and 24 Buff Orpingtons . Today is day 10 and I just candled them and the BO's don't look very fertile.(WORRIED) One was infertile so I got rid of it. How long can I keep them out of the incubator without it hurting/killing them?
Nervous?

 

[CascadiaRiver]

Minimal time out of the incubator or none at all is best, and if taken out they need to be kept warm.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I set my first batch of eggs 10 days ago started out with 36 eggs and here is how its went so far. Got home one of the largest eggs was broken down to 35. About 6 days in I dropped the lid and broke another large egg. It was very fertile with eyes already developing. Both where RIR and that left me 10 RIR and 24 Buff Orpingtons . Today is day 10 and I just candled them and the BO's don't look very fertile.(WORRIED) One was infertile so I got rid of it. How long can I keep them out of the incubator without it hurting/killing them?
Nervous?

I've always used 1/2 hour as a guidline to candle and get the eggs turned and incubator closed back up. A mother hen leaves her nest and does her business on a daily basis. Some of your more advanced incubators are and have added a cool down function to mimick this period in the natural process. I think most have an hour cool down period, but keep in mind that when you have the incubator open and the eggs out they cool down faster.

 

[kuchchicks]

x2. One thing that I do when my bator is really full I will pull out 10 eggs at a time, leaving the rest in a closed incubator. I will place them in an egg carton, candle those, return them to the bator, and grab the next bunch to be candled. This way the bator stays warm and there is limited time the eggs are out.

 

[Ringtailtwister]

Thanks for the replies they will help. I'm going to water candle them on day 16. I saw video on YouTube that showed how to do it, so I think I'll try that before lockdown.