- May 16, 2010
- 13
- 0
- 22
Well my 2 day old French Maran chicks seem to be doing OK but what I thought would be a pleasant experience - hatching my own eggs for the first time - was really stressful and I made quite a few mistakes; I would do things a bit differently next time (if there is a next time).
Only 3 of 8 hatched, the other 5 are still in the incubator, I'm going to give them a bit longer, you never know.
I wouldn't use egg boxes again - I had to remove the eggs and put them on a flat surface or they would have surely died. I didn't realise you weren't supposed to open the incubator in the final 3 days - but I opened mine loads of times. I also didn't realise how important the humidity issue was and I didn't monitor it properly. And the daftest thing I did was add 2 feral hen eggs 2 days after the first 6 because I found them lying were they going to be crushed. I doubt they will hatch now because of all the activity over the last few days.
Anyway, if anyone can learn from my experience, that would be great. I really should have read more on this site before attempting to hatch - I am certain the success rate would have been much higher.
Only 3 of 8 hatched, the other 5 are still in the incubator, I'm going to give them a bit longer, you never know.
I wouldn't use egg boxes again - I had to remove the eggs and put them on a flat surface or they would have surely died. I didn't realise you weren't supposed to open the incubator in the final 3 days - but I opened mine loads of times. I also didn't realise how important the humidity issue was and I didn't monitor it properly. And the daftest thing I did was add 2 feral hen eggs 2 days after the first 6 because I found them lying were they going to be crushed. I doubt they will hatch now because of all the activity over the last few days.
Anyway, if anyone can learn from my experience, that would be great. I really should have read more on this site before attempting to hatch - I am certain the success rate would have been much higher.
