Need advise and tips

[planewhisperer]

We will be getting six Cream Legbar eggs Friday. We have a incubator with all the bells and whistles. Can you tell us in details of the operation and process of putting eggs into incubator, during hatching and after hatching. Thanks

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Sounds like your incubator is the set it and forget it type, lucky you!

Ok, if you're collecting your own eggs for hatching, store them big end up in an egg carton and turn them 3 times a day (or any other odd number of times). Most say not to hold hatching eggs for more than a week, but I've got 2+ week old eggs in my incubator right now that are doing what they should so I guess that's up to you.

If you've had eggs shipped, they'll need some time to settle before going in the bator. Same way, fat end up. Don't turn them, just let them rest for 12 or so hours.

When choosing eggs to hatch, you want eggs with good shape. Obviously they should be clean as well. I try to candle mine before I put them in, and discard any porous eggs. If they're porous eggs, the shell will show a bunch of little spots when you shine the light to it. Anyway, the idea is to set only the most "perfect" eggs so they have the best chance to hatch possible.

I'm assuming you have a turner, so you don't need to bother with turning by hand. Pretty much all you need to do is watch humidity and temp on days 1-18. You can candle if you'd like to see how the eggs are progressing and remove any quitters or infertile eggs. You can also mark the air cells with a sharpie or pencil to track their progression. Day 18 is when most "lockdown". You'll up the humidity in preparation for hatching chicks. If your bator has more than one air plug, you'll want to pull it so the hatchlings get the proper amount of oxygen. Lockdown means just that. That bator should stay locked up tight, only open it in an emergency. Any early hatchers can spend a couple of days in the bator waiting on the others. They've got a built in food supply, so they'll be fine.

Once your eggs have hatched, you'll move the chicks to their nice, warm brooder (which you've hopefully set up before hatch date). They'll need their crumbles and fresh water available at all times. You can add save-a-chick, powdered vitamins, ACV or whatever to the water if it floats your boat. Its also a good idea to dip their beaks to show them where the drinker is. Don't be surprised if they don't eat much at first. Like I said before, they'll be working on that built in food supply (yolk). They'll also sleep alot, just like any other new baby. They'll stay in their brooder until they're fully feathered, then its off to the coop with them!

I'm sure I probably left something out and there are always tweaks to be made depending on your location and set up (for example, my humidity might be higher or lower than yours, so that may cause me to do some things that might not work as well for you). There are guidelines, but its a sort of learn as you go thing. Most importantly, HAVE FUN! ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE! AND JOIN A HATCH ALONG SO YOU DON'T DRIVE YOURSELF CRAZY AND CHEW OFF ALL OF YOUR FINGERNAILS

Good luck, happy hatching!!!

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Oopsies! Double post!