Nurture Right 360 - My Incubation Story

[Toothpick]

I bought the Nurture Right 360 incubator a few weeks ago. It had awesome reviews on the Tractor Supply website, plus the local TS had one in stock so that's what I got. Back on June 25th I loaded up the incubator with 14 eggs. And so far it's going well. It has no problem holding the temp and the humidity. Very easy to set up too! I have been taking videos of the incubation process and just candled the eggs today (day 7). Out of 14 eggs I have 12 that are fertile. I'll candle again on day 14 and then no more. So far I'm having a lot of fun with this. That's the goal right!!?

Here are the videos of the set up, loading, and candling. I'll take another on day 14 and I'm hoping to get some of the pipping and hatching.

Cheers!

Setting up -

Loading -

Candling Day 7 -

 

[Toothpick]

Quick question -

When the chicks start to hatch at what point do I start removing them from the incubator?

As they hatch?

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

Did you open the "non fertile eggs"? The first egg you pulled looked ok to me. There were changes to the yolk. Try candling some fridge eggs side by side with the ones you're incubating. It makes the differences much easier to spot.

Sometimes embryo is located towards the center of the egg and difficult to see. Definitely do this in a dark room or at night. Brown or porous eggs are more difficult to see.

Excellent videos. Can't wait to see hatch day!

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

Quick question -

When the chicks start to hatch at what point do I start removing them from the incubator?

As they hatch?

When the hatch is complete and they're dried is the official answer. However many of us have been known to snatch them out quickly if they're causing a ruckus and bother the other eggs. You don't want the humidity to drop too much while doing this. Hence the blanket advice to leave them be.

 

[Toothpick]

No I didn’t open the them I just pitched them. Thanks for the tips! I’ll wait till night on day 14 candling. Which is coming up on Tuesday I believe.

 

[Toothpick]

Here’s Day 14 candling. I thought I would see the chicken a bit more in there but it’s just all dark. One egg even looks like it was moving which was cool. They also smelled which I wasn’t prepared for. Like rotten eggs. Not sure if that’s good or bad. All but a few seemed to have a big ole chicken in them. Hopefully they hatch!

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

You are correct. It's not good. They should have a mild scent or none at all. You eggs look ready clean. So probably none for yours.

Do a sniff test. Test each egg individually. You'll find the bad one easily that way. It needs to be pulled or it could easily explode and cause problems for the other eggs (bacteria).

This is an exciting hatch! Can't wait to see what you get. What types of chickens are you hatching?

 

[Toothpick]

Yikes! I’ll have to do that. I bet it was one of the eggs that didn’t show a lot of development.

I have a Rhode Island Red rooster. My hens are RIR, Delaware, and Black Australorp. I had a Delaware hatch 3 last year and they look exactly like they are RIR. Had another Delaware hatch 1 this year and it looks exactly like a Delaware, it’s a rooster too. I’m thinking of keeping it and getting some fertile eggs from it.

 

[Trimurtisan]

Hey there @Toothpick thanks for posting the action as it happens.
I just picked up the same unit last night for my first hatch. Best of luck with the rest of your hatching! I'll be tagging along.

 

[Toothpick]

So far its’ been great. Super easy to use!