our 1st incubation journey

[Predoggg]

We decided to try out to incubate chicken eggs this year after raising successful day old chicks last year. We also are adding are rare breed to our flock. The forum is a great help about incubation and helped overcoming the hesitation of incubating. We decided to buy the nurture right 360 and the Brinsea Maxi. Our current flock is 8 hens and a Silverrud Isabar Rooster.

We decided to do the first hatch with the nurture right. A lot of information is here on the forum. It was easy to put together. It came quick up to temperature and the humidity took a bit. We set the eggs on 3/3 and by today is the humidity stable between 48 to 52%. We observed that the incubator increases the humidity to higher level and then lets it go down. We check the water several times a day and top of as needed. We were first concerned that the humidity was not at the manuals level but thanks to the forum here are we more relaxed and understand that too high humidity is worse as a temporary lower one (especially in the beginning).

We are looking forward to the 7 day candling. We are already looking at a lot of pictures to train our eyes and remember what we need to look for. Found out the hard way that blue/green eggs are a lot harder to candle as brown. Luckily did we way each egg as we set it.


Looking forward to hear your 1st time hatching egg stories and advise. Good or bad.

So far we like the Nurture Right 360 incubator. Definitive will try out the Brinsea too and will report on that.

 

[sourland]

Good luck for a successful incubation/hatch.

 

[Predoggg]

Day 4 update: Slowly getting excited to candle the eggs and see. Getting harder to control it and letting the incubator do its work.
The temperature on the incubator display is steady 99.5F and the humidity shown is 48% to 55% steady. Humidity seems to stay steady in this range now. The room temperature is about 70F and 48% humidity. It came up a little when the rain came in.

 

[My15Ducks]

Good luck! It’s so exciting waiting for candling day

 

[Predoggg]

We candled and we are sure one is fertile and we even saw it moving. The brown eggs will I candle on Monday. The blue ones could I not see any and they don't smell, so they stay in for now.
With time change will I weight them tomorrow to check if the weight loose is on track. Definitive plan to do the smell check in couple days on the questionable eggs.

 

[-Flash-]

Good luck!!!

 

[Predoggg]

10 days left to hatch and I candled again. The eggs I suspected to be not fertile were not fertile and I took care of them. The blue eggs can I not see anything so we did the smell check. No smell so far and they are back in. Currently are 4 eggs in and we had to take care of 4 off them.
As the weather gets warmer will we watch our chickens more to see whom the rooster mate with. He got 8 ladies.

It is getting harder to control the temptations. So far we check the water on the incubator several times and it is around 48 to 54% humidity even when the room humidity drops into the 30's.

 

[Slothinc]

So exciting!! It is so hard to wait! I hope your 4 eggs do well!

 

[Predoggg]

We are in lockdown now and it gets harder and harder not to mess with the eggs. 24 hours left and humidity on the incubator shows 65%. No peep sofar. We check regular on the incubator and for sure more often as we approach the hatch day.
If even only one hatches, do we have some day old chicks on the way.

Let's hope all goes well and the incubator does its magic.

 

[Slothinc]

We are in lockdown now and it gets harder and harder not to mess with the eggs. 24 hours left and humidity on the incubator shows 65%. No peep sofar. We check regular on the incubator and for sure more often as we approach the hatch day.
If even only one hatches, do we have some day old chicks on the way.

Let's hope all goes well and the incubator does its magic.

Oooh keep us posted!! You’re in the exciting lockdown window now! Won’t be much longer!!!