Thanks for the advice everyone... I am currently trying to digest the thread by Sally Sunshine... it’s a lot of info, great info but a lot... but the info on the egg sack confirms what I see in the partially grown eggs that just up and died and never matured, saddle I think it’s called the shape when candled. Wow on the hydrogen peroxide... going to hit YouTube... was there a dilution ratio. I was already thinking they needed to be sprayed before being put in... just wasn’t sure best solution. The temp/hygrometer device, ordered one to try out in an incubator... ultimately I will need for all three machines, so trying to figure out best designs for different incubators. Do you all weigh the eggs? And if so what sort of scale should I get?
Correct temp and humidity are vital, and most gauges are not accurate and can change. The best thermometers are the metal probe type, it fits perfectly in the vent hole of the Styro incubators, and it can be easily calibrated. Just about any hygrometer can be calibrated also. Do calibrate them before each hatch.
I clean my incubators before and after each hatch. I soak the styro incubators in bleach, it doesn’t deteriorate the foam at all, they are a good ten years old now and still going strong lol. The plastic type incubators should be as easy. The cabinet gets a good wiping down when I can, it stays running so I do my best after each hatch to wipe it down.
I tried weighing, but I prefer to not handle the eggs so much, in fact, my best hatched are not candled at all until day 18. But a gram scale is pretty cheap, and eggs need to lose about +-13% of their weight. I tend to go by air cell size to determine if my humidity is on track. I also incubate at 30-35%, works well for me.
Shipped eggs are always a challenge. If you receive eggs that are only 3-4 days old, you will have much better luck. The air cells are very small so they don’t dislodge as easily. So many people think it’s ok to collect eggs for a week or more and then ship because it’s fine to hatch 2 week old eggs. When hatching your own eggs that is true, but the shipping is so damaging to larger air cells that it hugely reduces their viability. A good question to ask any breeder is, how many hens do they have laying. Someone collecting from 2-3 hens will be shipping your dozen+ with much larger air cells than someone collecting from 12+ hens. I can easily collect a dozen or more eggs in one day, so I know my eggs are fresh when shipped. There is always the disgruntled postal worker that drop kicks the box marked fragile, that is not the norm tho. And packaging can make or break (literally) a good hatch.
I rest eggs for 24 hours without turning, then set for 24-48 hours without turning to help re-set the air cell. No candling until day 18, as they are too fragile to handle, in my opinion. If I do, I just hold the light to the eggs without picking them up. Air cell development is all you really need to see. I used to hatch upright in an egg carton, but I’m finding they do better when laid on the side at lockdown.
There’s a lot of trial and error involved in hatching, but each time we learn something new and it does get better! Now I’ve given you too much info lol
. Each hatch brings new possibilities!
