questions on hatching eggs

[Ridgerunner]

Would it change any other factors for hatching or just egg size?

Her shells seemed good not thin and not hard. My Brahmas that started laying about a week or so before her had hard shells. Lol

It should improve the other factors too. It has given her time to mature.

With my eyes I can't see those photos well enough to tell even after cleaning my glasses. Hopefully someone with younger or better eyes can help.

 

[NatJ]

With my eyes I can't see those photos well enough to tell even after cleaning my glasses. Hopefully someone with younger or better eyes can help.

I'm having the same problem, plus I've never been any good at telling fertile eggs by looking

 

[rascal66]

I'm having the same problem, plus I've never been any good at telling fertile eggs by looking

No worries, I think the pics are a tad blurry or the bullseye is on the other side of the yolk. You can't miss it! (Then again, those yolks look a little small. Maybe it is there but it's hard to see )
I plucked these pics from Google, but an example of what to look for.

 

[junior67]

No worries, I think the pics are a tad blurry or the bullseye is on the other side of the yolk. You can't miss it! (Then again, those yolks look a little small. Maybe it is there but it's hard to see )
I plucked these pics from Google, but an example of what to look for.View attachment 3018148View attachment 3018149

I turned the yolks over and over trying to find it and think I found it. The first I think is 100% not fertile. the others not sure. The spots are tiny even in the one that I am 99% sure is fertile (I know my roo has mated that hen) and that one has been laying since Oct or so, she is also 11 mo. They are both Cochins and their yolks look to be about the same size and eggs are the same size. Oh well guess I try and see if any are fertilized when I go to hatch them.

 

[junior67]

What do you use to mark your eggs you are hatching? I normally write dates on them in pencil but will that come off in the incubator? I don't want to use something that will hurt a chick but want to be sure it stays on the whole time it is incubating and is easily seen in the incubator as well.

 

[rascal66]

What do you use to mark your eggs you are hatching? I normally write dates on them in pencil but will that come off in the incubator? I don't want to use something that will hurt a chick but want to be sure it stays on the whole time it is incubating and is easily seen in the incubator as well.

I see people use permanent markers. I think I recall doing pencil before and it might fade slightly but should still be able to see it.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I use a Sharpie. I've read those posts where people say you shouldn't do that, but you can find a reason to not use anything if you look enough, whatever you use could be bad. I do not accept that the vapors created when the Sharpie liquid dries will penetrate the shell, the membrane around the egg, and all the way through the whites to the embryo on the yolk when it's so much easier for those vapors to just go away in the air. I've had great hatches using a Sharpie.

When I was a kid on the farm it was my chore to mark the eggs that went under a broody hen. This was before Sharpies. I'd usually use a pencil. Not a hard light pencil, a soft-leaded pencil sideways to make a broad dark band. Those lasted well enough under a broody hen. We used to use a numerical scale to measure how soft the pencil was and how dark of a line it left. A #1 was dark and the one I'd use. Most people use an H or B scale now for pencil hardness, especially artists. Use a soft dark one.

We did not have ball point pens way back then, if we had to write in ink we used a fountain pen. Yeah, I'm old. A few times I used ink to mark the eggs.

This was all under a broody hen where she was constantly rubbing the eggs with her feathers. This was long before we had the internet to tell us that no matter what we do there is something wrong with it.

I was not trying to write something on the eggs I needed to read, just mark them so I'd know which belonged. A soft leaded pencil worked fine for that. Now I write numbers on the eggs that go in the incubator so I can tell which one was laid first (that helps to check on some of the comments about how things like that affect hatching) plus I can better keep track of individual eggs and how long ago they pipped. If the eggs go under a broody hen I just make stripes with a Sharpie so I can tell at a glance that it belongs.

 

[NatJ]

What do you use to mark your eggs you are hatching? I normally write dates on them in pencil but will that come off in the incubator? I don't want to use something that will hurt a chick but want to be sure it stays on the whole time it is incubating and is easily seen in the incubator as well.

Pencil can work fine.

Pencil can rub off in time, but that partly depends on which part of the egg you put it on.

Under a broody hen, it seems to rub off the sides sooner than the end, so I write dates on the end of the egg, and check partway through to re-mark any that have gotten faint.

With an incubator, it may or may not wear off, depending on whether anything rubs against the eggs. If the eggs are sitting in little cups, the marks should be fine anywhere. But if the eggs are being rolled from side to side (by the incubator or by your hand), then dates on the end will stay readable longer than dates on the side.

 

[junior67]

Well shoot. Fully opened the incubator to get it set up and do a little test run before I started it on Tue to set eggs on Wed. Well the top heating element was hanging down with 3 screws out of it. hmmmm odd. open it up and there are a few plastic pieces inside it. figure maybe I can still put the screws in to hold it up. yup the one screw I tried wouldn't screw into the top...... UGH! now have to return it. I just ordered a new one but won't be here till Sun-Wed! YIKES!!!!!! Praying it comes Sun so even if I have to run it Sun and Mon only have it off part of Mon and start on Tue or just run it the whole time at least there is time..... If not looks like I will be setting a bit later than I wanted and having the chicks hatch a bit later so right when I get my others. Darn. i had opened the box and took out the instructions when it came but didn't even think to look inside the incubator.