Hi, all!
Incubation questions, here.
4 days ago, I loaded up my incubator with 22 eggs. Half of the eggs are a must hatch, as they are game birds that I can sell (not for fighting!) to help offset the cost of my flock (currently 9 domestic hens, 1 domestic roo, a bonded guinea couple, a bonded game couple, and 4 chicks ranging 2 weeks to 8 weeks old). The rest of the eggs would be mixed breeds (my roo is a black jersey giant, none of my hens are the same breed as he) that I thought could be great egg layers for people who don't care the breed and just wants pretty, friendly pet hen to lay eggs to be eaten and/or sold for eating. I really didn't expect them all to take.
Yesterday, I fell into an opportunity to get some specific breed eggs that I really want to add to my flock (they're all pets that give eggs to "earn their keep" lol!) I have 19 of these eggs. The gal I got them from has a pretty strict 7 day rule, and tomorrow would be the 7th day of the oldest egg (they aren't dated, so no way of knowing which are older or younger).
I candled the eggs in the incubator today, and can see yolk and red veins in 33 of the eggs, and I can see yolk, but the shells are too think to know whether or not there are any veins in the other 3. This means that I have no incubator space for these eggs that I just got and really want to incubate.
Do I:
1. Buy a second incubator (I mean, I could, but would rather pay the water bill, because I have a Harris Farms Nurture Right 360 and I would want the second one to be the same.), but I don't see myself getting into this position again, and should only ever need 1 incubator. I doubt I could get anywhere near my money back selling a used incubator, even if I swear I only used it once.
2. Discard enough mixed breed eggs to make room for these 19 eggs. I feel badly, though, as I set them up to develop, and they are developing. This isn't about pro life/choice when it comes to women's health, please no politics. I just feel badly about these eggs already starting to develop, but mayhap you can help me not feel so badly if you have good facts to share.
3. Find a group where people can connect with people close to them for the sake of loaning or renting things like incubators. Are there groups like this?
4. Put the new eggs that reach their 7 day age into the refrigerator tomorrow for the next 16-18 days, but couldn't that put a hurt on my hatch rate? What is the longest you have refrigerated eggs and got a good to perfect hatch rate?
I appreciate your time. Google has way to many answers ranging from 0 days to 60 in a fridge, or 0 days to 30 in a cool (72 or cooler) room. It's too confusing, and that's a shame, I bet a lot of disappointing mistakes are made as a result of so many conflicting advises. I feel very confident asking you guys, instead. And don't worry, I won't get myself into this quandary again!
But do hurry, Google says I have gizzard cancer and haven't long to live!
Incubation questions, here.
4 days ago, I loaded up my incubator with 22 eggs. Half of the eggs are a must hatch, as they are game birds that I can sell (not for fighting!) to help offset the cost of my flock (currently 9 domestic hens, 1 domestic roo, a bonded guinea couple, a bonded game couple, and 4 chicks ranging 2 weeks to 8 weeks old). The rest of the eggs would be mixed breeds (my roo is a black jersey giant, none of my hens are the same breed as he) that I thought could be great egg layers for people who don't care the breed and just wants pretty, friendly pet hen to lay eggs to be eaten and/or sold for eating. I really didn't expect them all to take.
Yesterday, I fell into an opportunity to get some specific breed eggs that I really want to add to my flock (they're all pets that give eggs to "earn their keep" lol!) I have 19 of these eggs. The gal I got them from has a pretty strict 7 day rule, and tomorrow would be the 7th day of the oldest egg (they aren't dated, so no way of knowing which are older or younger).
I candled the eggs in the incubator today, and can see yolk and red veins in 33 of the eggs, and I can see yolk, but the shells are too think to know whether or not there are any veins in the other 3. This means that I have no incubator space for these eggs that I just got and really want to incubate.
Do I:
1. Buy a second incubator (I mean, I could, but would rather pay the water bill, because I have a Harris Farms Nurture Right 360 and I would want the second one to be the same.), but I don't see myself getting into this position again, and should only ever need 1 incubator. I doubt I could get anywhere near my money back selling a used incubator, even if I swear I only used it once.
2. Discard enough mixed breed eggs to make room for these 19 eggs. I feel badly, though, as I set them up to develop, and they are developing. This isn't about pro life/choice when it comes to women's health, please no politics. I just feel badly about these eggs already starting to develop, but mayhap you can help me not feel so badly if you have good facts to share.
3. Find a group where people can connect with people close to them for the sake of loaning or renting things like incubators. Are there groups like this?
4. Put the new eggs that reach their 7 day age into the refrigerator tomorrow for the next 16-18 days, but couldn't that put a hurt on my hatch rate? What is the longest you have refrigerated eggs and got a good to perfect hatch rate?
I appreciate your time. Google has way to many answers ranging from 0 days to 60 in a fridge, or 0 days to 30 in a cool (72 or cooler) room. It's too confusing, and that's a shame, I bet a lot of disappointing mistakes are made as a result of so many conflicting advises. I feel very confident asking you guys, instead. And don't worry, I won't get myself into this quandary again!
But do hurry, Google says I have gizzard cancer and haven't long to live!
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