Set eggs 3/17.... Anyone else?

[curranchickens]

Welcome smchickfarm! I love my lavender orps! I will post some pics in a bit. I got them last summer. They did not hit maturity till winter and therefore would not start laying. They just started a few weeks ago. I cracked an egg and it was not fertile... A few days later, I cracked another and it was fertile so I started collecting... Here is my breakdown... 27 eggs set on 3/17 -6 eggs with little hope because my son ran out to the coop and collected them without help ________ 21 eggs -10 eggs more than likely not even fertile because my girls and boy are just starting out ________ 11 eggs -5 eggs that will die because this is my first hatch ________ 6 chicks... Of which only 2 will be girls! Lol... See expectations are low... 27 eggs for 2 girls.... Meanwhile, I ordered 18 hatching eggs.... 6 blue wheaten amerucanas, 6 salmon faverolles, 6 golden cuckoo marans Out of those, I am hoping for at least one boy and one girl of each breed... For a total of 6out of 18 eggs due to the fact that they are being shipped and have been delayed at the PO. I wanted to start them all at the same time but did not want to hold up the orps for the weekend. They were collected on the 14th, mailed on the 15th and PO says I should receive them today on the 19th. I plan on setting them tonight (on the 19th) so they will be about 3 days off.... But in a different incubator so all is good....

 

[curranchickens]

Well my hatching eggs just arrived. The box was smashed up... The PO put it into a bag and the mail man did not even bring it to the door.... I found it laying on its side sitting on top of my son's atv. Ugggg! I unwrapped them and all seemed ok. I took them into the bathroom and tried to candle them. I could not see anything in the brown eggs because the shell was too dark but the blue eggs I could see. They did not look good. Every air sack was detached and rolling around the egg. Uggggggggggggg... Now I am hoping that even one hatches.

Meanwhile, I collected eggs from my lavenders today and cracked two open... I cannot incubate them because I will have no room so I wanted to see if they were fertile... Neither was!!!! Uggggggggggggg...

 

[blkwdw]

I set three dozen black copper marans, fourteen red shoulders and one silkie on the 17th. I have a hovabator that I thought held fifty eggs, wrong... Holds forty two.... So I was hand turning some in the corners, how could I decide who lives and dies?
Today I borrowed another incubator and quickly set it up. After temps stabilized at 100, I moved the red shoulders and the lonely silkie....and then saw how much extra room I had

I did not add any more....yet...

 

[coz74]

Just so you know, most of the participants in Mahonri's 3rd Annual, BYC Easter Hatch-a-long! set chicken eggs on 3/17. I also set 50 eggs in my Hova-Bator 1588. I stacked the extra 8 eggs. After day 10 I will candle and make room for the double stacked eggs by discarding the duds. I am hand turning the extras but they do get some movement as the turner rotates. Maybe on Wensday I will swap some of the top and bottom eggs.

 

[Game Girl]

Yes, I sat eggs on 3-17-12 as well. Looking forward to the hatch date.....

 

[Blue EE]

I took out the egg cartons as holders. When eggs are put in sideways to lay flat they are much higher than the little Giant hatcher is made for. The thermometer on top of the eggs showed 108'F. The main thermometer stayed steady at 99'F and made me think eggs not laying flat on the designed floor level were just to close to the heat element. So hoping I may have dodged the bullet I am back to hand turning again. I had noticed it about 2 hours from the last check and the main temp was normal. Will continue putting the second thermometer around looking for hot spots.

 

[curranchickens]

Just so you know, most of the participants in Mahonri's 3rd Annual, BYC Easter Hatch-a-long! set chicken eggs on 3/17. I also set 50 eggs in my Hova-Bator 1588. I stacked the extra 8 eggs. After day 10 I will candle and make room for the double stacked eggs by discarding the duds. I am hand turning the extras but they do get some movement as the turner rotates. Maybe on Wensday I will swap some of the top and bottom eggs.

Yes I saw that just after I started this thread. I did look at it but in two months there are already almost 7000 replys.... I could never keep up with that or remember anyone.... Just alittle more personal this way... It was a complete accident for me that I happened to set them on the 17th... It really had. Oohing to do with Easter hatching....

 

[curranchickens]

Yes, I sat eggs on 3-17-12 as well. Looking forward to the hatch date.....

Welcome game girl! What breed did you set and how many? Do you have a lot of experience hatching?

 

[curranchickens]

I took out the egg cartons as holders. When eggs are put in sideways to lay flat they are much higher than the little Giant hatcher is made for. The thermometer on top of the eggs showed 108'F. The main thermometer stayed steady at 99'F and made me think eggs not laying flat on the designed floor level were just to close to the heat element. So hoping I may have dodged the bullet I am back to hand turning again. I had noticed it about 2 hours from the last check and the main temp was normal. Will continue putting the second thermometer around looking for hot spots.

Oh no! That is scary! I hope your eggs did not fry!

 

[Blue EE]

This morning all looks good temp and humidity. Yesterday the main thermometer stayed steady also, it was putting the eggs up just a little bit higher and then a second thermometer on top of those eggs and it was quite close to the heating element. The second meter had a holding point of the high temp since the last reset and I think that when the heat cycled on and that meter was so close to the heat coil that it just held the highest reading. The main chamber stayed constant at 99'F. But yes it was of concern and at candling may show more.