Setting Eggs on the 30th in Springfield, IL

[rsf31tmp]

I just got my birthday Incubator and I am working on getting it set up. Looking to set some eggs by Sunday night for a Feb 20th hatch. My roos are a Silver Laced Wyandotte, a Barred Rock and an Auburn Java. My hens are SLW, BR, Java, Red and Black Sex-Link and a Easter Egger. This is my first time....please give me tips!

I am just outside Springfield, IL

 

[EweSheep]

You can read alot of the tips about incubating under the Incubating threads. Lots of information to choose from. Most of all, make sure your eggs are not frozen solid, because sometimes the egg shell will crack as they thaw.

Sorry I don't have any hatching eggs. Not sure if they are fertile yet.

 

[rsf31tmp]

I try to snatch the eggs form my coop before they get cold enough to freeze solid. I have a few heat lamps that I keep on during cold days and all winter nights. My 18 hens are giving me 11-15 eggs a day, even now in late Jan. One hen was setting on eggs from New Years Eve until around the 14th....I checked the eggs after she left them and they were developing for a while. I am sure all my hens are being fertalized. The boys are very active. I am planning to take todays eggs and Sat/Sundays and keep them in the basement until Sunday night and then set them all.

Again...please give me tips....I will be readying other threads.

 

[sheila3935]

put the eggs in an egg carton and put something under one end of the carton to elevate it on one end. change ends twice a day til you set them. Keep them in a cool place not cold about 60 degrees til incubation. I have 14 in the bator right now due out Feb. 10th I think 2 are duds. Gonna leave them a couple more days to make sure. This is my 5th hatch. Got more to go in in a few days.

 

[rsf31tmp]

ok, thanks for the carton tip, will do that soon! Working on getting the temp set in the bator. Seems very touchy, but I guess that is good?

Yesterday, I got a green egg from Ester for the first time in 5 months? Where are the others?

Very excited and please keep the tps coming!

 

[rsf31tmp]

Just set 35 of them....the new bator seems to be working perfectly and I am pumped.....two green eggs....many light browns that I think are mostly Barred Rock.....others are Java.....some are Silver Laced Wyandottes.....most will be a mix...I am guessing! Candling on the 6th and 13th...and finally the18th and out of the turner....very excited.

 

[TheNewMrsEvans]

It's fun to hatch! You will get hooked...I just set my first batch of the year!
Which kind of bator is it? Hopefully you have your humidity holding steady and temp too...
Is it a still air? or circulated by fan? there are a few tricks with each...

 

[rsf31tmp]

It is a little giant and it is still air......the temp has been steady for two days now and the humidity has been steady.......please.....I need any and all tricks!

 

[rsf31tmp]

lost my father-in-law yesterday....takes the fun out of the eggs for a while....he was shoveling snow and had a massive heart attack. He was only 55. How important is it to candle on day 7....rather than day 8 or 9? Do bad eggs spoil the rest? Not making a joke, really wanting to know.

What tips do I need for my loaded LG with still air and a turner?

Temp is good.....humidity seems steady.

 

[ggarratt]

I'm so sorry about your father-in-law. That's so scary that someone so young can be taken by a heart attack.

I'd love to follow along and perhaps butt into your thread once in awhile. I just set my first eggs ever yesterday, so I'm a few days behind you, but I have a lot of the same questions. It would be fun to do a bit of a first-time hatch-along together.

I set 22 of my own BLRW eggs yesterday, although some will be crosses since I have 3 Buff Wyandotte hens in there with my BLRW. Their arrival date should be around the 23rd. It's a Wednesday, so it's terrible timing, but my hens picked up their laying rate and I wanted to get them in there rather than having them sit around. I've been trying to grab them before they've been frozen solid, but I don't know how successful I've been. None of them froze to the point where the shell cracked, but all of them have gotten pretty cold immediately after being laid. I have no idea how cold they can be for how long and remain viable, so I don't have very high expectations for this hatch, but I thought it would be worth giving it a go as a test hatch before the weather starts to warm up.

I'm using a R-com King Suro 20 that I got used from another BYC'er. So far the temp has been pretty steady between 95.4 and 100 and humidity has been pretty much right on 45%. I'm really impressed since I heat with wood and the temp can vary dramatically through the day and night. I actually have the incubator in one of the coldest rooms in the house, but a figured a more consistent cold temp was better than the massive swings in temp that happen closer to the wood stove.

Here's my first question, I set my 22 eggs yesterday but still have room for 2 more. Could I sneak 2 more in today so my bator is full, or is that a big no no?