Shipped Eggs - Incubation Procedure, Tips & Tricks Wanted

[wishingbee]

Oh, and one more question- multiple choice.

Do you have better hatches when...?

A) You put the eggs in a cold (but proven) incubator and warm the eggs up gradually when the incubator is finally turned on
B) You put the 'cold' eggs in a pre-heated incubator.
C) You've done both and it doesn't matter either way.

At this point I'm probably splitting hairs, but if there's anything I can do to increase the odds of a successful hatch I'd love to know it!

 

[yinepu]

Quote:
50-78% is a fantastic rate for shipped eggs from what I've read- well done!

Out of curiosity, do you stop turning eggs on the 14th or on the 18th? I was reading Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens (new edition) and on page 284 it says "eggs need not be turned after the fourteenth day of incubation.." It seems like leaving shipped eggs for a few extra days before the hatch would be beneficial, especially if they've had a bit of a jostling in the beginning. In my mind, that would give them a bit more quality time to get ready for the big hatch day. Any thoughts on that?

For chickens I usually turn til the 16th or 18th day.. depends on what else I have going on at the time.. if there is a staggered hatch or just what.. I never stress over if a hatch gets turned until "X" day.. never makes much difference in the last week of incubation so long as the humidity is raised up when it needs to be.. so "turning until day 18" is more of a suggestion than a NEEDS TO BE as far as I am concerned
for muscovys i don't turn the eggs at all the last week and I make sure the humidity is very high during that last week

 

[Jloeffler]

My shipped eggs went under a broody hen and spent the whole time on their sides for incubation. Out of 12 eggs 9 hatched healthy chicks. Cracking open the remaining three I found two no goes and one day 4 quitter. When I incubated my own eggs it was in a homemade bator during Irene while without power and I had a 50% hatch rate while keeping my eggs warm with votive candles and aluminum foil. What I mean by this is that the basics MUST be adhered to: temp & humidity. Everything else seems to particular to climate, bator, and hatcher. It was a truly fun experience and I hope that you enjoy watching all the fluffiness hatch! It was, without question, one of the coolest things I have ever seen. Listen to all this advice, because it's good. Then apply it to your situation.

 

[cmom]

Quote:
(B)

 

[wishingbee]

Hey everyone! Just wanted to give you a bit of an update. Thank you all for your information and for sharing your experiences- it's helped me a great deal.

Eggs arrived today- I unwrapped them, placed them big end up, weighed them, candled them, and tossed out the ones that looked iffy (only two of them were questionable). I went ahead and placed them in the incubator, but as it's a Brinsea Octagon Eco 20, I kept the incubator in the 'neutral' straight up position. I'll start the first angled rotation at 10pm, giving them a full 10 hours in one position. It's a compromise of sorts.

I hope it works!

Again, thanks for the info. You guys are great!

 

[mstricer]

Good Luck wishingbee (get it under construction)