Simultaneous Hatch?! Help!

[dusky]

I have some eggs that are at Day 6. Only 5 out of 24 seem viable. If I got more eggs, is it possible to simultaneously incubate them despite the different schedules? I have an auto egg turner. Where say I put in some eggs at Day 10, by Day 21 the original 5 hatch out, and then I continue with the new eggs? Or will the raised humidity of the 5 days (3 to lockdown, 2 during the hatch) really screw with the new eggs?

My last important question: Out of the 5, one has a normal diminished air cell. The other 4 have way too large air cells for Day 6. Do I sacrifice the normal egg by upping the humidity for the other 4, or is there a way to partially cover the other 4 so they don't lose as much volume?

 

[dusky]

Please.. anybody.. I'm planning on getting shipped eggs, and one of the people I'm getting them from might get rid of her hens soon.

 

[Nsampsel]

I use mostly the styrofoam bators so I do a dry incubation all the way to lockdown & move them to either the bator I use for hatching or stuff them under broodies. With only 1 bator, I would run it dry til I get the 1st pip then up the humidity for the entire bator. You will have to take all the eggs out of the turner when the 1st set go into lockdown since the turner is ha2ardous to hatching chicks. Continue to turn the other eggs by hand until you get a pip. By then they will be close enuf to lockdown themselves that if they only get turned once or twice a day when you pull chicks or add water that they will be fine.

 

[Roxannemc]

I have some eggs that are at Day 6. Only 5 out of 24 seem viable. If I got more eggs, is it possible to simultaneously incubate them despite the different schedules? I have an auto egg turner. Where say I put in some eggs at Day 10, by Day 21 the original 5 hatch out, and then I continue with the new eggs? Or will the raised humidity of the 5 days (3 to lockdown, 2 during the hatch) really screw with the new eggs?

My last important question: Out of the 5, one has a normal diminished air cell. The other 4 have way too large air cells for Day 6. Do I sacrifice the normal egg by upping the humidity for the other 4, or is there a way to partially cover the other 4 so they don't lose as much volume?

I dont know a lot nor am i a long time hatcher but ido read on BYC avidly so i will tell you what i would do since nobody has answered you.
I would set the humidity for the 4 eggs. Better to take a chance to lose 1 than loose 4 and keep one.
Unless that one is super special and the others ordinary.
My question would be why is this ONE having a large air cell and not the others?Others are fine i take it.
.Maybe that one is not meant to be anyway

Also the simultainious hatch My beginners opinion is it would work fine until lock down then i think you might drowned the other eggs that arent ready.
Can you borrow an incubator for a second hatch ?Basic Hovabator are les than $40 and if youaregoing to hatch again it might be worth yur while anyway use for abrooder maybe too.
Or make one for your 5 eggs.?
Might test out a styrofoam cooler, light bulb etc the next few weeks until you have it down. for a hatch Look on Utubes how to make one..just a thought.
And are you POSITIVE the others arent going to hatch?

Good Luck !!!

 

[Nsampsel]

I dont know a lot nor am i a long time hatcher but ido read on BYC avidly so i will tell you what i would do since nobody has answered you.
I would set the humidity for the 4 eggs. Better to take a chance to lose 1 than loose 4 and keep one.
Unless that one is super special and the others ordinary.
My question would be why is this ONE having a large air cell and not the others?Others are fine i take it.
.Maybe that one is not meant to be anyway

Also the simultainious hatch My beginners opinion is it would work fine until lock down then i think you might drowned the other eggs that arent ready.
Can you borrow an incubator for a second hatch ?Basic Hovabator are les than $40 and if youaregoing to hatch again it might be worth yur while anyway use for abrooder maybe too.
Or make one for your 5 eggs.?
Might test out a styrofoam cooler, light bulb etc the next few weeks until you have it down. for a hatch Look on Utubes how to make one..just a thought.
And are you POSITIVE the others arent going to hatch?

Good Luck !!!

All I ever run are staggered hatches. You keep humidity as low as possible for as long as possible & then raise only when absolutely necessary. Otherwise your later eggs will drown when they pip. I have found that humidity will naturally raise from around 40% to over 60% in a styrofoam bator without ever adding any water when the 1st egg pips. Due to the large number of eggs in my bators & the fact that I have trouble keeping humidity LOW enuf I pull chicks as they hatch to keep humidity down & allow the chicks to dry more quickly. If I leave a wet chick in my bator my humidity shoots to 90% & none of the chicks ever dry & my staggered hatch eggs get drowned.

 

[dusky]

It's one egg that has a normal air cell, and FOUR eggs that have double the air cell size ! :| I suspect these were very old eggs or inferior quality, and to be honest, I should've scrapped them all from the start and complained to the guy I got them from.. but I am a pushover it seems. So my problem in this situation is that if I continue with this catering to the 4 big air cell eggs, I would have to run the humidity high which might not be good for the 5th egg or new eggs?!

Actually.. I was thinking of making little rubber caps to partially cover the tops of the 4 big air cell eggs, that would still allow air exchange, but hopefully slow down evaporation.. is this crazy, or will it make things worse?

 

[dusky]

I was running this as a dry hatch at first, but stopped doing so when I noticed the huge air cells.. I should take a picture to show you guys.

 

[dusky]

I dont know a lot nor am i a long time hatcher but ido read on BYC avidly so i will tell you what i would do since nobody has answered you.
I would set the humidity for the 4 eggs. Better to take a chance to lose 1 than loose 4 and keep one.
Unless that one is super special and the others ordinary.
My question would be why is this ONE having a large air cell and not the others?Others are fine i take it.
.Maybe that one is not meant to be anyway

Also the simultainious hatch My beginners opinion is it would work fine until lock down then i think you might drowned the other eggs that arent ready.
Can you borrow an incubator for a second hatch ?Basic Hovabator are les than $40 and if youaregoing to hatch again it might be worth yur while anyway use for abrooder maybe too.
Or make one for your 5 eggs.?
Might test out a styrofoam cooler, light bulb etc the next few weeks until you have it down. for a hatch Look on Utubes how to make one..just a thought.
And are you POSITIVE the others arent going to hatch?

Good Luck !!!

Oops forgot to answer some of your questions! I'm so on the fence for the others, some of them have very dark shells.. I will ahve to wait until Day 14 maybe when the ones I know are good will be something to compare them to, and the obviously clear ones can be tossed. The tiniest egg in my current bunch also has the hugest air cell. Almost 1/3 of the egg already and it's only Day 7. :/ I'm going to try putting a little plastic hat on it or something, not sure if they lose volume through the air cell or from the entire egg.. I imagine when a hen is sitting on the eggs half the egg is covered up anyway?

 

[Roxannemc]

I was running this as a dry hatch at first, but stopped doing so when I noticed the huge air cells.. I should take a picture to show you guys.

Oh ok more eggs that may be GOOD? I read some ppl go by the size of their air cells to see what humidity they should have GOOD idea....Seems you are doing that.Really great!
I should have done so the last hatch i think as 2 died at the end and one pipped but didnt hatch. Think it was the low humidity.the troubelshooter for my inc. says wrong humiidty or temp if they died at the end.
.My temp was really steady the whole hatch.
I need to try this myself but with the brown eggs i can barely see anything but a dark blob.If it gets bigger or moves then i know its alive.dont see much at first at all.a slightly darker area at the big end. with a black dot in it...I am assuming its the yolk and then an eye or chick?
Guess i need a GOOD candler

 

[Nsampsel]

Oops forgot to answer some of your questions! I'm so on the fence for the others, some of them have very dark shells.. I will ahve to wait until Day 14 maybe when the ones I know are good will be something to compare them to, and the obviously clear ones can be tossed. The tiniest egg in my current bunch also has the hugest air cell. Almost 1/3 of the egg already and it's only Day 7. :/ I'm going to try putting a little plastic hat on it or something, not sure if they lose volume through the air cell or from the entire egg.. I imagine when a hen is sitting on the eggs half the egg is covered up anyway?

What you may be seeing is what we call a "wonky" air cell. It looks way bigger than it is because it is odd shaped & runs down the side of the egg. These are especially common in shipped eggs or eggs that were handled roughly.