Slow chick egg developers and paper cups under eggs

[bobbieschicks]

It's July 1st and Day 8 in the bator for our first time hatching 13 White Leghorn chicken eggs for homeschool science/urban chicken project.

My first question is about slow developing eggs: I candled last night using 150 lumen flashlight and my hand to check eggs. I think we're down to 2 hopefuls (veins & proper size chick show), 8 less likely (veins show but not developing where they should be by Day 8) and 3 probably nots (no veins). I figured we'd candle again at Days 10 & 14 so the kids can see the progress - or lack of. Is it best to leave in the slow developers until they ooze or stink or hatch - or when should we pull them out? Will the slow developers still need turning when the lockdown starts or is it too late for them?

My second question has to do with keeping bator clean at hatching time - I have a Hovabator 1602N styrofoam incubator and automatic egg turner. I know I need to take the turner out around day 18 and lay the eggs flat for lockdown/hatching. I saw someone posted a pic of their "paper cups" and I wondered how to make them for my incubator since I'd love to keep the mess & clean up to a minimum. Do I just fold dry or damp paper towel under the eggs into a cup shape to catch the mess?

It's so exciting and hard not to candle all the time to watch their growth. The kids are looking forward to having chickens & we're keeping all that live. They've also started talking about how to make the chicken coop & my 8 year old daughter wants to paint it pink LOL! Of course I'm thinking of how to blend the coop into the landscape to keep neighbors/property values happy. We have one neighbor nearby with a roo & no one has complained yet so I'm hoping to have a roo too!

Thanks!
Bobbie

 

[Ridgerunner]

Welcome to the forum!

Glad you joined us!

Unless you are a candling professional, don't be too hasty to jump to conclusions, even with those easy white eggs. It is pretty easy early on to make mistakes. Did you mark the eggs when you candled as to their stage of developing? I like to at least wait until the second candling before I toss one. If it shows bad twice, then I'd consider it. As far as slow developers, if you have veining at that age, you have hope.

Not every egg that does not develop explodes. Actually, most of them don't. Just do the smell test when you candle or add water. Hold each one up to your nose. You can pretty easily tell if one is going bad.

I trust you put them all in at the same time. I'm not familiar with the 1602N but I believe it is a still air incubator, not a forced air. Eggs incubated at different temperatures develop at different rates. Hot air rises so the temperature varies depending in height. The temperature should be the same at the same elevation for all eggs, but it is possible you have warm or cool spots in the incubator. You might try moving the eggs around to different positions in the incubator when you add water or candle to average out the temperatures a bit if there is a clear difference in development, but that should not really be necessary. As long as the eggs are developing, I'd treat them all the same. When you go into lockdown, take them all with you.

My 1588 has a clear plastic tray that fits under the wire mesh to hold water. I think the 1602N has the same. Mine cleans up pretty easily after hatch. I have not tried any "cups" or special things to aid clean-up. It really has not been necessary. But if someone can tell you how to make it easier without messing up the humidity, I'm all for that.

Start you coop now. You will be amazed at how fast they grow. How you paint it is up to you, obviously. Maybe your daughter would like to paint the inside of the coop? Or maybe paint the outside something like a dark green that blends in well and makes a good background, but let her paint some butterflies, trees, or some kind of birds on it?

 

[bobbieschicks]

Thank you for your reply - I am going to keep them in there until they stink or ooze. I would hate to toss an egg and find out it was living. We're so eager to hear the sound of peeps that no one wants to wait till July 14th

Would you please clarify what you meant when you said to "take them with you" at the lockdown stage - did you mean for me to take them with me out of the incubator or leave them in the incubator and take them into lockdown with the other eggs until lockdown is done?

Good advice on the coop - we're planning on using an old shed possibly - but I have to figure out how to redo it to make it secure for the chicks and be able to keep it cleaned out. I am considering DLM and using sand in the run - possibly in the coop too. I still have to go through more BYC posts to get ideas.

Thanks again!
Bobbie

 

[Ridgerunner]

Would you please clarify what you meant when you said to "take them with you" at the lockdown stage - did you mean for me to take them with me out of the incubator or leave them in the incubator and take them into lockdown with the other eggs until lockdown is done?

Put them all in lockdown at the same time.