1) I washed three of them, before reading it’s a bad thing, is there any chance it will be ok?
There is certainly a chance they will be OK. Washing removes the bloom. The bloom is that liquid that the hen puts on the egg just as she lays it so it comes out wet, but it quickly dries. Bloom makes it a lot harder for bacteria to get inside the egg so it is best to not wash them or use sandpaper or such to remove dirt. If bacteria gets inside the egg they find the perfect food (egg) and are at the perfect temperature to grow rapidly.
If bacteria gets inside the egg it will kill any embryo that is developing. The egg will soon stink. The bacteria builds up pressure in the egg so it usually leaks a dangerous liquid that can infect other eggs. BUT, the bacteria has to be present before it can get inside. So keep your hands clean when handling the eggs and keep things clean in general. It doesn't matter if you wash the eggs with soap or not but wash your hands with soap to remove the oils. Just try to keep everything clean.
I'd leave them in but sniff the eggs daily until lockdown. If you smell the rotten egg smell get rid of that egg. Plenty of people have had successful hatches after washing the eggs.
2) how am I supposed to maintain humidity of 55%?
It depends on which incubator you are using. There are so many different makes and models that work differently and I don't have a clue what is available where you are. If you are using the type that has reservoirs so water can evaporate you control the humidity by wet surface area. If you want to reduce the humidity either dry out a reservoir or maybe cover part of a reservoir with metal foil so you have less surface area. If you want to increase humidity add water to another reservoir or add a container of water. Or you can put in a sponge or a small rag that absorbs water to wick water out of a reservoir so you have more wet surface area.
It's not easy to be really precise with this type. The conditions outside of the incubator, temperature or moisture in the air, can affect humidity inside some. What you are looking for is a balance. If you are over for a few days, try getting under for a few days.
3) if my chicks hatched at two distinct different colours, can I assume they’re sex links?
No. To produce sex links the parent's genetics have to be aligned a specific way and the parents need to be pure for those genes, which means they are not crosses or hybrids. The way genetics work you can get a multitude of different colors and patterns from the same parents. It's also very possible to get two distinct colors or patterns in the chicks without them being sex links.
4) is it ok if I placed eggs which weigh differently together?
Yes. People do it all of the time, including me. It is possible smaller eggs will hatch early but not a given. I've tested that in my incubator, the size of the egg made no difference in hatch time. If I remember right you are not talking about bantam eggs versus full sized fowl eggs anyway, just the differences in the size of regular eggs.
Try it yourself. Eight eggs is not a large sample size but I doubt you will see any correlation between size and hatch time for your eggs.
thanks
