Staggered Hatch? Need advice

[Grace plowman]

I got my first batch of Sebright eggs through the post, only one is successfully developing and will have been going for a week tomorrow. Today I picked up 6 more eggs from a local farm (with hopes of a higher hatch rate) and I was wondering whether I could put them in the incubator with the other egg? I just wasn’t sure whether on day 18 when the other egg goes into lockdown and the humidity will be increased it will effect the other eggs? Any advice is welcome, thank you

 

[Offshoreorca]

If it has been going for a week already, it wouldn't be recommended unless you have a second incubator that you could move the egg to for hatching. If it was only a day or two this wouldn't matter. You not only have to think about a premature humidity raise for your second batch of eggs, but also the fact that you would have to open the incubator to turn them all the time during lockdown as it is important to turn them until Day 15/16ish. This would put your older (hatching) egg at risk. It depends whether you want to risk sacrificing the developing one or it's more important for you to have the new batch hatch. If you have a broody, you can always hatch the single egg under her.

You can always start them out and see, but you should have a backup plan if your single egg makes it to lockdown.

 

[Grace plowman]

If it has been going for a week already, it wouldn't be recommended unless you have a second incubator that you could move the egg to for hatching. If it was only a day or two this wouldn't matter. You not only have to think about a premature humidity raise for your second batch of eggs, but also the fact that you would have to open the incubator to turn them all the time during lockdown as it is important to turn them until Day 15/16ish. This would put your older (hatching) egg at risk. It depends whether you want to risk sacrificing the developing one or it's more important for you to have the new batch hatch. If you have a broody, you can always hatch the single egg under her.

You can always start them out and see, but you should have a backup plan if your single egg makes it to lockdown.

Ok thank you. We’re going to get a second incubator in time for lockdown

 

[Offshoreorca]

Ok thank you. We’re going to get a second incubator in time for lockdown

It's super convenient to have a second one - incase of incubator breakdowns, for staggered hatches, or for chicks that need more time in the incubator for reasons such as unabsorbed yolk and other things. It will be worth the investment for sure!

 

[Ridgerunner]

If you only had one incubator i would strongly suggest you do not do a staggered hatch. They are way too stressful and often not very successful. It's more complicated than just humidity and turning.

But if you have two incubators so you can use one as an incubator and the other as a hatcher go for it. That takes the stress and problems away. Just make sure you have at least a week between starting the eggs.