Staggered hatch question. Need answer soon, thanks! - New Question

[kupi99]

Does it count as a staggered hatch if you set the eggs at different times on the same day?

I am a teacher, and the student who brings the eggs brought me 4 this morning. She said she might have more for me after school. I'm wondering if I can set these 4 eggs in front of my kiddos, and then set any more she might bring me after school then. Thanks!

 

[kaitlyn_rae2003]

that should be fine, from what I was told...i have 18 hours apart in my 2 sets of eggs in the incubator. I believe it was speckledhen who told me it was ok. She is very knowledgeable. I am no expert so hopefully others will chime in, but i think that is ok!

 

[al6517]

No............... You should be just fine, they may even still hatch out on the same day or maybe just a tad later but will be just fine regardless.

AL

 

[kupi99]

Thanks y'all. We got the ones we have so far all set!

 

[al6517]

Good hatching vibes coming your way.

 

[kupi99]

As it turns out I didn't get any more eggs this afternoon. Is there anyway I can set more first thing tomorrow morning, within 24 hrs of the first group I set, or will this cause a staggered hatch?

I'm nervous about hatching out only 4 eggs, as my hatch rates in the past have been really low (out of a group of 7 or so eggs, I'd get about 2-3 to hatch). So that makes my odds of getting chicks with 4 eggs really lower.
Of course, I'll take my chances on the 4 eggs I got this morning, if setting more tomorrow is going to cause them to be staggered.

I would like some imput before 8am tomorrow! Thanks!

 

[kupi99]

Bumping this as I have a student coming with more eggs I need to set, and I need to know whether or not I can set them- Thanks!

 

[Gypsy07]

I think it should be fine.

if you're putting in more eggs within 24 hours of setting the first batch, all that means is that when you're ready to go into lockdown on day 18 with the first four, the second batch will be put into lockdown as well (on what is day 17 for them), less than 24 hours early, which won't cause any huge problems if the first 18 days of the incubation have gone well.

Lockdown is a fairly flexible thing. A few hours or even a day either way won't be a disaster. I mean, some people go into lockdown on day 18 and have chicks hatch out on the same day. Some people go into lockdown on day 18 and have chicks hatch out as late as day 27. So chicks can hatch successfully from eggs that have been in lockdown for less than a day, and for as long as 9 days.

Obviously the first four eggs are likely to hatch a day before the next eggs, so remember not to worry when some have hatched out and others haven't done anything yet...

 

[Gypsy07]

P.S. It's a good idea to mark the eggs so you'll be able to tell one lot from the other...