staggered hatching?

[ki4got]

if you plan on staggering your hatches, with seperate 'bators, how far apart would you set them so that you don't interfere with lockdown on the hatcher? or does it matter as long as you keep the humidity up on the hatcher?

 

[marlene]

I have done staggered hatches with 2 bators, 1 to incubate and 1 to hatch and iv'e had them hatch 3 days apart with no problems.

 

[ki4got]

Quote:
i'm just wondering after the first hatch do you clean it out or just when you're done hatchiung? if you do how long does it take to get back up to temp?

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

I set eggs every 5 days. When they eggs are due I move them into the "hatcher". Once they are done, the incubator gets bleached/scubbed and plugged back in so the next batch can be moved over.

The incubators can get very dirty/stinky after the hatch so they should be cleaned after each hatch.

 

[ki4got]

Quote:
ok thanks! I am itching to put eggs in, but have 3 sets of eggs shipping out either today or tomorrow... so i'll just put them all in at the same time. (my own mixed bantam eggs, and the shipped eggs) wow that's gonna be a huge hatch. (hopefully) 18+ dorkings, 6+ wheaten marans and 12+ EE, plus whatever eggs i decide to put in.
may have another hen laying by the time i decide to incubate. my one brahma that's laying put hers in the nest today, and i found another similar sized egg (leather shell) on the bottom, broken...

hope whoever it is figures out the box and calcium soon...

 

[marlene]

When i finish the hatch i clean the bator, dry it and get it plugged in ready for the next hatch. With my brinsea it only seems to take a few hours to get the temp back up to where it needs to be.
Woow you have a big hatch going on there, good luck and keep us posted.

 

[ki4got]

Quote:
lol yeah i had been trying to find dorking eggs, looked and looked, so decided i'd grow out some 'alternate' breeds instead, lined up the eggs, and last night a dorking auction popped up...

this will be my first incubation hatch in over 15 years. cross fingers LOL i was just itching to put some of my bantam 'muttbaby' eggs in too but since the shipped eggs should be here before friday

i'll hold off on my own eggs. its not like they're going to stop laying yet, they've just started. LOL so far the hens laying are oegb, d'anvers and brahma, with japanese, sultan, and oegb roos...

 

[cmom]

I do staggered hatchings. I have a cabinet incubator I incubate in and 3 styrofoam incubators I use as hatchers. I have had some eggs in just over a week and putting more in tomorrow and in another 10 days I will put another batch in, then I will start the process all over again so when I take eggs out of the egg racks and set them for hatching I will put more eggs in the incubator. I rotate the eggs trays and when I pull out a tray for hatching a new tray goes in behind the older eggs trays.