I have just ordered my first lot of hatching eggs!! I have 15 silkie's now who are my pride and joy!! The lot of hatching eggs are frizzles!! Any advise given would be greatly apreciated as this is my first attempt at hatching eggs!
Oooh, someone looking for advice. Cool! First of all, welcome to the forum. You'll get lots of information, help and support here, it's an amazing place. As for incubating, the amount of advice could be endless... What kind of incubator are you going to use? Does it have a fan or not? Does it have an automatic egg turner? If your bator has a fan, you want your temps in there to be 99.5F. If your bator is a still air one (no fan) you want - I think but please check this - 101F at the tops of the eggs. You want to make sure your eggs get turned from side to side at least 3 times a day, and more if possible. If you have an auto turner you won't need to worry about this, if you're going to be doing it by hand you have to be as diligent as possible and try not to forget. You turn your eggs for the first 18 days. After 18 days, you stop turning, increase humidity and close the bator up until they hatch, which will hopefully be on day 21. This is called lockdown. Humidity is a subject of great debate around here, and people have great results incubating anywhere from below 20% to above 60%. I'm wary of recommending you any particular humidity to aim for, but the figures that seem to be most often recommended to beginners would be around 35-40% the first 18 days, then above 60% for lockdown. Those are probably as good a place as any to start. Good luck!!!!!
Ty ty so much for the well wishes and for the bator advise!! I bought a hovabator still air with automatic egg turner and the hubby is installin a fan in it for me ) I've been told tht still air bators suck this was of course after i bought mine ) I'm excited and a nervous wreck!! LoL Snazzyboots i LOVE your name!!! Gypsy my hubby has asked me the same thing "Hon how many chickens you gonna end up with on top of what you already have"? I just smiled Can NEVER have too many chickiebabies!!!!
