The experiment begins! How many eggs can you save from a single hen.

[Delmar]

Quote:
I candled the eggs tonight. So far all of them are growing.

 

[Glenmar]

Wow. That is great. I may try something like this too next spring.

 

[MobyQuail]

good deal Delmar. here is hoping your experimentology runs true.

so you saved up 15 eggs over 16 days and then set them all on the 16th day?

did you notice, did she lay them all around the same time everyday? or did it seem an hour later for each one? curious, which day did she skip? saturday hangover? sunday brunch?.

about what date/time was the last one hatched relative to setting in the incubator?

where are you located? we are in Florida, plenty of sun.

how is your temp/humidity so far?

did you turn them daily during collection?

I have top secret clearance don't I?

I weighed several of my eggs from the same hen and noticed the older ones had lost some weight while sitting around waiting for the 6th egg to come before setting, what say ye about this?


good luck bud!

 

[FireTigeris]

Quote:
I wonder if the moisture loss is what kills them, and if you keep them moist you can wait longer... we have high humidity here- so that might be part of it...

(I keep saying humidity and barometric pressure matter to birds but no one takes me up on it yet...)

 

[MobyQuail]

we have hens that hide their clutches and put damp dirt on them...

 

[hoping4better]

Good luck on your hatching! I have read to be careful of eggs that fail along the way. If they rot they can spoil and burst and spoil the rest. Not sure how common this is, but I would be carefule of it if I could.

FYI - I think you've got a good chance. My last of 9 just hatched today. 8 of these were from the same hen (greenegger) that I wanted more of. Her eggs were stored in the fridge along the way and let stand a day to warm up before being put under my broody.

 

[Delmar]

Quote:
Correct. I waited to set until we got an egg that day.

did you notice, did she lay them all around the same time everyday? or did it seem an hour later for each one? curious, which day did she skip? saturday hangover? sunday brunch?.

I think the day she missed was Thursday right before we set on 5-22. She usually lays in the early afternoon and doesn't skip very often, but it does happen. I didn't notice that she was out drinking Wed. night.

about what date/time was the last one hatched relative to setting in the incubator?

They won't hatch for two more weeks. Or did I misunderstand the question?

where are you located? we are in Florida, plenty of sun.

Northern Indiana, about a dozen miles from Michigan.

how is your temp/humidity so far?

I'm having some trouble with the temp due to a design flaw in my bator, but I'm trying to keep it at 98-100. I am keeping humidity between 40%-50% and will go up to 60+ for lockdown.

did you turn them daily during collection?

Yes, I kept them in an egg carton in the basement. with the carton leaning at a 45 degree angle. I turned the carton around every day, so that the eggs were leaning the other direction.

I have top secret clearance don't I?

I weighed several of my eggs from the same hen and noticed the older ones had lost some weight while sitting around waiting for the 6th egg to come before setting, what say ye about this?

I didn't think to weigh them. It does make sense, I guess.

good luck bud!

Thank you!​

 

[Delmar]

Quote:
That makes a lot of sense, I think.

we have high humidity here- so that might be part of it...

(I keep saying humidity and barometric pressure matter to birds but no one takes me up on it yet...)

I don't know a lot about barometric pressure, but the humidity in my house is 68% right now. We haven't been running the heat or AC so there is nothing to dry out the air.​

 

[Delmar]

Quote:
I'm turning the 3 times a day so I should notice if any of them start to stink. My guess is that people who hand turn their eggs don't have as much trouble with not noticing when one starts to go bad. Does that sound right?

 

[1muttsfan]

Sounds like a fun experiment, good luck! I used to live in Rolling Prairie, are you anywhere close to that?