The Great Egg Shipping Experiment!

[Wisher1000]

What kind of hen is that in the first pic? Looks like a gold laced Sumatra.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

What kind of hen is that in the first pic? Looks like a gold laced Sumatra.

You talkin' about my banty? She's my favorite breed of them all: mutt. And she love, love, lovessssssssss to hatch anything and everything. Such a good incubator and momma she is. Bought her for 50 cents at a swap when she was a few weeks old. Best 50 cents I ever spent.

 

[nisabees]

Hi, you can always judge the temp by your hands.. the eggs should only feel slightly warmer when holding them. As hatch temp is close to human body temp. So if you pick them up and they feel hot then you know your temp is too high. ;-)

 

[Bakerentllc]

This thread cracks me up!! I guess I'm just lucky but I have no water in my GQF until last 3 days. My humidity will stay about 20% then at lockdown I move it to 70% or so by adding a full bowl of water. This is the crazy part. I always hatch 95% or better. Alot of times all the eggs hatch and I hatch ALOT

 

[ozexpat]

This thread cracks me up!! I guess I'm just lucky but I have no water in my GQF until last 3 days. My humidity will stay about 20% then at lockdown I move it to 70% or so by adding a full bowl of water. This is the crazy part. I always hatch 95% or better. Alot of times all the eggs hatch and I hatch ALOT

It also sounds like you have a low touch technique.

IMO

Dry is the way to go. In my humble opinion, water in the bator means bugs in the bator.

Keep it dry and candle for hatchability on day 10 and 18. I use a 6x6 tupaware with 4 inches of water for lock down only - no need to re-fill after lock down.

I keep my dirty little hands off the eggs as much as possible. No need to rub the dirt on the outside of the egg into the pores.

 

[Bakerentllc]

It also sounds like you have a low touch technique.

IMO

Dry is the way to go. In my humble opinion, water in the bator means bugs in the bator.

Keep it dry and candle for hatchability on day 10 and 18. I use a 6x6 tupaware with 4 inches of water for lock down only - no need to re-fill after lock down.

I keep my dirty little hands off the eggs as much as possible. No need to rub the dirt on the outside of the egg into the pores. 

I don't candle or anything. I mostly hatch my own eggs and I know there fertile! I have a rooster to every 5 hens in all my coops.

 

[Bama1]

Candled last night. Going to leave them all in there. Lockdown is Friday !

 

[Wisher1000]

 

[ronott1]

Quote: Anything less than 55% is a dry hatch. If I do not add water to my incubator, it goes down to 10% humidity.

If I do not fill all of the channels at lockdown, I do not get to 70% humidity. Hatching eggs from your own flock is a bunch different from hatching shipped eggs. Also, some breeds are more fragile too and need better care and are less forgiving. Marans and Penedesenca are two of these.

Climate and practice with the settings in your area help.

 

[Bakerentllc]

I ha

Anything less than 55% is a dry hatch. If I do not add water to my incubator, it goes down to 10% humidity.

If I do not fill all of the channels at lockdown, I do not get to 70% humidity. Hatching eggs from your own flock is a bunch different from hatching shipped eggs. Also, some breeds are more fragile too and need better care and are less forgiving. Marans and Penedesenca are two of these.

Climate and practice with the settings in your area help.

I hatch Marans. Every week also shipped eggs in same way ! My dry humidity is around 20% and I add water at hatch to make it 65-70%. My hatch rate is always over 95%. I never candle or bother eggs and only open incubator a few times a week. Alot of people make this alot harder than it is! A GOOD incubator is key.