Tis Time for a March 2020 Hatch-a-long!

[Jules929]

I wish I worked in the factory that makes sour patch kids. They could pay me in them and I wouldn't complain. I'd eat them for free

We do have some citrus products that produce a pucker, lol, I love sour patch kids, too!

 

[Jules929]

My 6+ Birchen Marans order and the 12 Cream Legbar eggs are both out for delivery! The original 35 will start D7 this afternoon. Does that mean I can candle today or do I have to wait until tomorrow? Lol.

 

[hysop]

Hysop here is an egg candling chart. It shows development from day 0 and I found it very helpful when I first started hatching. I hope you find it interesting.
May I ask why you're moving the eggs to different cups in your turner? I'm just curious.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ion-through-incubation-of-chicken-eggs.47879/

Thanks I’ll be checking that out. I have a still air incubator and I heard someone once say they switch their eggs around in case there’s a cold spot at least they all get a turn somewhere in the incubator. Not sure if it has made a difference since this is my first time and I’ve been changing them around and they’re all developing well so can’t really say, but it makes me feel better

Edited to add: FortCluck explained it perfectly

I move my eggs too because they get different temps when moved. Incubators aren't all the same temp at every inch, which I learned when I put thermometers in different areas. Moving eggs gives them a chance to get equal time in different temps. I have better hatches moving them to different areas

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Is there some kind of palate cleanser you could sniff in between checking each egg? And sniff them well clear of the incubator?

I was just thinking along the lines of carefully carrying each egg to another person that isn't in the room and maybe they will be able to smell it since it isn't already assaulting their nose.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

My 6+ Birchen Marans order and the 12 Cream Legbar eggs are both out for delivery! The original 35 will start D7 this afternoon. Does that mean I can candle today or do I have to wait until tomorrow? Lol.

I carefully candle them when I get them and base how long I want to allow them to rest on how bad the air cells look. General rule of thumb is to allow them to rest for 8-24 hours...I waited 6 hours. I had severely saddled and detached air cells and still a pretty great hatch rate so I don't think they need to rest as long as typically suggested. It's really just in a hope that the air cells that are loose will stabilize again. Maybe that will be another experiment later this year. I'll do hatch comparisons with varying resting periods with shipped eggs.

 

[Jules929]

I carefully candle them when I get them and base how long I want to allow them to rest on how bad the air cells look. General rule of thumb is to allow them to rest for 8-24 hours...I waited 6 hours. I had severely saddled and detached air cells and still a pretty great hatch rate so I don't think they need to rest as long as typically suggested. It's really just in a hope that the air cells that are loose will stabilize again. Maybe that will be another experiment later this year. I'll do hatch comparisons with varying resting periods with shipped eggs.

I put them in the incubator without turning for the first 24 hours, that way I'm not losing a day but they still get to settle.

 

[ShannonsChimkens]

I was just thinking along the lines of carefully carrying each egg to another person that isn't in the room and maybe they will be able to smell it since it isn't already assaulting their nose.

Good idea! I tried to sniff test them again this morning when turning them. No luck on figuring out who it is, but holy crap the incubator is stinky!

I’ll have my son and daughter help figure it out this evening. I’m not too worried about it exploding, but I’m sure the air isn’t any good with that smell in there.

 

[Mosey2003]

Good idea! I tried to sniff test them again this morning when turning them. No luck on figuring out who it is, but holy crap the incubator is stinky!

I’ll have my son and daughter help figure it out this evening. I’m not too worried about it exploding, but I’m sure the air isn’t any good with that smell in there.

Did you weigh them when they went in? One might assume a dead one will be heavier than the others percentage wise from when they started...

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Good idea! I tried to sniff test them again this morning when turning them. No luck on figuring out who it is, but holy crap the incubator is stinky!

I’ll have my son and daughter help figure it out this evening. I’m not too worried about it exploding, but I’m sure the air isn’t any good with that smell in there.

Yeah, the smell is from a bacterial overload I'm pretty sure. I can't imagine it's good for the healthy babies.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Did you weigh them when they went in? One might assume a dead one will be heavier than the others percentage wise from when they started...

That's a good idea too!