When one set of incubator eggs is a week behind the others.

[ChrisNich]

I recently purchased three different breeds of bantam eggs from three different breeders. Because of a USPS foul up (or fowl-up?!) the Serama eggs had to be reshipped and were set in the incubator a week later than the rest.

I am unsure what I should do when it's time to remove the automatic egg turner and lock down the incubator for the first set. My first thought was to just hand-turn the Serama eggs for that last week before they are locked down. But I keep reading dire warnings about opening the incubator during the lockdown phase.

My question is, "Will opening the incubator three times a day to hand-turn the late-arriving eggs adversely affect the development of the earlier eggs, which are no longer being turned?

Thanks for any insight you can lend, and cheers from Virginia.

 

[rIrs roost]

Im no expert and we'll need to wait until others chime in but I think one problem will be when you have to raise the humidity for the others to hatch. Another problem may be that if they shipped the same eggs it's hard enough to hatch shipped eggs anyhow. Sorry im not much help.

 

[TattooedChicks]

Any chance you could borrow another incubator? I'd be concerned with risks to both sets of chicks, but I'd like to hear what other more experiences hatchers have to say.

 

[ChrisNich]

Im no expert and we'll need to wait until others chime in but I think one problem will be when you have to raise the humidity for the others to hatch. Another problem may be that if they shipped the same eggs it's hard enough to hatch shipped eggs anyhow. Sorry im not much help.

Thanks for your reply. The eggs are indeed a fresh set, arriving in just two days. The original set showed up 10! days after Priority Mailing from Ohio to Virginia, and I didn't even bother setting those.

 

[Laodicia]

My last hat

I recently purchased three different breeds of bantam eggs from three different breeders. Because of a USPS foul up (or fowl-up?!) the Serama eggs had to be reshipped and were set in the incubator a week later than the rest.

I am unsure what I should do when it's time to remove the automatic egg turner and lock down the incubator for the first set. My first thought was to just hand-turn the Serama eggs for that last week before they are locked down. But I keep reading dire warnings about opening the incubator during the lockdown phase.

My question is, "Will opening the incubator three times a day to hand-turn the late-arriving eggs adversely affect the development of the earlier eggs, which are no longer being turned?

Thanks for any insight you can lend, and cheers from Virginia.

ch had this problem my 2 year old put a few eggs in 3 days before i got the rest... i highly recommend you turn 5x minimum. Humidity should be fine for the first batch to stay at normal operating humidity until you start spotting external pips. Also if the humidity is high too early the seramas may not hatch. Once there are external pips -im not sure how realistic it would be for you- if you can get your arm in to your incubator blocking the rest of the doorway with a damp towel around your arm it depends on how entry works on your model. Then you could continue to turn your other eggs. If you cant do that then as soon as you see external pips you are done opening until the first group is hatched. Approximately 24-36 hours. If its late enough you may just want to put your seramas into lockdown too.

With mine the later group all but 1 hatched. i would say about 70% did not pip internally, they pipped opposite of the drawn down side because of not being turned as much as they should have been near the end. they all hatched unassisted though.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Just do your lockdown as normal with the first eggs and let the others ride along.
The higher humidity for the first batch won't be the end of the world for the second batch.
You can quickly hand turn the second batch if its before any of the first ones pip. I just lay my hand on them and move it enough that they roll the half way around. No need to be perfect.
Once you get a pip or hear peeps or stop opening it. Prefer to quite before the first pip. Opening it after pips will be far worse for the pipped eggs then not turning the second batch. Once chicks start hatching they will likely turn the other eggs for you.