WK #3

[Sydney65]

6+ eggs will be laid Sunday, ship out Monday. If all survive, that wld make flock it's original size when I got them.It wld be easier to let Rosie do it, but I've forced her off of her nest, so she's starting over.as R2elk said, might not work out as planned.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

6+ eggs will be laid Sunday, ship out Monday. If all survive, that wld make flock it's original size when I got them.It wld be easier to let Rosie do it, but I've forced her off of her nest, so she's starting over.as R2elk said, might not work out as planned.

Shipped eggs are notoriously hit or miss, so you might want to incubate them plus whatever Rosie has layed by then. Do you have an incubator?

 

[R2elk]

6+ eggs will be laid Sunday, ship out Monday. If all survive, that wld make flock it's original size when I got them.It wld be easier to let Rosie do it, but I've forced her off of her nest, so she's starting over.as R2elk said, might not work out as planned.

If you want a specific number as the result, you have to start with more. I would start with at least double what I want to end up with.

 

[Sydney65]

I don't want a specific # - this was spontaneous, irrational,dumb, emotional, not well thought out & probably costly reaction to losing 2 and NOT wanting to start over with 10 or more. I knew I'd have to get an incubator, I just didn't realize how many pitfalls were involved in selecting one,& if I pick wrong, it seems that's the whole ballgame.
Example - I wld have picked this one, yet it seems to be a bad choice. https://smile.amazon.com/Glossrise-...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=Y1SYDYFXS0CFMVWWCEYS


So this wld be the next one: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product...d_p=edaba0ee-c2fe-4124-9f5d-b31d6b1bfbee&th=1

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

I don't want a specific # - this was spontaneous, irrational,dumb, emotional, not well thought out & probably costly reaction to losing 2 and NOT wanting to start over with 10 or more. I knew I'd have to get an incubator, I just didn't realize how many pitfalls were involved in selecting one,& if I pick wrong, it seems that's the whole ballgame.
Example - I wld have picked this one, yet it seems to be a bad choice. https://smile.amazon.com/Glossrise-...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=Y1SYDYFXS0CFMVWWCEYS


So this wld be the next one: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product...d_p=edaba0ee-c2fe-4124-9f5d-b31d6b1bfbee&th=1

Im not familiar with those incubators. We mostly use a digital, forced air Hova Bator 2370. I always use a separate calibrated thermometer and hygrometer. In addition, we use a hatcher if necessary, like for a staggered hatch:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01MYR0Q33/ref=ppx_yo_mob_b_inactive_ship_o0_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Sydney65]

Thank you. That's the one I decided to get, and did get a separate thermometer/hygrometer. I wasn't sure how well the others would work for a small hatch. What have I done?! -red is a bad color for that-I'm not angry, just...wow....lol.

 

[Sydney65]

on the flip side, Nugget got a bit of his own medicine today. Think he got too curious abt Rosie, so my big gray chased his little lavender butt around the house ALL.DAY.LONG.

 

[Sydney65]

Good morning! Brinsea to arrive today, eggs to arrive Thursday. Hoping you guys will coach me through this as you can.
Received instructions from sender as follows:
1.let the eggs set pointy side down for 24 hours BEFORE incubation.

2. On day 19 it is common to take chicken eggs out of the turner and lay them on their sides and no longer turn them for hatching. With shipped guinea eggs eggs on day 26 put in egg cartons pointed end down to let them hatch. If the air cells are irregular shaped due to shipping, this allows the chicks to have the air cell perfectly up for hatching and can insure a better hatch rate. (D/T guinea 28 day incubation period rather than the 21 day incubation period of chicken eggs).

I downloaded Brinsea manual-
From what I've read, since eggs are not fresh, I shouldn't weigh them unless by chance he sends laid weight. Instead I shld measure L x breadth x 0.548 =fl wt.. and I do all of this pointy side down?
incubation is 99°F temp, turning 3-5 x daily,and though I should test first,eggs should be started at room temperature and allowed to warm up WITH the incubator rather than going into one already warmed up,then drop temp by 1°on lock down w/vents open.
Trusting that turning shld be 80°, not the 180° one of these on line sites suggested?
Humidity-I see variations- Brinsea said 40-50%, site in here said 45-55%. Might be a personal preference, but may make a difference at lock down, bc either way, then you only increase humidity by 5%?

Where do you usually do this at? I ask bc I cld have it in rm I kept brooder in w/ac vent off,or I cld put it in rm w/ac on where it's cooler-72°- but stable, or I cld put it in kitchen away from food prep area but inherently warmer and more humid.

 

[R2elk]

Good morning! Brinsea to arrive today, eggs to arrive Thursday. Hoping you guys will coach me through this as you can.
Received instructions from sender as follows:
1.let the eggs set pointy side down for 24 hours BEFORE incubation.

2. On day 19 it is common to take chicken eggs out of the turner and lay them on their sides and no longer turn them for hatching. With shipped guinea eggs eggs on day 26 put in egg cartons pointed end down to let them hatch. If the air cells are irregular shaped due to shipping, this allows the chicks to have the air cell perfectly up for hatching and can insure a better hatch rate. (D/T guinea 28 day incubation period rather than the 21 day incubation period of chicken eggs).

I downloaded Brinsea manual-
From what I've read, since eggs are not fresh, I shouldn't weigh them unless by chance he sends laid weight. Instead I shld measure L x breadth x 0.548 =fl wt.. and I do all of this pointy side down?
incubation is 99°F temp, turning 3-5 x daily,and though I should test first,eggs should be started at room temperature and allowed to warm up WITH the incubator rather than going into one already warmed up,then drop temp by 1°on lock down w/vents open.
Trusting that turning shld be 80°, not the 180° one of these on line sites suggested?
Humidity-I see variations- Brinsea said 40-50%, site in here said 45-55%. Might be a personal preference, but may make a difference at lock down, bc either way, then you only increase humidity by 5%?

Where do you usually do this at? I ask bc I cld have it in rm I kept brooder in w/ac vent off,or I cld put it in rm w/ac on where it's cooler-72°- but stable, or I cld put it in kitchen away from food prep area but inherently warmer and more humid.

Hatching Eggs 101 by @Sally Sunshine

I have hatched shipped eggs following all the recommendations and not following the recommendations. I have not found any noticeable difference between the methods.

I allow shipped hatching eggs to warm up to room temperature. At this point, I put them in the incubator. Once the incubator is closed, I switch on the auto turner. With shipped Guinea eggs, I normally would get about a 60% hatch from viable eggs.

If the eggs are individually bubble wrapped, be careful to not spin the eggs while unwrapping them. This can be harmful to the eggs.

With a new incubator, be sure to run it for several days in a temperature stable room to make sure that it is working properly. Double the incubator temperature with a calibrated thermometer. Check the humidity with a salt tested hygrometer.

I incubate my guinea eggs between 30 to 35% humidity and raise the humidity to 65 to 70% at lockdown. I do not bother with lowering the temperature by 1°F at lockdown.

If you are hand turning the eggs, it should be 180° at every turn but the direction of the turn should be alternated. Turn the egg clockwise during one turn and counter clockwise at the following turn. It is helpful to put a mark on opposite sides of each egg along with a direction arrow showing which direction the egg should be turned.

Since guinea eggs can hatch anywhere from day 26 thru day 28, you want to put them in lockdown no later than day 25. Some people put their guinea eggs into lockdown on day 24.

You can check on air cell development either by weighing the eggs at the start and on regular intervals during the incubating phase, or you can do it by candling.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Good morning! Brinsea to arrive today, eggs to arrive Thursday. Hoping you guys will coach me through this as you can.
Received instructions from sender as follows:
1.let the eggs set pointy side down for 24 hours BEFORE incubation.

2. On day 19 it is common to take chicken eggs out of the turner and lay them on their sides and no longer turn them for hatching. With shipped guinea eggs eggs on day 26 put in egg cartons pointed end down to let them hatch. If the air cells are irregular shaped due to shipping, this allows the chicks to have the air cell perfectly up for hatching and can insure a better hatch rate. (D/T guinea 28 day incubation period rather than the 21 day incubation period of chicken eggs).

I downloaded Brinsea manual-
From what I've read, since eggs are not fresh, I shouldn't weigh them unless by chance he sends laid weight. Instead I shld measure L x breadth x 0.548 =fl wt.. and I do all of this pointy side down?
incubation is 99°F temp, turning 3-5 x daily,and though I should test first,eggs should be started at room temperature and allowed to warm up WITH the incubator rather than going into one already warmed up,then drop temp by 1°on lock down w/vents open.
Trusting that turning shld be 80°, not the 180° one of these on line sites suggested?
Humidity-I see variations- Brinsea said 40-50%, site in here said 45-55%. Might be a personal preference, but may make a difference at lock down, bc either way, then you only increase humidity by 5%?

Where do you usually do this at? I ask bc I cld have it in rm I kept brooder in w/ac vent off,or I cld put it in rm w/ac on where it's cooler-72°- but stable, or I cld put it in kitchen away from food prep area but inherently warmer and more humid.

You are brave to try shipped eggs as you first hatching experience. You might enjoy this more if you look at this as an experiment/test run of your new incubator. Is this the Brinsea eco mini? It’s funny because I am once again dealing with a staggered hatch and have six eggs in that incubator hatching right now! Most of their time was in the Hovabator though... Did you get it with no auto turner?

In addition to the guide R2elk suggested, you might read:https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hatching-shipped-eggs.75470/
You’ll need to decide how much you want to baby those shipped eggs. The aircells are often damaged in shipment. Sometimes the egg gets scrambled or xrayed or whatever. Most babying of shipped eggs is to help the damaged air cell. So, after letting your eggs sit motionless at room temp for at least 12 hr, you need to candle and see how the aircell looks. Candle your own guinea eggs now so you can see what normal is. If the aircells in your shipped eggs are damaged, that where you may decide to try all the careful shipped egg babying. The whole turning of shipped eggs thing is really debated.

Temp: 99.5 F. Humidity: most people on BYCs have gone to dry. Don’t add any water and see what humidity you get. I don’t weigh eggs and just casually candle the aircell. I’ve just kind of stopped worrying about it... Location: whichever spot has the steadiest temperature and is away from any dogs/cats who might want to jump on it!

Maybe join the July or August hatchalong? You’ll always have an experienced incubator around to answer questions, and it’s eye opening to see how other people do things. Someone there will also be dealing with shipped egg stress... Let me know if you join and I’ll join too!

Lockdown: mine keep hatching early, with internal pips at 22 days, so that’s when I’d lock down.