[cammi]

Hi
I ordered two lots of hatching eggs through the post, one lot arrived yesterday (luckily the larger amount) so they have been resting for 24hrs, the other lot has just arrived.  I was going to just let them rest for a few hours before setting them all the in incubator and they would just have to take their chances, but i've given them a quick candle and two of them have a detached air sack.  Do I  - 1: put them in and hope for the best. 2: leave them to rest for 24hours and then add them will will involve opening the incubator and losing temp and humidity or 3: leave them ALL for another 24hrs, so the first lot will not reach the incubator till 48hrs after arrival  oh or just though of 4: set them all off before bed tonight about 11-12 so the late arrivals will have had 12hours resting.

Sorry of muddle post but my head is spinning with opitions! 

Hope someone can advise

[splash101]

leaving the first lot for another 24 hours will do no harm at all. Its best to put both lots in at the same time as you can stop turning them all together towards the end of incubation.

If it was me, I would leave them until tomorrow to put in.

Interesting what you said about the air sack. I've never candled eggs before putting them, i dont always candle them during incubation. I pretty much put them in and hope for the best.

Good luck

[cammi]

splash101 - think i've been reading too much, this is my first time :blink:

do you still let your eggs rest before incubating them?  thats if you use posted ones

[nuzuki]

I dont think the 24hour thing is strict afterall mrs hen doesn't have a clock  I personally have had eggs hatch that I recieved through the post without resting for 24hours. Ive had 2 batches arrive in the past that have been staggered and I have just staggered the rest times. You can get away with resting them for 8-12hours and will obtain the same results. If they have arrived through the post you cant guarantee when the egg was laid and as fertility of the egg deteriorates after 7-10days unless stored properly I would try to get them in asap and minimise the rest period. I guess the science behind it is to bring them upto temp slowly so it doesnt shock the egg. When letting eggs rest keep them under 20deg C. When you are wanting the development of the egg to start then anything over 20deg C will start off this process.

Good luck with your hatch

[pepsi100]

I have just had a delivery of 12 eggs, I'll let them sit for 12 hours, tonight they go into the incubator

Only reason I am resting them is to bring the to room temperature, then they go into the incubator which is up to temperature now, hardest thing I have found is getting the humidity right and constant, 

I have put a small bowl of water and a wet sponge in there, but it always seem to be all over the place (I have a reptile humidity thing, digital thermometers and a circulating air incubator)

I have also tried a spray bottle when I turn the eggs to bring the humidity up, I turn the eggs about 4-5 times a day

I put an X and O on oppposite sides so I know how they have been turned 

[cammi]

Pepsi - I think I will be joining you in setting them tonight.   We've got 18, 3 each of 5 different breeds.

Just have one of those polystyrene incubators off ebay, we had got it all set up nicely nice but them fan broke yesterday, we have replaced it but for some reason the humidty keeps goin upto 51 whereas before it was a nice 47, haven't changed anything in the set up just the fan which is bigger (got it out of a computer) so hopefully its just cause the air is being moved around differently.

[pepsi100]

I hope you have more success with polystyrene box than I did,

I had 12 eggs in there, none hatched, NOW I dont know if it was the box or what it was, but I found it hard to maintain the temperate and humidity, over night the temperature would drop, the humidity  fell

It was a constant battle to try and keep everything stable

I wish you a lot of luck, keep me updated with your progress and how it goes

[nuzuki]

I dont touch the humidity till day 17/18 and have had good success following this method  (I think they refer to it as dry hatching) Also I found I get better success without a fan and using a still air incubator. My girlfriend gets the poly boxes from the NHS as they use them for urgent deliveries then discard them.

I have had a couple of deformed chicks when turning 3 times a day so have now started turning 5 times a day.

Heres a pic of my current incubator setup...



Its a simple circuit using a thermostat controlled old style light bulb (all parts from maplins). By the way the thermometer/humidity combo I have shown there in the picture have been known get stuck in the past. But the thermostat I have has a digital display showing temp so I tend to rely on that.

I hope this helps you somehow

[cammi]

I'm not holding out much hope to be honest  in my mind i will be happy if i get 4 to hatch out of 18!  the humdity is stableish just keeps creeping a bit high, the temperature goes between 36.3 and 37.8 at the moment but im working on that.

Will try a post a pic later

[nuzuki]

My incubator run is roughly 10days in. You can just make out the humidy at 40% and thats without adding any water at all. There is always a bit of humidity found naturally in the air but really the eggs need it closer to hatching time so they can move about inside the shell in order to peck their way out.

I think with the weather being how it has been the last week then the cockerals should have been doing the business and you should have some luck. Be prepared for roughly 50% of the hatch to be boys. What breeds are you hatching out of interest?

[pepsi100]

Ah, mine are Buff Orpingtons, a 50/50 mix isa bit high I think, I have never had a 50/50 male and females

What should the humidity be as they approach jatch time ?

[ANHBUC]

I wouldn't mind 50/50 ratio.  I have had 5 out of 5 boys, 2 out of 6 boys, 1 out of 1 boy and latest 4 out of 5 boys. 

[pepsi100]

I wouldn't mind 50/50 ratio.  I have had 5 out of 5 boys, 2 out of 6 boys, 1 out of 1 boy and latest 4 out of 5 boys.

I have had 3 males from a hatch of 12 before now, had all females from other hatches, but never a 50/50 mix, not even close, just kinda lucky I guess, but a 100 of males would really get to me (I bet thats what I end up with on this hatch now

[ANHBUC]

The ones I have with the high percentage are from the same line.  I am hoping that when I breed from the one female next year if will break the bad run.

Good luck with your hatch and may all your little chicks be ladies.   

[pepsi100]

The ones I have with the high percentage are from the same line.  I am hoping that when I breed from the one female next year if will break the bad run.

Good luck with your hatch and may all your little chicks be ladies.   

I'll settle for them all to be healthy  and for them all to hatch out, a 12 out of 12 would be nice