Dear Lord I was happy to find your video! I have hateched lots of chicks YEARS ago and had forgotten all the important tidbits. You gave me all those important items and now I feel confident to hatch eggs again. Thank uou 😊
Question: Some videos mention “disinfecting” eggs before placing them in incubator. I noticed that you didn’t mention this. Is this something that you do/don’t do, and why? I loved your video! Very thorough. 👍🏼
Hatching is so neat -- although very nerve-wracking, too! I'll looking forward to some videos of your eggs, too. :) Thanks for watching and have a great Sunday!
After I assembled my incubator I put a large plate glass for viewing in it. I noticed that over time I was having to adjust the temp during the night and day time hours to make up for radiational heat. Outside temps affect the inside temp. I left to go to church and came home to a temp of 102. When I left it was 99.5...I put styrofoam across the window except for a 2 inch view hole for temp readings and this helped greatly.
Thank you for the education. The "lockdown" thing gives me new knowledge. Avoiding rotten eggs exploding in the incubator is another thing I had never been told. I'm very new to this kind of thing, having just started with 15 purchased fertilized-eggs that went into the newly-purchased incubator 3 days ago. Do you need to vaccinate all your chicks right after birth? Best wishes from Thailand!
I've heard different things on whether to lay the eggs flat for the last 3 days or, some say to leave them upright but just unplug/turn off the turner for the last 3 days. Do you find one way more effective and successful than the other? ANy disadvantages that you've noticed of one way over the other? Thanks :)
Hello. If you had ONLY two choices of 99 degrees Fahrenheit OR 100 degrees Fahrenheit on your forced air incubator which would you choose for Mandarin duck eggs?
Thank you so much for this video!! So much helpful information. I read somewhere that after 7-10 days the fertility of the eggs goes down if left out, but I heard you say in your video you collected eggs for two weeks. Have you ever had an issue with letting them sit out for to long before putting them into the incubator?
I’m glad you found this helpful! I try not to wait longer than 2 weeks because I do think it affects the hatch rate. I don’t notice a problem in that time frame with freshly collected eggs from here. I do tilt the cartons often and try to keep the eggs at a good temperature. Thanks again!
It appears the flat on the right is upside down. Should work except for a greater likelihood of eggs falling out when tilted. The round holes at the highest point are designed to peg onto the posts which are visible when the flat is placed correct side up. This allows the flats to be stacked 6 flats high. When palletizing eggs an empty flat is placed on top before topping the layer off with a board and repeating the process.
Thanks for the video!! We just got started with chickens and have a new to us incubator. Ours looks very similar to yours!!! I'm gonna have to really examine it before I try to incubate eggs! We were sent over by Madam President from Chickenlandia 😁
Thank you so much for the video. We expecting eggs hatch next week. It is our first time. What do we do with high temperature in incubator ? Are chicks are going to be ok? Thank you
We’ve got fertilized eggs from a farm earlier today. Is it okay if they aren’t in the incubator for a while? Since I’m poor and have to make my own or borrow my friends.
Yes, you can keep them around 50-70 degrees - tilt the carton and change the direction twice a day. Fertility goes down after about a week, though. You can keep them up to two weeks.
Read Gail Damerow’s book on hatching and brooding, you can try sanitizing the eggs just before you put them in the incubator. Also, get a different thermometer and hygrometer to put inside to make sure you have correct temperature and humidity.
Sorry about your hatch. It could be because of so many things.... the eggs themselves, disease, improper temperature at some point, humidity issues or not getting turned enough. Did anything happen that you noticed during incubation?
A flashlight inside a toilet paper inner roll makes a good candling device. There are lots of LED flashlights for a few bucks so no need to buy a special device for $50. Thanks for posting.
Is it compulsory for us to rotate the egg twice a day, while it's inside the incubator. I haven't placed the eggs on a tray. The eggs are just kept lean.
So I have a good amount of eggs collected. Not washed sitting on my counter. They are about a week and a half old. I got an incubator as a present. Will any of these be viable to try in the incubator? Or not because I haven’t rotated them since bringing them in?
Congratulations on the great present! Fun! I think they could still hatch as long as it isn’t too warm in your house. (They will age quicker in warmer places.). I’d use them, but for your very first attempt you may want to use fresh eggs to start with the best chances for success. I’d love to hear how your incubator does for you.
The incubator should be 99.5. I have two thermometers. The digital is easier to see from outside. If it’s temp is off then I check the other. My incubator keeps the temp very steady.
Sorry this is probably too late! Most attempts at helping don’t go well. There are times when I will help with incubated eggs if they have dried out and then membrane is stuck to them. Most times there is a problem with the chick. 😢 it can take up to 24 hours from pipping fir the chick to even progress - so patience is key.
Hi, i ordered some fertilized eggs and they'll arrive in about 5 days from the that day i ordered the eggs. Will the eggs be ok after a week from when the hen layed the eggs?
Shipped eggs often have a lower hatch rate. Idk about chickens but with quail the rate goes to around 50% vs the 80-90% that the farmer I use gets for himself since no shipping.
Eggs need to be turned about 3 times per day. My incubator has an automatic turner so I kind of forget about that part. 😉. Put an X on one side of the egg and an O on the other. Then just roll them to the other side a few times a day - about every 8 hours.
I’m sorry that is happening. I’m not sure, although there are some hatching troubleshooting guides online if you do a google search. I hope you figure out the cause.
I work quickly, but they’re fine being out for candling. It usually takes me 5-10 minutes at most. Hens will leave the nest for much longer than that sometimes.
I’m worried I’m going to get my other eggs too cold because I have some eggs that are on their 21 day today and I have other ones that are on their 18 day so I need to remove their turners but they are in the same incubator as the other ones so I’m scared to risk the almost hatching ones getting too cold when I lift the lid for too long
Chicken Hues I was just worried they would get stuck in the turner when they hatched and I’ve already taken the turner out anyway but I think they are fine
I just had a chick try to hatch while I was at church . It broke it’s shell a bit but the yoke sack was still in the shell. When I walked in to check them it had passed. What could I have done wrong??
There are White Leghorns (white eggs, Black Copper Marans (dark brown), Ameraucanas (blue eggs), and Marans/Ameraucana mixes, which are Olive Eggers (olive Green eggs).
You must have misspoken..there are no incubators that require 30% humidity..that’s way, way too low! Forced air incubators at 99F need 56%, still air at 102F need 58%. That’s the lowest I’ve seen according to several brooding texts, including Gail Damerow’s “Hatching And Brooding Your Own Chicks.” If you’re having success, I suggest your hygrometer is way, way off. This advice is simply incorrect.
Actually there are different schools of thought on this. She is basically doing a “dry incubation.” Some people swear they get a higher hatch rate keeping the humidity lower during the first 18 days.
