Calibrating Styrofoam Incubator with Analog Gauge Thermometer Probe 04/08/2024

Adjusting Incubator thermostat and calibrating with analog gauge thermometer probe to read no more than 101 degrees during on/off cycle of the heating element. Sustained incubation temperatures greater than 102 degrees will either kill the embryos or result in birth defects and low hatch rate.Show more

Did not wash the eggs selected to be incubated. It is believed the natural bacterial "bloom" on the eggshell protects the developing embryo and helps the chick to build up immunity to disease.

Selecting the darkest chocolate brown and speckled French Copper Marans eggs and the lightest blue and green tinted Ameraucanas eggs for this batch.

The eggs have been marked with a pencil to indicate the date they were layed. I write an "O" on the blunt wide end and an "X" on the pointed narrow end to help me confirm the eggs are positioned correctly in the automatic turning tray. The tiny air sac inside the egg should be located near the top of the blunt wide end. This apparently helps the hatching chick to make that first "pip" out through the eggshell when the hatching process starts in approximately 21 days. I will check the eggs with a "candler" light in about a week to see if there is any development inside the eggs. I may add a few more eggs today if we get some exceptionally dark and pretty ones; other wise we will go with what has been started so they hatch at close to the same time. I really don't need more than half a dozen baby chicks to raise this Summer, so I will be very happy with a 50% hatch rate. Also, there is a 50/50 chance of hatching out more roosters. I don't know anyone here that wants to raise roosters since they are very loud and can be aggressive. They're mostly just good for breeding and eating, lol.