Hatching Tips

Essential Hatching Tips

️ Hatching Shipped Egg Tips:

I highly recommend a good incubator that holds steady temperature and humidity.
If you’re buying all those specialty hatching eggs- invest in a good incubator also!!

Hatching shipped eggs is always a gamble. Boxes dropped, flung down conveyor belts-not handled as “fragile”. ( Rude, right?)

If you get 50% hatch rate from shipped eggs, consider that winning the jackpot.

Incubator:
•Make sure you’ve cleaned and sanitized it well.
• Run the incubator for 24 hours before adding eggs.
• Verify temp 99.5F- Keep a couple of Govee thermometers in to track how accurate your temps and humidity are.

•Carefully unpack the eggs! Push the eggs up from the bottom of the foam, Do NOT reach in and pinch the eggs up.

Depending on your weather: if it’s been cold during transit let the eggs rest and come up to room temperature. 12-24 hours.
Hot weather- do not let them rest.

Next:
• I always wash shipped eggs.
• I use warm water 95 degrees or so to wash off the eggs.
• I mix oxine (bleach) with water in a spray bottle and spray each egg. Let the eggs dry completely before putting in the incubator.
*All big hatcheries wash their eggs before incubating* Poop and bacteria will cause horrible hatch rates.

Next:
• Candle eggs for cracks and damaged air cells.
• Look at the air cells: if you see air sacs saddled or detached- keep the eggs upright for 5 days in your incubator without turning. Keep the turner off.
If you do not have an upright incubator- use an egg carton to keep them upright.

I recommend hands off after this. Wanting to candle them often risks damage *accidental drops etc*

•At lockdown: Candle again and hatch in the carton if the air sacs are still showing issues.

•I do bump up my humidity to the recommended settings on my Hatching Time Incubator.

•Do not open the incubator until all the chicks have hatched. Opening will cause the eggs to shrink wrap the chicks. They will be fine for 48 hours after hatching. You want the chicks all fluffed up before taking out of the incubator anyway!