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| All the beautiful colors of eggs. |
DAY 1
NOTE: Some people consider "Day 1" to begin 24 hours after the eggs have been set in the incubator. I don't know how it's supposed to be figured, but I put the eggs in the incubator at about 2:00 a.m. on Tuesday, December 4 and I'm calling this Day 1.I picked up chicken eggs yesterday in different shades of brown, blue, green, and pink. 42 eggs went into the incubator early this morning. The incubator was already set up and running. Relative humidity when I put the eggs in was between 57-60% and the temperature was between 100-101 degrees Fahrenheit measured at the top of the egg turner.
We did not candle the eggs before they were put into the incubator. I have read that some people recommend candling before setting them, but I can't imagine there would be anything impressive to see at this point so we skipped candling for now.
We will candle the eggs between Day 5 and Day 7. At that point there should be signs that the embryo is either beginning to develop or not. Any that are not developing will have to be disposed of to eliminate the risk of them exploding and spreading bacteria throughout the incubator to the other embryos. And the ones that are developing will be left to, hopefully, hatch out and grow into fantastic colored egg laying birds.
Before putting the eggs into the incubator, I gave each egg a number from 1-42, took a picture of each egg (dirtiest side facing the camera) and took notes on each egg. Notes include the color, shape, what the pointy end is like (rounded or pointy), if the egg has a normal shape or not, any cleaning that the egg underwent, and where the egg came from. All these things can affect the embryo so I'd like to see for myself how it affects our hatch.
But the things I noted aren't the only factors. Consider that this is December and here in North Carolina temperatures have been anywhere from the 20s to the 60s druing the last week and these eggs have been laid outside in chicken coops during this time. I don't know if the temperatures will affect the eggs. We'll have to find out. The conditions inside the incubator also matter a whole lot. I have to keep a close eye on the temperature and humidity inside the incubator. It's been several hours since I put the eggs in the incubator. The temperature and humidity in the incubator were significantly reduced when I removed the lid to place the eggs in. This is absolutely normal. Now I'm waiting for the conditions to stabilize again so I can get an accurate reading of how the conditions were affected by the eggs being added.
For now, it's just a waiting game. I'll be spending today working to stabilize the incubator's temperature and humidity and keeping an eye on everything to make sure all runs smoothly. This includes making sure that these little boys of mine stay out of the incubator so that the embryos can develop and progress.
One thing I've already noticed is that I should've moved my thermometers/hygrometers to different spots in the incubator. Since I put the eggs in, I had to move the thermometers/hygrometers to the very outside of the edge of the egg turner. It was either that or put them on the floor of the incubator. I chose to put them at the edge of the egg turner because this way they were elevated above the floor and would give a more accurate reading for where the eggs are actually at. The temperature and humidity has gone nuts since this move.
The temperature this morning was about 102 degrees. I went ahead and lowered the thermostat just a touch so that hopefully it will soon be the correct temperature again. The humidity is reading several points off now. One reads 63% and the other reads 49%. I'm hoping everything will level out soon. I'm a nervous wreck thinking I 'm going to mess up these eggs on Day 1. I'm sure this is a normal way to be feeling for a first time egg incubator.
MEET THE BABIES-TO-BE
These are pictures of the actual eggs we set in the incubator. The colors may not look the same on your screen as what they actually are. Egg color and details are listed below each picture.
Number 1
Green-blue egg, nice shape and size, pointy end.
Number 2
Green blue egg, nice shape and size, pointy end.
Number 3
Pink egg, long shape, pointy end.
Number 4
Dark brown, nice shape and size, rounded end.
Number 5
Green blue, nice shape and size, pointy end, scrapped clean.
Number 6
Brown egg with heavy bloom, nice shape, rounded end.
Number 7
Brown, rounded end.
Number 8
Brown, rounded end, scrapped clean.
Number 9
Dark brown, rounded end, scrapped clean.
Number 10
Blue egg, lots of bumps build up on the shell, nice shape and size, pointy end, porous.
Number 11
Brown egg, rounded end, porous.
Number 12
Dark brown, rounded end.
Number 13
Green blue egg, longer shape, pointy end, porous.
Number 14
Light green, nice shape, rounded end.
Number 15
Light green, has a misshapen pointy end with a bump that can be seen and felt.
Number 16
Pink, nice shape, blunt end, wet wiped to clean, porous.
Number 17
Green, nice shape, pointy end.
Number 18
Green, nice shape, pointy end.
Number 19
Green, nice shape, pointy end.
Number 20
Green, nice shape, pointy end, wet wiped to clean.
Number 21
Green with bumps built up on the shell, nice shape, pointy end, porous.
Number 22
Dark brown with heavy bloom, rounded end, scrapped clean.
Number 23
Green, longer shape, pointy end, porous.
Number 24
Dark brown, rounded end.
Number 25
Green, long shape, pointy end, porous.
Number 26
Dark brown, rounded end.
Number 27
Brown, rounded end, porous.
Number 28
Green, longer shape, pointy end, scrapped clean, porous.
Number 29
Green, longer shape, pointy end, scrapped clean.
Number 30
Green, longer shape, blunt end, stained, porous.
Number 31
Brown, rounded end, scrapped clean.
Number 32
Brown, rounded end, scrapped clean.
Number 33
Blue green, rounded end, rubbed under hot water to clean.
Number 34
Brown heavily speckled, rounded end, rubbed under hot water to clean, porous.
Number 35
Green, long shape, pointy end.
Number 36
Brown, round end.
Number 37
Brown, rounded end.
Number 38
Brown, nice shape and size, pointy end.
Number 39
Brown, rounded end.
Number 40
Brown, rounded end.
Number 41
Brown, rounded end, scrapped clean, porous.
Number 42
Brown, rounded end, scrapped clean.
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