15 Days In

We have a grand experiment going on. Since our rooster is no longer with us, we decided to try our luck with incubating eggs. Three years ago we made an attempt but only had 4 eggs to do it with and none hatched. This year we began with 19. We need to keep the incubator between 99-100 degrees, humid, and turn the eggs three times daily.  At day 19 we need to keep the incubator closed and stop turning, by day 21 we should have hatch-lings.

We had a scare about 9 days in where the incubator, for reasons unknown, got to 110 degrees for somewhere between 15-45 minutes. I researched desperately the repercussions and was a little disheartened to find that this may have, even for a such a short time, ruined the batch. We then began to collect eggs again over the next couple of days toying with the idea of starting over (there's a limited time frame for fertile eggs). So the day that we were making the final decision to start over, B decided to crack one of the eggs to see if there was any life. For the good or bad, there was a chick and it was alive. Unfortunately, we had to sacrifice the one to allow us to determine that the eggs were OK and we could continue on. Then, we began to notice an odor coming from the incubator each time we turned the eggs. After some research, I found that a rotten egg could spoil the batch and the last thing you want is for it to explode. Yikes, they can explode!? We learned that the eggs are porous enough that by smelling them individually you can easily tell which one is bad. B & I carefully examined all of the eggs at turning time and discovered one that was not right and eliminated it.   I now truly know where the adage, one bad egg can spoil the batch comes from!!  Now the incubator is a happy odor free place, where hopefully we'll have chicks in 6 or so days! Wish us luck!