Harris Farms Nurture Right 360 Incubator is AMAZING!

[CSolis]

Round and round and round they go, where they stop, nobody knows!

 

[KelseyBoxer]

I understand it is better to start lock down early rather than later if you are unsure. I love the NR360 because it does the math for you. Best of luck with your hatch.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Question. When should I start lockdown? Started my eggs on the 1st of the month. Day counter on the incubator says 3 days left. Would lockdown start tomorrow (18th) or on Friday (19th)?

I wasn't getting notifications in the thread yesterday and I love that there are so many helpful people here in the thread now! You're all the best!

PS It's ok to lockdown earlier. I tend to start lockdown on the evening of day 17. My reasoning is this, I like to candle my eggs before lockdown to check on them and mark the air cells and I can see the best when it's dark outside. I stop turning, candle the eggs, mark the air cells, and put down no-skid shelf liner. I just wait to increase the humidity until day 18 or sometimes 19.


Your calendar would typically look something like this.

 

[Amiermo]

Hello all! I’ve just finished reading through all 180 pages of this thread and it has been so very helpful!! I apologize ahead of time for this long post.

We were given a small flock of chickens about a year and a half ago and I fell in love! Last year we bought 5 pullets to add to the flock. Not too long after that 2 of my hens went broody. We didn’t want too many more so we took all eggs but 1 from each of them. We figured it would be fun for the kids (and myself of course). Fast forward a couple months and both chicks ended up being roosters. I swore I’d never hatch eggs again, only buy pullets lol. We already have 2 roosters, one came with the flock and another was dumped on the side of the road near our house. We took him in with the intention of finding him a home but he fit in so well and was so sweet that we kept him. So after swearing off hatching our own chicks and having to rehome any more roosters.... my brother got me an incubator for Christmas. Oh boy... lol. Of course I had to try it out. It was one of those off brand ones with the yellow lid. I bought 24 eggs from someone because I wanted something different than what we have and put 2 of our own in there. We ended up with 13 from the 26. I struggled a lot with that incubator especially since it was my first time but I was absolutely hooked! So of course I ran to TSC and got this incubator (sorry brother, I felt bad). I found someone selling BBS ameraucana eggs and went and got them. I currently have 15 eggs on day 5. Luckily last Mother’s Day my husband built me a very large “duplex” coop (had to have 2 sides for the 2 Roos lol) and they free range so we have plenty of room.

I’ve really learned a lot from everyone here and am hoping for a much better hatch on this run. Also, how do you make yourself stop? Because I see myself putting more in right after these hatch but we will eventually run out of room for more lol.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Hello all! I’ve just finished reading through all 180 pages of this thread and it has been so very helpful!! I apologize ahead of time for this long post.

We were given a small flock of chickens about a year and a half ago and I fell in love! Last year we bought 5 pullets to add to the flock. Not too long after that 2 of my hens went broody. We didn’t want too many more so we took all eggs but 1 from each of them. We figured it would be fun for the kids (and myself of course). Fast forward a couple months and both chicks ended up being roosters. I swore I’d never hatch eggs again, only buy pullets lol. We already have 2 roosters, one came with the flock and another was dumped on the side of the road near our house. We took him in with the intention of finding him a home but he fit in so well and was so sweet that we kept him. So after swearing off hatching our own chicks and having to rehome any more roosters.... my brother got me an incubator for Christmas. Oh boy... lol. Of course I had to try it out. It was one of those off brand ones with the yellow lid. I bought 24 eggs from someone because I wanted something different than what we have and put 2 of our own in there. We ended up with 13 from the 26. I struggled a lot with that incubator especially since it was my first time but I was absolutely hooked! So of course I ran to TSC and got this incubator (sorry brother, I felt bad). I found someone selling BBS ameraucana eggs and went and got them. I currently have 15 eggs on day 5. Luckily last Mother’s Day my husband built me a very large “duplex” coop (had to have 2 sides for the 2 Roos lol) and they free range so we have plenty of room.

I’ve really learned a lot from everyone here and am hoping for a much better hatch on this run. Also, how do you make yourself stop? Because I see myself putting more in right after these hatch but we will eventually run out of room for more lol.

Welcome to the thread and the hatching addiction!! Lol, Chicken math at its finest!

I'm glad you found reading through the thread so helpful! I'm confident you will be much happier with the NR360 over the yellow top Chinabator!

As far as stopping... you're asking the wrong person, lol! I've turned my love for hatching chicks into a mini business so many of the chicks don't stay with me but somehow I find myself keeping "just a few" every year. I tell myself it's to keep a steady supply of eggs as the hens age buuut we honestly don't eat very many eggs.

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

Hello all! I’ve just finished reading through all 180 pages of this thread and it has been so very helpful!! I apologize ahead of time for this long post.

We were given a small flock of chickens about a year and a half ago and I fell in love! Last year we bought 5 pullets to add to the flock. Not too long after that 2 of my hens went broody. We didn’t want too many more so we took all eggs but 1 from each of them. We figured it would be fun for the kids (and myself of course). Fast forward a couple months and both chicks ended up being roosters. I swore I’d never hatch eggs again, only buy pullets lol. We already have 2 roosters, one came with the flock and another was dumped on the side of the road near our house. We took him in with the intention of finding him a home but he fit in so well and was so sweet that we kept him. So after swearing off hatching our own chicks and having to rehome any more roosters.... my brother got me an incubator for Christmas. Oh boy... lol. Of course I had to try it out. It was one of those off brand ones with the yellow lid. I bought 24 eggs from someone because I wanted something different than what we have and put 2 of our own in there. We ended up with 13 from the 26. I struggled a lot with that incubator especially since it was my first time but I was absolutely hooked! So of course I ran to TSC and got this incubator (sorry brother, I felt bad). I found someone selling BBS ameraucana eggs and went and got them. I currently have 15 eggs on day 5. Luckily last Mother’s Day my husband built me a very large “duplex” coop (had to have 2 sides for the 2 Roos lol) and they free range so we have plenty of room.

I’ve really learned a lot from everyone here and am hoping for a much better hatch on this run. Also, how do you make yourself stop? Because I see myself putting more in right after these hatch but we will eventually run out of room for more lol.

Beautiful eggs! You'll get some lovely chicks from them.

Honestly? I've been hatching 3 years and it's never gotten old. I do 2-3 batches of shipped eggs for myself each year. I'm already planning next year's keeper. The rest of the time I give the chicks away to friends, neighbors, or other local homesteaders. I still learning something every hatch.

You're in good company on BYC and this thread in particular. The hive knowledge is astounding.

 

[Parront]

Hello all! I’ve just finished reading through all 180 pages of this thread and it has been so very helpful!! I apologize ahead of time for this long post.

We were given a small flock of chickens about a year and a half ago and I fell in love! Last year we bought 5 pullets to add to the flock. Not too long after that 2 of my hens went broody. We didn’t want too many more so we took all eggs but 1 from each of them. We figured it would be fun for the kids (and myself of course). Fast forward a couple months and both chicks ended up being roosters. I swore I’d never hatch eggs again, only buy pullets lol. We already have 2 roosters, one came with the flock and another was dumped on the side of the road near our house. We took him in with the intention of finding him a home but he fit in so well and was so sweet that we kept him. So after swearing off hatching our own chicks and having to rehome any more roosters.... my brother got me an incubator for Christmas. Oh boy... lol. Of course I had to try it out. It was one of those off brand ones with the yellow lid. I bought 24 eggs from someone because I wanted something different than what we have and put 2 of our own in there. We ended up with 13 from the 26. I struggled a lot with that incubator especially since it was my first time but I was absolutely hooked! So of course I ran to TSC and got this incubator (sorry brother, I felt bad). I found someone selling BBS ameraucana eggs and went and got them. I currently have 15 eggs on day 5. Luckily last Mother’s Day my husband built me a very large “duplex” coop (had to have 2 sides for the 2 Roos lol) and they free range so we have plenty of room.

I’ve really learned a lot from everyone here and am hoping for a much better hatch on this run. Also, how do you make yourself stop? Because I see myself putting more in right after these hatch but we will eventually run out of room for more lol.

Welcome to BYC!
I can not help you with the incubator, or your newfound addiction, as I am a new hatcher also. I have populated my neighbors yards already with chicks from the hatchery last year, the duck eggs in the incubator are for me! I do not have enough ducks yet! (Insert insane laughter here). Chickens will expand to fill all available space. I think it is a law of nature.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Decided to candle my eggs today. We are on Day 6. I have 11 eggs in the NR360. Seven are shipped (Cream Legbar) and 4 are from my Blue Andalusians. I've seen lots of posts about saddle shaped air cells. I have owned horses for nearly 15 years. I know what "saddle shaped" means to me...ha ha. When I candled those shipped eggs tonight, I had a lot of really big air cells. Much much bigger than my girls' eggs. And they are oddly shaped....more closely related to hearts than saddles. What does that mean? The CL eggs are kind of dark to see through so I couldn't really tell if they were quitters or not. They were dark inside so I think they are developing.....

I wasn't able to get any pictures tonight because my phone was dead. I can try to take some pictures tomorrow and post them for review.

 

[Amiermo]

Welcome to the thread and the hatching addiction!! Lol, Chicken math at its finest!

I'm glad you found reading through the thread so helpful! I'm confident you will be much happier with the NR360 over the yellow top Chinabator!

As far as stopping... you're asking the wrong person, lol! I've turned my love for hatching chicks into a mini business so many of the chicks don't stay with me but somehow I find myself keeping "just a few" every year. I tell myself it's to keep a steady supply of eggs as the hens age buuut we honestly don't eat very many eggs.

Yes, Chicken math is awesome
I’m hoping to be able to keep doing this for fun and finding homes for the chicks! I’m already wanting to buy a second incubator .


Beautiful eggs! You'll get some lovely chicks from them.

Honestly? I've been hatching 3 years and it's never gotten old. I do 2-3 batches of shipped eggs for myself each year. I'm already planning next year's keeper. The rest of the time I give the chicks away to friends, neighbors, or other local homesteaders. I still learning something every hatch.

You're in good company on BYC and this thread in particular. The hive knowledge is astounding.

I see a lot of friends and family with chickens in the near future !

Welcome to BYC!
I can not help you with the incubator, or your newfound addiction, as I am a new hatcher also. I have populated my neighbors yards already with chicks from the hatchery last year, the duck eggs in the incubator are for me! I do not have enough ducks yet! (Insert insane laughter here). Chickens will expand to fill all available space. I think it is a law of nature.

If chickens expand to fill all available space I’m in trouble! We have 13 acres, sorry husband . Good luck with your duck eggs!

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Decided to candle my eggs today. We are on Day 6. I have 11 eggs in the NR360. Seven are shipped (Cream Legbar) and 4 are from my Blue Andalusians. I've seen lots of posts about saddle shaped air cells. I have owned horses for nearly 15 years. I know what "saddle shaped" means to me...ha ha. When I candled those shipped eggs tonight, I had a lot of really big air cells. Much much bigger than my girls' eggs. And they are oddly shaped....more closely related to hearts than saddles. What does that mean? The CL eggs are kind of dark to see through so I couldn't really tell if they were quitters or not. They were dark inside so I think they are developing.....

I wasn't able to get any pictures tonight because my phone was dead. I can try to take some pictures tomorrow and post them for review.

Are you able to take a picture? It's hard to say without being any to see it.
Did you mark the air cells before setting them in the incubator? Is it possible that they were slightly older to begin with and the air cells were already larger before setting them?
Saddle shaped isn't a science, lol, descriptions are to help to identify exactly what weirdness is happening with our shipped eggs. Saddled air cells, jiggly air cells, and detached air cells are all slightly different looking but they're all basically from the same thing, trauma from rough handling causes the membrane to separate from the shell. The air cell might not be quite as big as it seems if the membrane is detached the light when candling with still illuminate the area even if the membrane is just below the surface...I'm sorry, that kind of hard to describe.