First time incubating have questions on Black copper Maran eggs.

[Runin4k]

Hi new here. I am hatching my first flock of chickens to be used for egg laying . Have a variety of mixed breeds from a friends flock and some Black copper Maran eggs bought from a breeder also some crossed with the Maran to get the rich colored eggs. I have the Maran eggs and the crosses in a separate incubator keeping the humidity down to 35% and upped it to 55-60% as instructed by the breeder for lock down hatching period (on day 19) All other eggs are in an incubator set at a higher humidity 45-55% for incubation and now 65-70% for hatching . Question on theses thicker darker colored Maran and Maran crossed eggs …. I’ve learned they have thicker shells and have a hard time hatching and often die by being unable to get out, any advice on this would be much appreciated, would poking a hole in the end to allow air to help them along once the 21 day passes be a good idea? Saw on a you tube video a person used an Emory board to help thin out the shell on the pip end of egg to help them get out any advice do’s or don’t please.

 

[Island Coppers]

Runin4k​

Welcome to BYC.

I have hatched BCM's with some success. It looks to me as though you are right on target for a good hatch. I would try to avoid messing with the eggs as much as possible. I think it's much more likely that damage will happen as a result of trying to help, however well intended. Best of luck with the hatch. You'll hear folk here say you can do everything right and get a lousy hatch rate and you can make lots of mistakes and get a great hatch rate.