Incubating with multiple hens

[Dfarago]

I have two jersey giant hens and an evil rooster. Last clutch we had he murdered several chicks before I could intervene (they were new for us and I didn’t realize he would be so aggressive with his own chicks. please don’t judge too harshly ) so we got an incubator. So I’m wondering, since we’re taking the eggs as the hens get broody, can you have clutches on two separate development cycles in the same incubator? Like one that’s halfway through it’s cycle and another that’s just starting? I’m asking because the incubator stops turning eggs three days before hatch. So if they’re hatching at different times will the younger eggs have development problems from the Lack of turning for three days?

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

I routinely do staggered hatches - setting groups of eggs with different hatch dates - but use a separate incubator as a dedicated hatcher. This allows me to maintain optimal incubation conditions (turning, temperature, humidity) appropriate to the eggs' stage of development. When lockdown day arrives, I just move the eggs that are ready into the hatcher, and the other eggs remain in the incubator.

I would be less concerned about the effects of the 2nd group not being turned for 3 or more days (when lockdown occurs for the 1st group) than I would the potential effects of hatching chicks knocking those less-developed eggs around, the higher humidity needed for hatching, and hatching gunk getting on eggs that still have time left for incubation. How will you clean the incubator after the 1st group hatches but the 2nd group is still in there?

For best results with staggered hatches, I'd get a separate hatcher - and it can also serve as a backup incubator. The hatcher contains the hatching mess and is typically a less expensive model than the incubator.

Best of luck!