Staggered hatch question

[Timbers Happy Hens]

I started a batch of eggs about a week ago, they are silkie and silkie mixes. With winter my roosters fertility has dropped quite a bit so out of 20 eggs I only ended up with 9 developing. The rest didn’t even start. I was hoping for a bigger hatch than that so my question is could I add more eggs now and do a sort of staggered hatch? Is that possible or would it jeopardize the 9 eggs I have going? My incubator holds 22 eggs and I was hoping to add maybe 9 more eggs and leave space for hatching chicks. Please let me know any advice or tips on how I could best make this work if at all?

 

[GodLovesU]

Could you possibly divide the incubator and put the new eggs on one side?

 

[TesoroSena]

I started a batch of eggs about a week ago, they are silkie and silkie mixes. With winter my roosters fertility has dropped quite a bit so out of 20 eggs I only ended up with 9 developing. The rest didn’t even start. I was hoping for a bigger hatch than that so my question is could I add more eggs now and do a sort of staggered hatch? Is that possible or would it jeopardize the 9 eggs I have going? My incubator holds 22 eggs and I was hoping to add maybe 9 more eggs and leave space for hatching chicks. Please let me know any advice or tips on how I could best make this work if at all?

The issue with that would be that you have to raise the humidity for the last three days, which could potentially drown the other embryos. We’ve done it before in a dry hatch, but it never worked in a normal hatch for us. I wouldn’t, but it is up to you. How far along are the eggs in the incubator?

 

[Timbers Happy Hens]

Could you possibly divide the incubator and put the new eggs on one side?

Yes I have a turner that holds the eggs in place I can place older eggs on one side and new eggs on the other. I could also bag the younger eggs and hand turn them if needed.

 

[GodLovesU]

Yes I have a turner that holds the eggs in place I can place older eggs on one side and new eggs on the other. I could also bag the younger eggs and hand turn them if needed.

Bag?

 

[Timbers Happy Hens]

The issue with that would be that you have to raise the humidity for the last three days, which could potentially drown the other embryos. We’ve done it before in a dry hatch, but it never worked in a normal hatch for us. I wouldn’t, but it is up to you. How far along are the eggs in the incubator?

The eggs have exactly 2 weeks left. I was going to try bagging the new eggs and putting them on one side of the incubator, hand turning them if necessary. Would a 10% increase in humidity for no more than 3 days potentially kill the new embryos? My hatches usually are only 24 hours from start to finish.

 

[Timbers Happy Hens]

Bag?

Yes like a netted bag for apples or something. It’s breathable, soft and would keep the younger eggs entirely separate from the hatching eggs.

 

[TesoroSena]

The eggs have exactly 2 weeks left. I was going to try bagging the new eggs and putting them on one side of the incubator, hand turning them if necessary. Would a 10% increase in humidity for no more than 3 days potentially kill the new embryos? My hatches usually are only 24 hours from start to finish.

I’m not sure if that’s safe for the eggs as I have never tried it! Personally I wouldn’t but if you need more eggs I have been in a similar situations, and that would make sense! If you do try it keep us updated please!

 

[Timbers Happy Hens]

I’m not sure if that’s safe for the eggs as I have never tried it! Personally I wouldn’t but if you need more eggs I have been in a similar situations, and that would make sense! If you do try it keep us updated please!

Absolutely! I’ve seen people use soft mesh bags for separating eggs of different breeds that look similar and they hatched inside just fine. I figured it was worth a shot. I have eggs coming out my ears rn and the worst case scenario is the younger embryos don’t hatch.