Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
the incubation cycle. If you're not using a hatcher, you should still candle the eggs at
this last incubation mile marker.
Remember: It's always a good idea to remove infertile eggs or those that have cracks
in them; otherwise they'll rot and eventually explode in the incubator. An infertile egg
looks totally dark inside if about to blow, or completely void of color and clear if not
fertile.
Turning
Eggs should be turned a minimum of two times — but preferably three times — a day,
with equal intervals of time between turnings. Turning is a daily (and nightly) chore un-
til the final three days of incubation, when the embryo starts to turn toward the air sac
and pip its way out. You stop turning at this point to allow the embryo to adjust and
move in the proper direction.
Humidity Control
The level of humidity within the incubator has a huge bearing on the final hatch rate.
Humidity requirements are extremely variable; the type of incubator used, the region in
which you live, the location of the incubator on your property, and the species you are
hatching all affect the level of humidity necessary for the hatch.
Chickens are perhaps the easiest, being most forgiving of humidity mistakes (al-
though I have gathered fresh Coturnix quail eggs, saved them for less than a week, and
unintentionally supplied them with wide humidity variations, which nevertheless resul-
ted in a respectable hatch).
WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN CANDLING
Candling eggs is a skill that takes practice to learn. Eggs with white egg shells are
easiest to see through; practice with them. Once you've candled eggs a few times,
you'll be able to see rapidly if the eggs are fertile by the one-week point, even in the
darker-shelled eggs.
