Best conditions for hatching bantam cochin eggs

[lkayla43]

Hey guys,

I was wondering if anyone can give me advice on what temperature and humidity works best for incubating bantam cochin eggs, both before lockdown and during lockdown. I had two eggs that were developing well and were moving around when I candled them right before lockdown but then they never hatched, so of course I'm upset with myself for possibly doing something wrong. During lockdown, my temp stayed around 99.5 and humidity typically ranged between 65-70%. This was my first time hatching eggs so I know it's a "live and learn" experience. My incubator is a Nurture Right 360, I also have a hygrometer inside but I'm not sure if I trust it so if anyone knows of a trustworthy brand, please let me know!

 

[FarmInProgress]

Hello I have hatched quite a few batches of chicks. What is your humidity at before lockdown? And you might want to get another thermometer to put in your incubator because most of the time it’s reading wrong (and if you do make sure you celebrate it). Do you know if it’s still air or Forced air incubator?

 

[SueT]

Were the eggs from your own hens? How were you storing them before incubation? How old were they when you started incubating them?

 

[lkayla43]

Hello I have hatched quite a few batches of chicks. What is your humidity at before lockdown? And you might want to get another thermometer to put in your incubator because most of the time it’s reading wrong (and if you do make sure you celebrate it). Do you know if it’s still air or Forced air incubator?

Before lockdown I tried to keep humidity between 40-50. But several times I had it plunge down as low as 20 during the night...not sure if that had a negative affect on the eggs. However it never plunged down during lockdown because I put extra water bowls inside. My incubator is forced air.

 

[lkayla43]

Were the eggs from your own hens? How were you storing them before incubation? How old were they when you started incubating them?

They were shipped eggs. I received 8 eggs, but 3 weren’t fertilized and 3 had blood rings when I candled at day 7. so I only had 2 left but they developed fine all the way until lockdown. The eggs were 6 days old when I got them and then I let them sit for a day so they could settle and adjust before putting in the incubator. So they were 7 days old when finally placed them into incubator.