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My Husband and i Have decided since we lost one of our precious birds recently that we would hatch out some of our own girls chicks and order some hatching eggs! I have been away for a coupe of days and before that my girls had layed some eggs! i left them in the coop as I was afraid that the father in law who was watching the house would put them in the fridge!

Hi Momma Hen.
Sorry to of not replied to your post before.

While it is advised to turn your eggs during the storage for incubation etc I would still of thought your eggs should be fine. I would not of thought that the hatching percentage would be affected a lot, because you left them there, for the couple of days you were away. The only other concern would be, to me, is how hot was the house/nest box where they have been left?

You could set the eggs together or I would suggest using another machine for your own eggs, but as you have said, you don't even know if the eggs you have bought will be fertile. Is it not possible to put the eggs you have bought into the incubator first, hopefully hatch those out and then set your own?

Regards
Jamie.

Yes, I agree with Jamie, I think the eggs in the house will be fine, they will stay in suspended animation until warmed to 37.5 degrees. Set them in the incubator and candle after 7/10 days. Eggs reduce in fertility something like 2% a day after the first 2 days so can be good for setting up to about 3 weeks (and longer) however setting in the first week/10 days would give you the best hatch rate.

Can you ask for the ones you have ordered to be delayed for a week until your incubator is free? Or store the next batch at room temp, point end down and tilt the tray 3 times a day to stop the contents sticking to the sides. Some people say put them in a plastic bag but they can also stay in the polystyrene box.

hopefully loads of chicks for you!

CLx

Thanks for both of your responses this has helped tons! I have candled the eggs that i have put in the incubator about 7 days ago now and all are fertile and developing except the 4 infertile and one early death! The eggs i ordered won't ship until the week of the 27th so they should be arriving as the others hatch! I will store them at room temp and turn them a couple times a day so that contents don't stick to sides! What is the ideal temp to store them at while my others hatch out?

Room temp will be fine Momma hen, so long as its fairly stable and doesn't fluctuate. So maybe put them in a less used room for a couple of days.
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