Step 2 - Egg Prep
Either you had your eggs delivered by Pips Farm or you have picked them up from us - now you need to prepare for setting the eggs in your incubator.
THE FIRST THING YOU NEED TO DO IS
Let the eggs settle for 24hrs+
Your eggs just had a big trip and the egg sack may have shifted.
The air sack in an egg is an important part of a successful hatch. When you open your egg carton you will be able to observe that the eggs are pointy-side down. This allows the air sack to settle at the top-most part of the egg, which is the larger rounder end. The eggs are "upside down" in the carton and should remain undisturbed for at least 24hrs. Depending on when you receive the eggs, they can remain in this position until your scheduled "Set Day" when the eggs are placed inside the incubator. 24hrs is only the minimum amount of time you want to leave them for.
The eggs will also reach room temperature in this period of time which will prevent the air inside of the egg fr4om expanding too quickly and causing cracks to form in the shell. Cracks may lead to termination of the eggs and make quite the mess of the incubator if it "pops" during the incubation period. Though unlikely to occur it is important to note that the location of the eggs during their resting period prior to incubation should have a reasonably consistent temperature. Make sure they are not placed too close to a window or doorway where temperatures fluctuate.
NOW IS ALSO THE TIME TO
Set up and test the incubator
Dry run the incubator without any water bottles attached and ensure that in the location you have chosen it can hold a consistent temperature.
Place the two accompanying bottles in a cupboard or on a shelf for the time, place the rotating egg disk on the incubator base, and fit the incubator dome on top. Plug the power cord into a wall receptacle and then plug in the incubator to the cord. The incubator will take a bit of time to get to temperature, at which point you can observe it intermittently over a couple of hours to ensure the temperature remains consistent.
The temperature target depends on the type of egg you have been provided with. The incubators provided do not have high-resolution temperature displays with decimal points so your target temperature for both chicken and quail eggs is 38°C.
Be sure that the incubator dome is sitting evenly on the base and there are no gaps between them. You can lightly rotate the dome and if it moves it may not be seated properly into the grooves of the base. If the base wants to move with the dome then it is likely seated properly. You can run your finger along the seam where they join and often feel any areas where the dome is not sufficiently closed.