Thank you for purchasing our Fertile Hatching Eggs. I strive to give you the best eggs possible. These chickens are my passion and I treat them like my kids. I would never ship any egg that I wouldn’t put in my incubator. I inspect each egg and carefully package them tightly in the box. I hope you are satisfied and get a great hatch!

 

A FRIENDLY REMINDER:

Feedback is for the way I packaged and shipped your eggs, as well as communication during this transaction. I pride myself on feedback and reviews and try to operate as honestly as I possibly can. You can buy eggs from anyone and I want your repeat business. I appreciate that out of ALL the egg hatcheries out there, you chose me. I don't want a one-and-done experience. I want you to come back again, and again, and again. So, I value your feedback and experience. 

 

Here are some basic helpful hatching tips:

 

1. Let your eggs come to room temperature but get them in the incubator within a few hours with the pointy end down, especially with Black Copper Marans eggs. They are very sensitive. The air sac won't reattach until the eggs are put in the incubator. You want to allow them to come to room temperature slowly and then put them in the incubator. If they have been cold be sure to let them warm up slowly and don't shock them with quick or erratic temperature changes. Put them in an egg carton, pointy tip down, and close the carton lid allowing them to come to room temperature.

 

2. Have your incubator ready to go. Make sure your thermometer is properly calibrated and humidity and temperature are already correct and stable. The temperature should be between 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit. I have the GQF Cabinet and Hatching Cabinet. I have been keeping my humidity at 40% in both. I am currently getting about a 80% hatch rate on my Olive Eggs and BC1OE. As I continue to test hatch I will update you with more information.

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3. I only send clean eggs. If you want to wash your eggs that is up to you. Some people have success spraying the eggs with a 3% Hydrogen Peroxide just before putting them in the incubator. This especially helps with Black Copper Marans eggs. You can read more here. 

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Some people use fine sandpaper on their darker, thicker egg shells to help with higher hatch rates. I haven't tried this yet. I am going to experiment with that technique this year. 

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4. To turn or not to turn? Another great argument. Since these are shipped eggs, the egg sac will be all out of whack. Many good breeders recommend that you put them in the incubator in egg pods or the tuner straight up and down for about 7 days and then you turn on the turner or start hand turning. This helps to stabilize the egg sack. Again, it is trial and error. 

 

5. If you candle your eggs, do it after 7 days on lighter-shelled eggs. (I don't candle mine. I find the less I mess with them or touch them, the better off they do. This is really hard!

 

Please note, the darker the egg the more difficult it is to see and you will need a very bright candler. Personally, I don’t touch my eggs. I set it and forget until I move them to the hatching cabinet. I leave them until they start hatching. This year I am trying not to interfere. The less they are handled the better off they are. Some chicks are going to fully develop and not inner pip, or they may inner pip but die in the shell. This happens. Ask any honest breeder and it is just a part of hatching eggs, especially with Marans. 

 

Dry Hatch vs. Wet Hatch?

You will get 1000 different opinions on this subject. I have tried both and didn't experience much of a difference. I think it depends on where you live and what the relative humidity is for your climate. It doesn't make sense to wet hatch if your relative humidity is already at 50 to 60%. 

 

I would run experiments with cheaper eggs. Don't test these theories out on my eggs. This is too big of an investment to practice with my eggs. Be well acquainted with your incubator and your most successful hatches beforehand. 

 

There is a lot of great advice on how to hatch Black Copper Marans. If you get a 50 to 60% hatch rate on shipped hatching BCM eggs that is huge! The darker the egg, the more difficult it is to hatch. Some people don’t use automatic turners but hand-turn their eggs. There is a lot of information out there and it is a lot of trial and error. Eventually, you will come up with a game plan that works for you.

 

Always run experimental hatches on cheaper eggs before you use your expensive eggs.

 

5.  If an egg arrives cracked but is not leaking, google how to use candle wax and gently melt birthday candle wax on the crack (a thin layer) and throw it in the incubator. Other people have used Elmer's glue, melted crayon wax, and nail polish and have reported that they have successfully hatched those eggs.

 

6. On the 18th day remove the eggs from the turner and increase the humidity levels to what is right for your climate and incubator (as stated above, I incubate and hatch at 40 to 41% humidity in a GQF cabinet and hatcher cabinet). Do not touch the incubator again until all eggs are hatched. The chicks are fine. They can live a couple of days without food and water as they absorb the yolk and that provides all the nutrition they need. Make sure to have your brooder with a heating source ready for your new babies!

 

INCUBATORS:

I just took the plunge and bought a GQF Sportsman Cabinet and Hatcher Cabinet. Before this, I was using the Brinsea Ovation 56EX to incubate my Black Copper Marans. They have automatic humidity regulators built into the machine. Brinsea has a Scratch-N-Dent page where they sell perfectly good incubators that are slightly damaged.

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There are 50 ways to Tuesday on how to hatch, what incubator works best, and which ones people hate. I don't have all the answers. What works for me might not work for you, so it is difficult to be an authority on the subject or give adequate advice. My best advice is to hatch, hatch, hatch, and learn from your mistakes.

 

I've collected a lot of information from different mentors who have helped me and I have created my plan and I'm constantly modifying it as I learn more. There is a large variety of hatching ideas that work.  Create your own. 

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Trouble Shooting:

Here is a great article to read if you experience a power outage or fluctuating temperatures in your incubator. All is not lost. This story will renew your faith in the process. Chickens have been doing this for a long time and humans do not supersede God and His design. Again read this article to give you confidence. 

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If you need to assist the chicks out of the shells, here is an excellent article on the correct way to assist chicks and this offers a step-by-step guide.

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As of today, January 28, 2024, I am testing hatching my Olive Eggs and BC1OE to get an accurate hatch rate. At the moment it is sitting at 80%. I have several more batches to hatch and will update this as I continue to hatch them. I also crack eggs regularly to check for fertility. Also, none of my chicks die after hatching. The ones that hatch successfully, are healthy, vibrant, and strong. 

 

I have NOT started test-hatching my Black Copper Marans.

 

I know others that use the Nurture Right 360 to hatch their Black Copper Marans hatching eggs and have success as well as with the GQF Hova-Bator 2370 with circulated air, electronic thermostat, and automatic turner. If you are using these or any other incubators be sure to have an extra thermostat inside the incubator like a Govee . This will help regulate the humidity and temperature. Many times they are very off. A cooler environment will cause the chicks to hatch later. Read about humidity here.

 

Also, wrapping the incubators with towels helps keep the temps stable if your house runs cold like mine. Another tip is to buy a computer backup battery in the event you have a power outage. Most backup batteries give you about 12 hours of backup. 

 

These are just general helpful tips and pointers that have worked for me in my climate. Join a Black Copper Marans Facebook group where you can get a lot of advice and more tips. 

 

THANK YOU

Thanks again for buying my eggs, I appreciate your spending your hard-earned money on my eggs and I want you to be successful. Please reach out with any questions or concerns at Hello@BurberyNubians.com

 

Please leave feedback on our Facebook page: Burberry Homestead here on our website. WE LOVE pictures!

 

HAPPY HATCHING!!! 

Freda