1st Test Hatch of 2015

I set a batch of eggs 2/13 early in the morning. They're a "test hatch" from my Catskill Homesteader breeding project. It's the first time I've incubated eggs this early in the year, usually I wait until it's warmer. 

Thankfully, we had a few days in the upper 20's and low 30's.

But, it's back down to below zero at night and single digit highs, so no eggs laid during these next few days would be able to be hatched!

A few days later, I forgot that I had lowered the Genesis 1588's thermostat last hatch, so I had to reset it to 99.5*.

Since the room it's in isn't that warm (mid 60's), I have the incubator covered with towels to help hold in the heat. Waiting is the hardest part, but I'm in the process of building a "coolerbater" for hatching the eggs. ...

I couldn't wait any longer & candled Friday (2/20) morning.

I lost count of how many were clear. Out of 48 eggs set, there's only about 7 that are veining, with a few more ?-able ones.

And I've incubated eggs before, so I know what they should look like on day 7. 

I'm pretty sure they were just infertile, as those eggs were from before I had separated the hens and roosters into breeding groups. So, while I've rotated roosters throughout the winter, the ratio was around 1 roo to 35+ hens (have 40 currently, but some are younger or not laying).

Now, I've separated them, so there's a better ratio of roosters to hens, but with this cold weather I'm not sure if the roosters feel "springy" enough to do their job.

I was able to get one egg yesterday morning that was still warm in the nest, so I brought it inside, and put it in the incubator last night. I wasn't home during the day yesterday, so the rest of the eggs froze solid. :(