Finished Act 4, waiting until tomorrow for more. Almost at 100k in apples, I keep putting them on for an hour today and setting the timer.
As for the "hatch" question, for me, I crafted the Ranger and put him in the nest to get an early jump. I did NOT place him in a habitat until the step requested me to hatch him and I was fine. I would not risk putting him a habitat early.
I also sent him out after the Acts were complete for the day to collect extra water lilly's and stones. I have already crafted 1 water sprite and it looks like we will need 4 total. The only thing I'm worried about is having enough food. Won some today on spin to win so woo hoo!