Setting eggs this weekend (Jan5/6) WHOS WITH ME! - Page 2

I'm in! I am getting a shipment of Serama eggs soon. I hope they get here by Sunday!

Uhoh! I just ordered a Brinsea Mini Advanced and have been eyeing the Trader Joe's fertilized eggs.  If the incubator gets here this week, I'm in!

leslie

I'll be setting about a dozen olive eggers and 6 button quail.   Currently have 15 black australorps and 6 OEs that are 3wks old in the brooder and no idea where to put tiny quail that they cant get out of.

I wish that I had gotten the advanced Leslie.  I got the umm...standard? version.  I guess it's just as well that I turn them, but it sure would be nice to have all of the control the advanced has.  I hope you join us!

Quote:

Originally Posted by lori stetson 

I'll be setting about a dozen olive eggers and 6 button quail.   Currently have 15 black australorps and 6 OEs that are 3wks old in the brooder and no idea where to put tiny quail that they cant get out of.

I have 6 pairs of button quail and when the momma quail hatches her own babies, I just put 1/4 inch wire around the cage to hold in the little ones.  But when I hatch out the cuties, I keep them in a 20 gallon aquarium with a little stuff animal in it along with the heat lamp.  I use puppy pads (without the perfume) on the bottom and change it out every day to prevent amonia build up.  I keep them there until they get their feathers in then move them to a cage with 1/2" wire.  I love the little buttons!

I'll join!  I got a Brinsea 20 Advance for Christmas, and I'm picking up a couple dozen Maran eggs to set tomorrow!

Quote:

Originally Posted by outdoorbunny 

Well, I'm thinking it's the shipping.  I did have a hovabator go bad on me and the company replaced it right away.  Then they suggested that I put in a second thermometer and a non-shipped egg in along with the mail ordered ones as a control.  If my hen's egg hatches with no problems, chances are it's the shipping that is messing up the eggs. It just kills me that out of 26 mail ordered eggs only 8 made it this far.  Hopefully, tonight when I get home I'll have more new babies.  Either way I'm still going to set some of my hens eggs this weekend.  Hatching eggs is so addicting!   

Well, no more eggs hatched!  I'm going to give it one more day.  Come Saturday I should have 8 eggs from my own Blue Laced Red Wyandottes to set.  I'm excited to see how these turn out.  Does anyone have any secrets to hatching out shipped eggs?  Out of 86 shipped eggs, not one has hatched for me.

I've been hatching shipped eggs in my hovabator for 2 years, with greatly mixed success. I occasionally get a 60% hatch rate, but no better. I've also had total disasters. On my first hatch of last year I only got 4 chicks out of 38 eggs. It was heartbreaking, and a waste of money. Things that I have noticed that help: the shorter the shipping distance the better, arranging to pick up the box at the post office (my mailman was always rough with the package), don't turn the eggs for the first 5 days...that's right...5 days. I read a research article about it. I'll try to find the article.

I now try to avoid shipped eggs entirely if possible. I was pretty excited to find a Marans breeder 30 minutes away.