7th Annual BYC New Year's Day 2016 Hatch-A-Long

[amyg6]

How can I tell if my shipped eggs have air pockets? I am new to this

 

[ronott1]

How can I tell if my shipped eggs have air pockets? I am new to this

The air cell will be at the top of the big end--use a strong flashlight or a candler to see it.

 

[Cynthia12]

Cyn, nah, no broodies at the moment. Maybe a bit later this winter if someone starts sitting eggs. I don't want to have chicks indoors another time, so I won't dig out the Brinsea. Makes such a mess when they spread their dust all over.

Do I know that..dust. That's why mine are going downstairs..like that will make a difference, but at least it won't be in my spare bedroom..they will go into this big broody my hubby built for our dog to have her pups. Will make a great chick brooder. Won't have that many in it, selling a lot that I hatch right now.





It's big!

 

[Cynthia12]

And there it is! Well then, the picture didn't show up....

 

[Cynthia12]

Later, off I go, good thing there isn't a Trader Joe's around here right now..I just may be stopping in if so..wait..did you all say a health store might have them...oh oh...I might just stop and see, we got a new one in this summer. Will have to check on the eggs. I am wanting some good egg layers by summer, not just silkies. I do have the OE's and EE's, but there is nothing like a good ol leghorn or sex link to have in yard for an egg a day. That's all I am getting right now..an egg a day from my leghorn I got this last spring.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

I don't brood indoors anymore. They go right outside into their brooder when I clear the incubator. This time of year, I use a 250W heat lamp. It'll usually keep the warm end in the low-mid 80s and the cold end is whatever it is outside (I've measured it a 4F before). They do just fine, feather out in a jiffy. I'll never, never keep them in my house again!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Tell us more about your hover brooders, please! I am getting ready to remodel the inside of my big coop and looking for ideas. This looks interesting.

I just don't mark my boxes anymore unless specifically requested by the customer. "Fragile" means nothing to USPS anymore. I just pack them well and hope for the best. If you are going to pay the extra $10+ for marking the box "fragile", I think you are better off just leaving it unmarked and sending express. I have had much better results with express shipping than with priority shipping.

I got my design information from this site about the original electric brooders.
https://web.extension.illinois.edu/hkmw/downloads/46524.pdf
The underneath stays toasty and plenty of cool space around it. There's no need for thermometers.
Originally I used infrared heat lamps but then switched to ceramic heat elements so I could provide them with a dark period each day. The downside to ceramic is you can't tell when they're on by looking at them but they don't break as easily and don't make a mess if they do.
I started using the Premier 1 heat plates but they don't work when the building is 20F but the Ohio brooders do.
When temp is critical, I use a temp alarm.
http://thermoworks.com/products/alarm/rt8100.html


I asked why there is now a fee for 'fragile' and was told that 'fragile' packages get special handling treatment.

Hi CC!

Different due dates, we tend to see that around here.

Hi.
The 2 eggs due about the 20th were the last nice eggs out of one coop before they all quit and I didn't want them to sit too long.
Then a dozen from the flock still laying I set for my Christmas Zodiac HAL.
Today's eggs are from that same flock.

 

[KYTinpusher]

I got my design information from this site about the original electric brooders.
https://web.extension.illinois.edu/hkmw/downloads/46524.pdf
The underneath stays toasty and plenty of cool space around it. There's no need for thermometers.
Originally I used infrared heat lamps but then switched to ceramic heat elements so I could provide them with a dark period each day. The downside to ceramic is you can't tell when they're on by looking at them but they don't break as easily and don't make a mess if they do.
I started using the Premier 1 heat plates but they don't work when the building is 20F but the Ohio brooders do.
When temp is critical, I use a temp alarm.
http://thermoworks.com/products/alarm/rt8100.html


I asked why there is now a fee for 'fragile' and was told that 'fragile' packages get special handling treatment.

Thanks for the info! I have been thinking about using some of the under-floor heating for the floor of the brooder and then using a heating plate above. I didn't read the whole article yet, but will later. Do you have a cage around the heating ceramic fixtures so the chicks can't touch it and get burned?

I find "special handling" with the USPS means setting it in a corner for protection and forgetting about it for a few days.

 

[cutiekk17]

Woohoo! i just set 18 eggs! I'm so excited/nervous. This is my first time incubating eggs and i received the incubator for my birthday.
I'm worried about this incubator because i've had problems with it since the moment i've been testing it out. The automatic egg turner was broken(plastic piece broke) so i had to glue that and made sure it still worked. It seemed to be hold temps pretty well.
Although i'm worried about the humidity since i don't have anything else to test it with until christmas(getting a hydrometer as a xmas present) and i'm not sure exactly what i should keep the humidity at. I have it at around 30% right now.
Also when i put the eggs in i went to reset the days (its marked at 7 days since i've been testing it out) and it wont reset! It just resets the count down time for the egg turner! So now i'm worried that the days will bet all off and if the incubator do anything weird after if gets to 18 days or if it will keep doing what it usually does.

 

[Wickedchicken6]

Well, duck eggs seem to be a bust. It has been a full week and they are all still clear. In one the yoke seems a bit fuller, but no veining.

Setting the chicken eggs soon, hoping for better results.

your chicken eggs all hatch!!