Chicken breeders or Folks in South Africa?

[Michelle82]

Quote: Why are they dying in the machine ?
Is the temp at 37 degrees Celsius?
Is the humidity no higher than 50%
Are you turning by hand ? Twice a day at the same time?
You're making sure the incubator does not experience any vibrations, this can kill eggs.
The most common mistake is too much humidity...
Post some pictures explain your setup, most breeding machine problems are solvable.
Perhaps I can help, have a lot of experience.

 

[BoereMeisie]

Why are they dying in the machine ?
Is the temp at 37 degrees Celsius?
Is the humidity no higher than 50%
Are you turning by hand ? Twice a day at the same time?
You're making sure the incubator does not experience any vibrations, this can kill eggs.
The most common mistake is too much humidity...
Post some pictures explain your setup, most breeding machine problems are solvable.
Perhaps I can help, have a lot of experience.

I built this "incubator" myself following other users' home-built incubator designs from BYC. It's basically an old cooler box with two light bulbs in it, controlled by an STC1000 digital thermostat, kept at a constant temperature (lights switch on at 36.9 degrees C and off at 37.4).

Humidity I'm kind of guesstimating... I don't know where I can find an affordable hygrometer (very new at this all... My previous "incubator" was a cardboard box with a lamp and a thermometer... Didn't do too bad, as 3 eggs out of 9 hatched!).

I am turning by hand, but following advice I read somewhere (I read a lot), I turn 3 times daily so as not to have them spend 2 consecutive nights on the same side.... Same time each day is a bit impossible for me as I have 3 part time jobs, and this causes me to have a different schedule each day...

The incubator is standing very still and balanced on top of a kitchen counter... Don't know how many vibrations it will experience on there... (It's solid and still, but there is alot of moving about in our kitchen... In our entire home with 3 Jack Russells, two adults and a cat living here).

Pictures are a bit difficult at this stage, as I used to use my blackberry to take pictures... But the poor phone gave up on me, so now I'm using a phone from the stone age, and it takes blurs instead of pictures. I *might* have been a bit over-anxious to start incubating the eggs, thereby maybe not scrubbing the cooler box out as properly as I would have, had I not been so darn excited... I did clean it though...

Anyways, we are planning on building another incubator using the same digital thermostat, and perhaps an old bar fridge, or some cold room panels which are lying around here... Still thinking about the planning...

 

[BoereMeisie]

hey and welcome. Silkies are great broodies. In the UK they cross silkies with light sussex to create something called a gold top. They are adorable and great broodies.

Here is a pic of one from BYC.

That is such a gorgeous chicken I suppose they are good layers as well with the light Sussex in them? Not that my Silkies are bad layers... I read that they lay about an egg or two each per week, but my 3 Silkies are laying a constant cycle of 2 eggs one day, and one egg the next, then two, then one... And sometimes on the usual "2 egg" days, I even get 3! That is about as well as the Rhode Island Reds... My Rhode Island Red hen (before she went broody) would lay 1 egg a day for two or three days in a row, and then skip a day...

Will I get a good combination of Layer/broody if I try and cross the Silkies with the Rhode Island Reds? But will that be possible as the Silkie Rooster is much smaller than the Rhode Island hen, and the Rhode Island rooster looks like he may kill the poor tiny Silkies with his size? (This is just a common-sense observation as I am very new at both chicken keeping and breeding)

 

[BoereMeisie]

Hey, thanks for joining and sharing Esti!
I do love ALL chickens!! I am NOT a silkie-hater!! I just prefer big guys with clean legs!!
I have a mixed breed Rhode Island Rooster who I raised as a pet and he is sooo sweet and protective of his three girls! The other day there was a mongoose at the fence and he kept positioning himself between the mongoose and his wives and puffed himslef up and strutted around to chase him away making alarm calls! How sweet?!? He's fearless, he also harasses my dogs when he's feeling especially frisky in the morning (an alsation and a boerbull mix!!) and then at night he lies on my shoulder and sleeps!!

Oh I love him so much!!!

Your rooster is beautiful! He sounds like a real character as well! My chickens are not tame, and it's better that way as they will be (and some have been) killed by my naughty Jack Russells if they come over the fence... My rooster is very protective of his hens as well. Even now that I've added the Lohmann pullets to his "crew", he immediately assumed the role of protector over them! His name is Steve... After Steve Hofmeyr as he's had a lot of hens, and a few chicks with each LOL.

 

[AndyCap]

That is such a gorgeous chicken I suppose they are good layers as well with the light Sussex in them? Not that my Silkies are bad layers... I read that they lay about an egg or two each per week, but my 3 Silkies are laying a constant cycle of 2 eggs one day, and one egg the next, then two, then one... And sometimes on the usual "2 egg" days, I even get 3! That is about as well as the Rhode Island Reds... My Rhode Island Red hen (before she went broody) would lay 1 egg a day for two or three days in a row, and then skip a day...

Will I get a good combination of Layer/broody if I try and cross the Silkies with the Rhode Island Reds? But will that be possible as the Silkie Rooster is much smaller than the Rhode Island hen, and the Rhode Island rooster looks like he may kill the poor tiny Silkies with his size? (This is just a common-sense observation as I am very new at both chicken keeping and breeding)

Hi Esti, they lose a lot of their laying capabilities, as they are bred in the uk and called "Clockers" because they go broody all year round. They can also cover a large amount of eggs and make great moms.

No idea about the rhode island cross, but it almost always a silkie rooster over light sussex hen. Not sure if they use ai or let them attempt it naturally. My pekins do all my broody work for me luckily, although it is annoying when they all go broody at once!

 

[BoereMeisie]

Hi Esti, they lose a lot of their laying capabilities, as they are bred in the uk and called "Clockers" because they go broody all year round. They can also cover a large amount of eggs and make great moms.

No idea about the rhode island cross, but it almost always a silkie rooster over light sussex hen. Not sure if they use ai or let them attempt it naturally. My pekins do all my broody work for me luckily, although it is annoying when they all go broody at once!

Wow that's something worth looking into. I have the Silkies to do the hatching, but would be nice to research the Gold top and all that goes into breeding them I just love the sight of a mother hen with chicks... It's the most beautiful thing!

4 of my Rhode Island Red eggs in the incubator are doing well. Candled them last night and they are moving in there. Let's hope that they hatch on Saturday

 

[AndyCap]

Wow that's something worth looking into. I have the Silkies to do the hatching, but would be nice to research the Gold top and all that goes into breeding them I just love the sight of a mother hen with chicks... It's the most beautiful thing!

4 of my Rhode Island Red eggs in the incubator are doing well. Candled them last night and they are moving in there. Let's hope that they hatch on Saturday

Well good luck!

I agree on the mother with her chicks. Here is a pic of some i hatched last week.

 

[BoereMeisie]

Well good luck!

I agree on the mother with her chicks. Here is a pic of some i hatched last week.

AAAG MOEDER!!!

Look at the black one in the front... His expression is like, "hey, check me out" lol

 

[Michelle82]

Quote:
That actually sounds good. I have several polystyrene incubators that is very much the same design.
I use plastic egg shelves that can hold 30 eggs, like a egg tray at the supermarket just plastic, then I only turn the whole tray with all the eggs in it twice a day.
This cuts down on the amount of time your machine is open in a day, providing a more constant temperature for your eggs.
I place the trays at a 45 degree angle. With this technique I've had as many as 80% of all fertile eggs hatch.
Now humidity makes or brakes a hatch ----
All the books will tell you 50 % is ideal, but those are boiler eggs, not little bantam eggs, also the commercial boiler industry don't pack any eggs that are considered large..
Now large isn't really that large at all, it means any eggs over 51gram is "large" this is done for a very simple reason.
"Large" eggs needs a lower humidity to lose enough moisture to be ready to hatch and not drown in their own fluids during the internal pip, also if the chick is to "fat" swollen with moisture content,
it can't get out, its essentially stuck.
Layer hens over a year just about all lay larger eggs.
I found that little bantams can hatch at day 19, which means you were turning it while it needed to lay still and didn't raise the humidity when the little chick needed it... So then you get a very tired little chick that is prone to get trampled.
Read up on the "Dry hatch method"

(To buy a reliable humidity meter -- Poltek has a online shop, they are not that expensive and will mail it to you.)

To counter all this you need a small bright flashlight and 10 minutes at night. Read about candling -- it's actually easy to see and internal pip. Don't give up on "large" eggs if they don't hatch at day 21, I've had some hatch at day 26. Yes, I was pushing the limits of what should be packed, but not all have a 100 eggs to select from.

For humidity in my 70cm by 35cm by 35cm incubators I use two teacups that I keep full of water, if the wheather is rainy I use only one. Only at hatch do I increase humidity.

Hope this helps

 

[BoereMeisie]

Thanks Michelle

I will check out that site for a humidity meter... I have a small metal square camping pot inside, which I fill to about 2cm with water... Having no humidity reader means I have to "guesstimate" at it...

I actually did make a turning tray for my eggs, out of a normal egg carton with the bottoms of the holders cut out, but when I put the eggs in this a few hours later all the eggs were wet, like they had dew/sweat drops on them.. So I quickly removed it and laid the eggs flat...

Are you telling me my Silkie eggs could actually hatch tomorrow??? Today is day 18... I actually stopped turning and raised humidity this morning for hatch on Saturday (I set them on a Saturday morning and counted days according to that).

I have been candling, that's how I know that the embryo's were dying. As soon as I saw a blood ring and that they stopped growing (kept record and would only take them out after 2 candlings to be absolutely sure...

Anyways, thanks for your help... I will start looking around for a pair again, although her eggs are not really all that large. But as you said, over 51g is considered large. Maybe I'll just get my rooster a new pullet or two. I will wait until another show and then go check it out..

Thanks for the help.... I will post updates if/when any eggs hatch