Incubators Anonymous

[ThePendragon]

Does any one know how tall the inside of the Genisis Hova Bator 1588 is?

 

[ki4got]

Does any one know how tall the inside of the Genisis Hova Bator 1588 is?

i measured mine recently, and i'm thinking it was about 4" or so... maybe slightly higher.

if it helps, i CAN tell you a SOLO plastic cup can stand in there and clear the heating element by about 1/4" (i use for extra water when needed).

 

[TAMMACLEAN]

Hey wait - - Did you say SILKIES?  There's your perfect incubator!   Just leave a bunch of golf-balls in the nest - somebody will go broody in no time!  Then you just stick the eggs under her and let her do all the work!

I do have silkies. Cochins too. I did have 1 silkie and 3 Cochins that were broody. I left them some eggs but when they hatched my Cochins did not protect the babies and I found two that had been killed. My silkie left hers after it hatched and I thought it was dead. I spent 45 minutes bringing it back. I'm thinking my chickens make good incubators but not such good mommies.

 

[Costa Rica Art]

I do have silkies. Cochins too. I did have 1 silkie and 3 Cochins that were broody. I left them some eggs but when they hatched my Cochins did not protect the babies and I found two that had been killed. My silkie left hers after it hatched and I thought it was dead. I spent 45 minutes bringing it back. I'm thinking my chickens make good incubators but not such good mommies.

I have 2 silkies that are great mamas, one adopted 36 chicks I had brought home, see the photo. I have one regular hen who is a fearless mama, she will attack anything that gets near her chicks. She hatched 1 chick so I bought and put 6 meaty chicks under her at night and she had no problem adopting them.
This silkie had abandoned her eggs to adopt these 36 chicks, I also had heat lamps for the ones that couldn't get under her. I have bought and added as many as 6 chicks when she has hatched her own, they scoot right under her and she makes her mama clucks and everything is fine.
This hen (no idea what breed of chicken she is as I got her from a hatching of eggs from a neighbor) is a great mama. She has raised 7 chicks till they are 4 weeks old and is still taking care of them.

 

[TAMMACLEAN]

Quick question....Does anyone have any luck witht the incubator fromTSC? It's on sale right now and since I'm having a hard time with my homemade one I thought maybe buying that one. I figured I could get the eggs all the way to the pipping stage then put them in my homemade one for hatching.

 

[ChickNmamma]

Quote: I am sorry they made such poor mommies. Was it their first time? I also separate the broodies after the chicks hatch for about a week, until they are old enough to run away if somebody is bothering them. You could still use them to hatch the eggs, then take the chicks away...

Quick question....Does anyone have any luck witht the incubator fromTSC? It's on sale right now and since I'm having a hard time with my homemade one I thought maybe buying that one. I figured I could get the eggs all the way to the pipping stage then put them in my homemade one for hatching.

There are many threads on "HELP - HOW DO I GET THIS THING TO WORK - I AM KILLING ALL THE CHICKS" for those cheap incubators. Do a search on BYC for the name of the incubator - you will learn what you need to make them work - but it is a LOT of work! I have a Hovabator incubator that I can't use in my house because the temperatures change too much - its why I bought Silkies... and then a cabinet incubator (lucked out on that one).

You might have better luck than the beginners because you already have had to adjust temperatures and humidity on your home-made one. I would read the tips and tricks thread all the way through first though.

 

[insanity]

Well day 21 and 1 is 1/2 unzipped,3 are scratching and peeping inside,and 1 as moving around alot. Not to bad 5 out of 6 look promising. This is the worst of the waiting for me (last 24 hrs).

 

[ChickNmamma]

Well day 21 and 1 is 1/2 unzipped,3 are scratching and peeping inside,and 1 as moving around alot. Not to bad 5 out of 6 look promising. This is the worst of the waiting for me (last 24 hrs).

Yes, it is the worst part, because you want so badly to help them out - but that is the worst thing you can do. I have heard it called "Sitting on your hands" and I think that sums it up...

 

[shicks0211]

no..my silly buff is young, it's her first year laying and she just swims around and plops out an egg..i find them when i get home from work if the otters or the snakes don't get them i scoop them up I've had 4 babies hatch from them. They don't drown..but sometimes they dont always hatch..if they've been in for longer than a day or so..the lake is cold..but i give it a try. So, the ones that have hatched so far are from my Runner / buff mix and then i have 5 more from the buff female..they are only a week in so we'll see if they hatch..nice veining so far

 

[LilyWhite]

Quick question....Does anyone have any luck witht the incubator fromTSC?  It's on sale right now and since I'm having a hard time with my homemade one I thought maybe buying that one. I figured I could get the eggs all the way to the pipping stage then put them in my homemade one for hatching.

If you are talking about the little giant incubatots then they work ok. They work better if u mount a little pc fan in it to circulate the air. That is what I hatch mine in... u just have to do a little bit of piddling and it will work like a top. It also helps a lot if u get an egg turner so you won't have to lift the lid as often.