Simulated Natural Nest Incubation~Experiment #1 So it begins....

[ronott1]

The video is Ready!

Same line of Dels that are hatching here on Day 12(New Heritage Dels form Kathyinmo):

 

[MEMama3]

The video is Ready! Same line of Dels that are hatching here on Day 12(New Heritage Dels form Kathyinmo):

I just candled my eggs for the last day (lockdown tomorrow) and I have to say I'll miss it. It's a magical experience. I show the kids but I don't think they're nearly as excited by it as I am.

 

[Beekissed]

The video is Ready!

Same line of Dels that are hatching here on Day 12(New Heritage Dels form Kathyinmo):

Thank you for the vid! That was interesting to see! When I candle these eggs I don't see much of anything but a dark yolk floating around in there. I'm starting to think I have all duds but I'm not going to give up on this method....I believe it has merit and I'll just keep trying to get some fertile eggs to use with this same method until I'm satisfied that it either works or will not work.

 

[aart]

The video is Ready!

Same line of Dels that are hatching here on Day 12(New Heritage Dels form Kathyinmo):

Great video, thanks for posting.
What kind of candler is that?
Looks like it has 2 light sources?
Can you post a pic or a link of it?

 

[elorraine52]

Thank you! I'll be looking for this. So far, nothing much and I get the feeling this sissy roo has been shooting blanks or just not connecting the dots. I made a water bag water wiggler today to put my thermometer inside so that I could get a better reading on egg temps. I'm hoping that will give me a better idea on where they should be. Could be that I haven't been providing enough heat due to my thermometer being just next to the eggs, as one member pointed out.

Yeah, I separated my chosen birds last week to isolate for pure breedings, but so far have not seen the roo doing his job at all so far....
funny, cause last year he couldn't get enough! Maybe just needs more time?

 

[elorraine52]

I can't get the vid to show up, it sounds like it's playing, but screen is black....?

 

[ronott1]

Great video, thanks for posting.
What kind of candler is that?
Looks like it has 2 light sources?
Can you post a pic or a link of it?

I used two candlers. The bottom one is a Brinsea high intensity ovaview. The top one is from incubator warehouse.

http://www.brinsea.com/products/egglume.html

 

[Beekissed]

Bee, interesting thread. I love it when I read about people like you who think outside the box. Your can-do attitude is what makes this world go around and makes it a better place. Thanks for keeping us apprised of the situation; it's a great learning experience ... and I don't have to do all the work!

I can't imagine not having a broody available in the spring since I have always had broodies, well except that first year. Love them. I have one right now sitting on golf balls mostly and keeping eggs from freezing before I collect them. It's cool that it occurred to you to try this experiment.

Anyhoo. What confuses me: I saw someone mention that a hen's body temp is something like 107F. I can't remember for sure, but I was thinking it was 106F - 110F, depending.

So if the hen gets the broody bald spot on her chest, and not all of mine do, but if she did, then at least a few of the eggs would be warmed on the *top side* at 107F for X hours every day or two. The bottom of those eggs would be less warm. The middle of those eggs would be less than 107F. The eggs on the outside edge of the nest would be less warm also. At least this is what I'm thinking happens.

Since modern incubators that most of us use were refined in the ag depts. of universities, they came up with the about 100F average temp guidelines based on the average temp that all eggs are possibly being incubated at when under a hen. Obviously 100F is less than 107F. You know, in artificial incubation with a fan, the entire egg is surrounded by air that is about 100F, so even the middle of the egg gets to 100F. Right? That's what I'm thinking.

Experiment update: This post really had me thinking, and something that Fred had mentioned about using a water wiggler to measure internal egg temps, has been niggling at the back of my mind, so I decided to see how things pan out. I couldn't find a water wiggler so I made my own out of sandwich baggies and placed the thermometer inside to get a reading of the probable temps of the inside of my eggs. I had to turn up the heating pad to get the temps up to 100.5 on that water sleeve and to keep it there and the surface of the nest that I had been measuring up until now was at 107.0 at that point!

So, my eggs have been incubating at 6.5 degree lower than they should have been all this time~not to mention when it went even lower than that, as was the suggestion in the post above. Now, all you expert hatchers....what will happen now? Leave the eggs and see what happens? Start over at the proper temps? What would you all do in this situation? Right now, when candled, the eggs show nothing much going on but dark yolks and expanding air cells.

I'll be waiting for your input!

 

[aart]

How long did you wait for the wiggler to warm up? I imagine that it would take at least a half a day...or more.
Changing heat levels without waiting for stabilization is one of the most common pitfalls of incubation.
I wouldn't quit at this point, what day are you on?

 

[Beekissed]

How long did you wait for the wiggler to warm up? I imagine that it would take at least a half a day...or more.
Changing heat levels without waiting for stabilization is one of the most common pitfalls of incubation.
I wouldn't quit at this point, what day are you on?

It took most of the day to warm up to the right temps, then I took it out of the sleeve and measured nest temps and found them to be the 107.0. Which would concur with the info that Spangled offered.

I'm on day 9 of the incubation, day 10 of the experiment.