10-14-12 I have a new hatch going, 24 eggs, I started with 18 eggs in a new incubator made from an old dorm sized refrigerator, and 6 in a LG that I've had but never used.
I put the eggs in at noon after testing for about a week with the temps,no water as I'm doing a dry hatch. Something else new. The next day I went to the fridge bator to turn the eggs and the temp was at 105, so I took the eggs out and put them in the LG as it was keeping temps right at 99.5 and that's where they are now. Today is day 10.
I candled on day 7 and have movement and veining in 23 of the eggs and one looks like it's clear. I will leave the clear one in until I candle again on day 14. I smell the eggs as I candle and they all smelled good. Not rotten.
I"m going to work on the fridge bator to try to make it better, I will go with a wafer thernostat as others have said that they like it better. I'm using a modified hot water heater thermostat right now and this is the second time I've had trouble with it. Last time I hatched in a styrofoam cooler using the HWH thermostat it failed mid hatch, fortunately I had another styrofoam bator up and running empty with a water bed thermostat in it so I put it into the bator and finished the hatch with it. I should throw the HWH thermostat away as I had trouble twice with it.I will include pics when I candle on day 14. later
Day 14
I messed up my counting and candled yesterday on day 13 but I don't think there would be much difference. I've got one more clear egg that didn't smell bad but it smelled like something else so I threw it away. I put it in a zip lock bag and broke it open and found a very nice looking egg yoke. Nothing rotten. the other will ride out it's time with the rest.
day 13 candling
locked down at 7am on day 19 and had one hatch 5 hours later. got 1 more during the night, three more on day 20, and 3 on day 21. There is 11 still in the bator but I don't think they are going to hatch I'm waiting until tomorrow and will break them open.
I had 11 hatch and lost 2 on day 2 after the hatch. Today is 11-24 saturday after thanksgiving and I just took the nine that's left out of the basement and put them in my garage. They grow so fast.
12-21-12 DOOMSDAY I have the birds in my barn, they are raising hell. I'm trying to build something new for them but the weather has turned to snow and the build isn't going good.
2-05-13 Have had issues adding to this post on MY PAGE messaged the moderators hope they've fixed it.
I finished the coop build, and moved the birds OUT OF MY BARN. They don't like the new coop, can't
tell why there's about 3 times the room they had inside, maybe they just don't like the cold, been single digits many nights.
4-13-13 The girls seem to like their new coop. I go out in the morning to open the pop door and they all charge out, then they all charge back in, don't know why maybe just a routine.
I got rid of 2 roosters the other day, I kept the cripple and 1 other. I now have 5 hens and 2 roosters that seem to get along ok. Been getting 3 sometimes 4 eggs every day. Had thoughts of replacing the roof but with 3in of rain this week and the yard turning into a lake I'll wait.
I put the eggs in at noon after testing for about a week with the temps,no water as I'm doing a dry hatch. Something else new. The next day I went to the fridge bator to turn the eggs and the temp was at 105, so I took the eggs out and put them in the LG as it was keeping temps right at 99.5 and that's where they are now. Today is day 10.
I candled on day 7 and have movement and veining in 23 of the eggs and one looks like it's clear. I will leave the clear one in until I candle again on day 14. I smell the eggs as I candle and they all smelled good. Not rotten.
I"m going to work on the fridge bator to try to make it better, I will go with a wafer thernostat as others have said that they like it better. I'm using a modified hot water heater thermostat right now and this is the second time I've had trouble with it. Last time I hatched in a styrofoam cooler using the HWH thermostat it failed mid hatch, fortunately I had another styrofoam bator up and running empty with a water bed thermostat in it so I put it into the bator and finished the hatch with it. I should throw the HWH thermostat away as I had trouble twice with it.I will include pics when I candle on day 14. later
Day 14
I messed up my counting and candled yesterday on day 13 but I don't think there would be much difference. I've got one more clear egg that didn't smell bad but it smelled like something else so I threw it away. I put it in a zip lock bag and broke it open and found a very nice looking egg yoke. Nothing rotten. the other will ride out it's time with the rest.
day 13 candling
locked down at 7am on day 19 and had one hatch 5 hours later. got 1 more during the night, three more on day 20, and 3 on day 21. There is 11 still in the bator but I don't think they are going to hatch I'm waiting until tomorrow and will break them open.
I had 11 hatch and lost 2 on day 2 after the hatch. Today is 11-24 saturday after thanksgiving and I just took the nine that's left out of the basement and put them in my garage. They grow so fast.
12-21-12 DOOMSDAY I have the birds in my barn, they are raising hell. I'm trying to build something new for them but the weather has turned to snow and the build isn't going good.
2-05-13 Have had issues adding to this post on MY PAGE messaged the moderators hope they've fixed it.
I finished the coop build, and moved the birds OUT OF MY BARN. They don't like the new coop, can't
tell why there's about 3 times the room they had inside, maybe they just don't like the cold, been single digits many nights.
4-13-13 The girls seem to like their new coop. I go out in the morning to open the pop door and they all charge out, then they all charge back in, don't know why maybe just a routine.
I got rid of 2 roosters the other day, I kept the cripple and 1 other. I now have 5 hens and 2 roosters that seem to get along ok. Been getting 3 sometimes 4 eggs every day. Had thoughts of replacing the roof but with 3in of rain this week and the yard turning into a lake I'll wait.