Our (First ) Incubator
So this is our first incubator...
Nothing particularly startling here...it's a bog standard polystyrene (styrofoam) box incubator, but hopefully with some useful info and new ideas here which you might not find on other similar pages. I'm assuming at least some knowledge...
ok, our coop has 2x2.5m (53 sq ft) of run with 2x2m (43 sq ft) of inside coop.
we have 3 pullets, about 30 weeks old. we now (think we) have a baby roo, 7 weeks old now.
1) i know the recommended ratio is 1 roo to 10 girls. is he likely to be too much for 3 of them?
2) i know we have enough...
i know this should probably be in raising baby chicks but i figure you guys will probably have more experience with it.
our first hatch did not end well. 6 eggs, 4 infertile, 1 didn't hatch so now we have 1 baby, currently 1 week old.
we'd like to incubate another batch (eggs from someone else...
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exactly. you really have to consider the rain...i know of a museum on one of the agean islands here...they put a roof garden on top of the building, the engineers didn't figure the weight of the rain water into their load calcs...the roof (reinforced concrete) collapsed and killed a...
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nice attitude. before you try spreading it around, you should think about what would happen if everyone started thinking that way. if everyone around the world suddenly started this protectionist nonsense of not wanting to buy foreign goods, it would be a complete PIA for everyone, but...
the whole room doesn't matter, if you have the humidifier sitting near or next to the bator it should be enough, whether the rest of the room (rather than that part of it) ends up at the same level depends on the size of the room and how big/powerful the humidifier is, but my point is that i...
yeah, if it's too high for 1-18 they can drown when they pip...if it's too low 1-18 they lose too much fluid, the air cell is too big and it can cause developmental probs...i cant remember exactly what ottomh
for sure. i wouldn't necessarily want to buy a beehaus any more than i'd buy an eglu but i'd never considered keeping bees before i saw this so it's at least been useful for that.
but wife says no bees...never mind. just have to get more chickens instead...
@Grillo - actually i'm not sure who makes it...photo here, anyone recognise the manufacturers logo?
@Lonetree - if you have a room humidifier outside the bator why would you need to control it with a PID? surely you'd just need to set it to keep ambient humidity at some point close (slightly...
haven't read the other replies...
you can use sand, dust (from regular dirt), fireplace ash or a mixture of all of them...you should have about 6" in whatever container you use.
we made one for our girls with a huge plastic laundry bowl, ~70cm across. they never really got into it...they still...
well a hen will lay about a dozen or so before she starts to incubate them so anything up to about 2 weeks old is perfectly normal. i don't know how long other people keep them for but i'd say any longer than that and the hatch rate will probably start to suffer.
you should store them in egg...
best for what? do you want birds for eggs or meat or both? if both, do you want separate breeds or dual purpose birds? do you want some as pets? is this going to be a mom-and-pop farm or a commercial operation?
Do banties hatch sooner than regular sized eggs?
nope but if your temp was too high you may get an early hatch. 1 degree F too high will have them hatching about 24 hours early.
What's an OK level for humidity?
i think most people shoot for ~65-70% for hatch
Can I spritz the eggs to boost it...
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those instructions suck. first, you have to gently squeeze the abdomen to get them to poop (or you can't see inside the vent) then your going to need 2 fingers to open the vent...you kinda roll it back and forth....search for a better explanation or a video, i have a crying baby on my...