Bump. Still looking for homes for three, otherwise they’re likely destined for the freezer. Beautiful and well-dispositioned birds though, it would be a shame to eat them without first trying to find someone who will take them in.
All,
We have up to three Black Australorp roosters from our latest hatch that I do not have homes for. Hatched on 26 January, should be available 15 March- I want to confirm their sex and make sure they’re fully feathered before we let them go. Happy to arrange them going to a good home for...
Yes, it is possible to power an incubator using a battery, but only for short periods. I have a 75W inverter for my power tool batteries that I tested as a backup power source for mine. However, the batteries run out quickly, so i would only recommend them as a backup in case of a power outage...
Looks like 9 will be our final count. Two eggs have not hatched with the rest, and we aren’t seeing movement or pips on either one. Likely a couple of late quitters. Keeping them in the incubator for another day or two, just to see. The chicks are in the brooder now.
That’s a 70% hatch rate...
Three more hatched overnight. We now have five healthy birds. The remaining 6 are getting kicked around like soccer balls on a playground! Two more have pipped that I can see. I’ll probably move chicks to the brooder tonight, if the pips hatch and no more have pipped.
I know they feed from the...
#9 hatched around 2pm today. #11 hatched right before supper. Two healthy and active birds, cheeping up a storm and playing football with their incubator mates. Looks like a couple more are pipped. This hatch surprised me- I didn’t think we’d be this far along until Friday!
Locked down the remaining 11 this morning after removing two early quitters on day 10. Humidity holding around 60%. At least three (#13, 6 and 2) are rocking occasionally.
Based on your drawing, my eggs’ air cells appear closer to the 7 day line at day 14. Running the incubator dry for now. Lockdown is scheduled for Tuesday.
Day 14: 11 of 11 eggs look good. The air cells are all solid and most have the slight angle that I see in others’ eggs. About half of the embryos waved at me when I shined a light into their eggs.
The air cells are smaller than I expected, so I’m considering running the incubator dry until...
Set up the “brooder” in our storeroom today. This room is part of the house, partly underground so ambient temps stay around 60F year round. My hope is the Brinsea brooder hood will be enough warmth for the chicks, but I do have a heat lamp if they need it. Otherwise I’ll use a regular lamp with...
That’s wild- and proof that nature finds a way. All the internet guides make it look like your chicks will die in the shell if the temperature is off by 0.1 degree F or you allow humidity to drop for 10 seconds during hatching. It’s nice to see that life can be stubborn.
As a buddy told me...