In the end, 12 out of 60 eggs hatched. The first chick hatched on day 19, with the rest of the chicks following on day 20 to 21. I was sad about the losses, but a dozen healthy chicks are sitting in my brooder box, so I can't really complain. Are the numbers equivalent to the normal hatch rates...
Yes, it was a homemade incubator. (Styrofoam box with cardboard folded to keep eggs from rolling around) We found that water containers with lids helped with temperature, as they retained heat. If we incubate again, we will definitely get a better incubator.
I used a styrofoam box with a few holes for ventilation and a heat lamp. It seems to work well and chicks will start hatching in a few days so we'll see how it goes. :jumpy
Hi it's me again. Exactly 16 days ago I got 60 mixed eggs (in types of eggs and ‘hybirds’) We candled them on the fourteenth day, here’s a list.
10 infertile
11 with only blood ring
3 with veins but blood ring
5 cracked
4 unconfirmed
In total, 28 eggs remained in the incubator, including the...
I have a confession. Yesterday at about 5:32, I was putting a water container inside my incubator. (Full of 16 day chicken eggs) It slipped out of my hands and I heard a crunch. Then I started screaming. When I gathered the courage to look at the eggs, two were badly cracked. I started screaming...
If there’s a built in thermometer, get out a reliable thermometer and put them beside each other to test it out, because built in thermometers are usually not accurate.
That’s sad. :( Next time get a trusted thermometer and when candling only take out for about 8 seconds. Some incubator's are NOT TO BE TRUSTED. Personally, diy incubators are my favourite. You don’t know if’s store bought incubators are reliable or not, and they’re usually overly expensive. But...