🍃August Hatch-a-Long🍃

[Lunah452]

I weighed both batches of eggs, yesterday. Most are doing much better and weight loss percents are better. I calculated at 12% and 15%, figuring that's my lowest to highest. Most were closer to 15% or the upper end for loss.

I've been keeping humidity between 40 -45%, average of 43%. Obviously I need to bump my humidity a bit more to slow the weight loss. First batch is at day 10, second was on day 7.

How much more should I bump the humidity at? Was thinking an average of 50%

Also I was able to build a candler that allowed me to see into the Maran eggs. First batch of 12, had 4 with definite movement. 5 maybe's with a dark spot and 3 probable quitters. Second batch of 15 had 9 definite movement, 2 maybes and 2 quitters. One of the definite has what looks to be twins, I know that egg probably won't make it but it was still really cool to see.

I'm really motivated to keep as many of these developing as I can.

Hopefully this is allowed, embedded.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="und" dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/Eqsie5lUy9">pic.twitter.com/Eqsie5lUy9</a></p>&mdash; Zoey (@Zoe7090) <a href="

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">August 17, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Lunah452]

Ok here's what may be a dumb question and also part of my problem.

I left the red vent plugs out so far. I did a search here and found some thread that eggs needed some air. Directions on the bator say to leave it in. I wonder now if it contributed to my excessive weight loss.

So general consensus, do you leave vent plugs in or out??

 

[Vantic]

Ok here's what may be a dumb question and also part of my problem.

I left the red vent plugs out so far. I did a search here and found some thread that eggs needed some air. Directions on the bator say to leave it in. I wonder now if it contributed to my excessive weight loss.

So general consensus, do you leave vent plugs in or out??

Egg/chicks need air. Most styrofoam incubators have small holes around the lid to allow air exchange without to much heat escaping. Once you go to lockdown the chicks are bigger and need more air, so you remove the plugs.

To make you feel better, I hope, my 82 egg incubator has two 2 inch holes for exchange that are open the whole time and I don't have that issue.

 

[Lunah452]

Egg/chicks need air. Most styrofoam incubators have small holes around the lid to allow air exchange without to much heat escaping. Once you go to lockdown the chicks are bigger and need more air, so you remove the plugs.

To make you feel better, I hope, my 82 egg incubator has two 2 inch holes for exchange that are open the whole time and I don't have that issue.

Thank you, that was my initial thought as well but then I started second guessing myself.
I bought a hovabator 2370 with a digital temp a because the 1602n with manual temp adjusting was making me lose my mind.

The 1602n had 2 vent holes, the 2370 only has 1. That styrofoam seals pretty tight. It just didn’t seem right to me to prevent any air exchange except for opening the bator

 

[FortCluck]

Unfortunately when I started my dehydrater up (for the first time this year) it wouldn't heat. I guess that happens sometimes & it has a ten-year warrantee, but it's still a semi-expensive hassle. Had to do my jerky in the oven and it added unwanted heat to the house. It turned out pretty good, though. I thought it suffered from the inevitably higher temp and maybe needed a bit more salt. Next time...

I also tried out the meat grinder I got (a few months back) for my stand mixer. It worked really well. You would maybe want something more robust if you were doing all the scraps from a butchered steer, but for a pile of turkey breasts, it did great.

I love my new dehydrator I used it once before I left for the week. I’ll be buying more tomatoes when I get back to dehydrate

 

[Trisseh]

Thank you, that was my initial thought as well but then I started second guessing myself.
I bought a hovabator 2370 with a digital temp a because the 1602n with manual temp adjusting was making me lose my mind.

The 1602n had 2 vent holes, the 2370 only has 1. That styrofoam seals pretty tight. It just didn’t seem right to me to prevent any air exchange except for opening the bator

The janoel 12 I use has a single vent hole on the top. Lol. I actually get better hatches when I’m candling like a madwoman because I suspect there’s a lot more air exchange when I’m opening it all the time. Plus I hand turn so there’s enough fresh air getting in there. I don’t always think the manufacturer’s directions are necessarily best because in most cases they would be running all their testing and quality control in an already controlled environment, not like our homes, so we have to figure out how best to use them within our environment. you’re doing awesome though! Good job getting the weight loss to slow down.

I read in one of my poultry books (I think it was storeys guide to raising ducks) that eggs at a certain stage benefit from higher carbon dioxide. I’ll have to reread that section when I get home. Lol.

 

[RoseHawke]

All right. I'm not real sure where to ask this question, so just thought I'd throw this out there. Looks like a lot of y'all hatch and sell chicks for, I'm assuming, some extra income and the joy of hatching! Welllll, although my main purpose for hatching chicks this June was to obtain some blue egg laying pullets in case the egg shortage was long lasting, I found that I really enjoyed the experience and would like to do it some more. So, how do you find your customers for the resultant chicks? Craigslist? eBay? Word of mouth? Give me a link if this isn't the right place for this post, I'd muchly appreciate it.

 

[Trisseh]

Pffft this quail hatch was awfulllll. 6 eggs made it to lockdown. Only 4 hatched. 3/4 have at least one kind of issue. The only “normal” one is the teeniest little white one.

The other 3 have various issues. The one has a weird wry neck like thing going on, but seems to be able to hold itself normally most of the time. Occasionally head presses. This one is also white. The next one had twisted feet so it’s walking on the outside of the foot - no slipped tendons or splay leg, just twisted above the toes. Also - white. Then the third was doing this weird tiptoe standing thing, and has curled toes. I’m assuming something was off in this incubator although it’s been running the same all the way through so maybe not, I don’t know. This one looks to be golden Italian. Ugh. I’ve taped toes that are screwy and gave them all electrolyte/vitamin water so we shall see. I would’ve only had 1 if I hadn’t assisted the other 3. Ugh.
Good news is I have an internal pip in the first of my homegrown duck eggs.

 

[Oldhallchicks]

I caught a pullet racing from the chicken tractor to the weeds around the cattle guard. Went to look for her and almost stepped on her. She must have been sitting on, like, fifteen? Holy Smokes! That's a lot.

I'll have to candle them in a couple days, but I doubt they're fertile since I butchered all my roos. There's one great big cockerel who's been chasing skirts and ending up with nothing but a beakfull of fluffy neck feathers... maybe he "serviced" her but I doubt it. Poor girl.

Guess you need to get her some eggs! Lol

 

[Oldhallchicks]

Found 3 more runner ducklings that hatched yesterday to buy, so picking them up tonight to get to know these two!

truffle

And Bigfoot

The ducklings already seem so much friendlier than the chicks. They cry when we put them back in the brooder like they want to keep being held. I guess they have to be cute and friendly to make up for the fact that they’re so stinky and messy when they grow up!