2015 HALLOWEEN Hatch-a-Long, Join us IF YOU DARE!

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[Lynn Manes]

Had some pumpkin carving fun last night. This might be my first entry into the pumpkin carving contest but I'll be doing more so we'll see. I present the Pumpkin Lizard King:

I have to do this! My son is SO into T-Rex right now (and for the last 6 months) it's not funny.

very cool.

 

[kguinness76]

Question for the group, I have been able to regulate the temp very well. The humidity not so much, how important is it to have a stop on humidity? I have 12 eggs in my bator now.

 

[tiffani day]

Question for the group, I have been able to regulate the temp very well. The humidity not so much, how important is it to have a stop on humidity? I have 12 eggs in my bator now.

wondering this myself I've also had humidity issues this hatch.

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Had some pumpkin carving fun last night. This might be my first entry into the pumpkin carving contest but I'll be doing more so we'll see. I present the Pumpkin Lizard King:

this is amazing!!! I would have screwed that up in a heartbeat!! oops there goes a tooth! oops there goes the eyeball

Getting closer to having another incubator.

sweet!

Ooooo...bloody candy apples. Yum!

gross but look so good!!!!

I have 22 eggs stuck at the PO too. I was supposed to get them on Saturday but they never left the main sorting facility.

oh man!!! I hope everyone can go get them this morning!!!! they should be all settled now!!!! anyways!!!

He likes to sit on top of his little stuffed kitty & snuggles under it to sleep at night

awwwwwww

Set 30 Quail eggs tonight. ETA: 10/28-10/29

they look blue thorugh the window!!

Update: Discarded 2 weepers and a blood ring. 12 left from my 15 shipped eggs.
I'm having trouble seeing a defined air cell on a few eggs. I believe it is either a scrambled issue from shipping or the shade of the shell that my flashlight doesn't candle well.
9 of the 15 looked ok, but only the blue shelled eggs had clearly visible veins. It's Day 7. The dark brown eggs just are tough to candle.
Based on my notes and my candling tonight I'm pretty pessimistic about these shipped eggs. I'd be thrilled and quite surprised to get 6 or more chicks from the remaining 12 eggs.
On the bright side, my Brabanter Halloween eggs are local, so I'm hoping for a great hatch out of those 9.

I cant wait to see the Brabanter chicks to be honest lol!! I am routin for them, they are my team LOL!!!

We our thinking white turkeys. And ducklings. If partners job straightens out.maybe for my birthday in March. I should be past surgery

I am praying for you and your FARM!!!!!

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I love the decorations!!!!!

my poor baby can't come play with the chicks he at the vet. Had surgery to remove his cancer. Asking for prayers and his recovery. He gets walks everyday he likes that. He has the spirit we have the love for all our pets.

awww poor baby prayers for the old guy awwwww

so cute!!!!!

love it!!! which one has the blue mask! Talyn wore the same one when he was a kid, heck that was almost 25 or so years ago! or whenever it 1st came out.... now I am showing my age!

Question for the group, I have been able to regulate the temp very well. The humidity not so much, how important is it to have a stop on humidity? I have 12 eggs in my bator now.

see below!!!

wondering this myself I've also had humidity issues this hatch.

HUMIDITY will kill embryo over time its VERY VERY VERY IMPORTANT because its the main factor in weight loss in the eggs


https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-101

in the article I tried to explain what you need to watch for and WHY and some tips on understanding.... and there is a link on calibration in temps section for hygros as well

HUMIDITY
The Air Bubble in the Egg
The average chicken egg has thousands of pores running through the shell allowing the embryo to exchange oxygen, carbon dioxide. and water. Soon after an egg is laid, a small air bubble or “air cell” forms in the large end of the egg from this water loss. Humidity levels in the incubator determine moisture evaporation during the 21 days of incubation and hatching. The air cell is crucial for the chick to break out of the egg shell at the end of the incubation period. The chick can drown if the air cell is too small or the chick may be retarded in growth if the air cell is too large. This is why maintaining the proper humidity is crucial. Slightly lower humidity levels are more likely to be less disastrous than slightly higher humidity levels. There are quite a few opinions on Humidity, but it is no set number.

Humidity is NOT A SET NUMBER, you need it YES!
However, you use it as a tool to "adjust" egg weight loss during incubation. We candle on days 7,10,14,18 To WATCH WEIGHT LOSS IN EVERY EGG! An EGG MUST lose approximately 13-14% of its weight during the incubation process. THIS IS YOUR GOAL!! You can monitor this by marking Air cells and also by weighing. Please refer to CANDLING section of this Article for more Air Cell info.
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Size of air cell on day 7, 14, and 18 of incubation

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WHY to MEASURE WEIGHT LOSS IN EGGS, ​

MEASURING PROCEDURES (HOW TO), HOW TO CALCULATE, and HOW to interpret RESULTS
http://www.aviagen.com/assets/Tech_Center/BB_Resources_Tools/AA_How_Tos/AAHowto1WaterLossEN13.pdf

I choose the easier method, keeping a close eye on air cell growth during incubation. You begin by ONLY adding a small amount of water and keep Humidity between 20%-30% and adjusting as you weigh or candle depending on moisture loss. IN SOME AREAS OF THE COUNTRY YOU MAY NOT NEED TO ADD ANY WATER! USE IT AS A TOOL FOR THE CORRECT WEIGHT LOSS IN THE EGG! So if your air cells look too large at each candle period you must add some humidity, too small air cell lower it, and if your weighing you adjust as needed. UNTIL DAY 18 LOCKDOWN,
then stop turning and raise humidity to 65-70%

UNDERSTANDING HUMIDITY

Views of Day 18 Candle.....
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How Does a Hygrometer Work?
http://weather.about.com/od/weatherinstruments/a/hygrometers.htm

Shown here is a WET Bulb Hygrometer and wick
Wet bulb is exactly what it states. It is the temperature relative of the humidity in degrees.
A Hygrometer Wick is placed over the stem of the thermometer and the other end of the sleeve is placed in a jar or pan in the incubator.

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HOW TO CALIBRATE HYGRO with SALT TEST
http://www.sciencecompany.com/Understanding-Relative-Humidity-and-the-Hygrometer-W136.aspx

http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/pages/calibrate.html
http://exoticpets.about.com/od/herpresources/ss/hygrometer_3.htm



NOTES: It’s a good idea to keep the incubator plugged into a surge protector. Use distilled water in your incubator to help prevent bacteria growth. Omphalitis, Mushy Chick Disease and Yolk Sack Infection may be caused by a bacterium that enters through the porous egg shell. Unfortunately, incubation conditions are ideal for breeding bacteria as well as incubating eggs. Brinsea sells a disinfectant, formulated to be used for cleaning eggs, incubators, safe and effective against yeasts, fungi, viruses and bacteria which can cause fatal damage to the growing embryo. Pennies can be added to water wells. Copper helps to destroy the cell walls of bacteria, thus keeping bacteria out of the incubator. Pennies before 1982 have more copper content and pure copper kills 99.9% of bacteria.

A few TIPS & TRICKS!
Below image is a Simple waterer/suctioner out of aquarium tubing placed through side of incubator and into water wells. Use a Kids medicine syringe to add/suck water without opening or disturbing eggs.


In the image below are the different sized cups I use the first 18 days of incubation INSTEAD of using the wells in the bottom of the incubator. I had a hard time getting humidity correct, so I started using different size containers and caps for water holding, I could easily remove & replace as necessary. It WORKS WELL and I can keep them clean and sanitized better and not disturb my eggs! I will remove these cups on day 18 so the chicks don’t drown in them
and use the lower wells at lockdown at day 18.


2" funnel & we shoved it into a small piece of 1/4" tubing, a cleat on the inside of the unit (a wide-crown staple or cable staple would work also) to hold the tubing in place.
This way you can add water to the middle of the bator without missing the water troughs and without opening the unit. see below
(Thanks tlpounds)




REMEMBER~
Surface area of water will increase humidity more so than depth!
If you need a safe boost at lockdown just add a dampened sponge or rag.
A "ShamWoW" is great as a wick and can hang from the sides or across top of incubator.




The influence of high altitude on the hatching of chicken eggs.

Because of increased egg shell conductance at high altitude, eggs that were layed at sea level but incubated at 3100m will loose more water than eggs layed & incubated at sea level. Also, eggs laid at 3800m have lower amounts of albumen, less water than eggs at sea level and both egg composition and weights vary as consequence of changes in elevation, eggs produced at sea level are consistently and significantly larger than eggs laid at 3810 m. The mass of the yolk decreases and the albumen increases as sea level compared to 3810. Data suggest increase in mass of eggs at sea level compared to 3810 m is due primarily to water. http://www.wmrs.edu/resources/reference documents/Natural History of the White Mountains/ch23.pdf
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