5 things I wish I knew before I started incubating

[bigkford]

Me too with the temp/hygro I have 3 bator ging ! a hova bator and two homemade two themp/hygro mees going they never read within 4 degrees what ever the same

 

[LoveMyBirds]

Quote:
After reading couple posts like yours here, what I do with my auto-egg turner is unplug it when the trays are flat when I start the eggs... Hand turn them for one week..

Plug it back in.. I have gotten very good hatchings.. EVEN on last run I lost power in a bad storm for 1 day 3 1/2 hrs.. My Inc. got down to 69 degrees..

I still got around 55 to 60% hatch ... I had turkey, duck, and chickens..

I have another Inc. with the same outage due this coming thursday.. Hope it does as well... Only turkeys left in that one.. I put the chicken eggs in the first Inc.. since they were due at the same time as the 1st Inc.. and almost all of those chicks hatched..

Oh,, I have to tell a dirty story here..

I usually check my eggs after 3-4 days if they still haven't hatched.. I crack the big end to view inside to make sure no live bird.

I crack this one little chick egg.. and BLAM.. did it blow up.. What a stink..

Luckily, I didn't get much on my carpet or my little woman would have put foot in .....

I washed my clothes and got everything cleaned up before she got off from work...

 

[giasmom]

Wish I would of known....
1) How much these little guys like to POOP

2) How much my utility bill was gonna go UP !

3) My dog was gonna want to sleep with the new chicks instead of with ME !( my bed is lonely now, so I'm on the couch) Trader!!!

 

[Frenchy chick]

I would have to say....

1...The gory part when they hatch and have the guts falling out or deformed legs and you have to dispose of them humanly.

2....Chicken stink
3....Yes, they really like to poop!!

 

[Calebs Acre]

When you get a hygrometer or thermometer, you need to calibrate it. Make sure that you buy the type of hygrometer that CAN be adjusted. There are places on line that will explain how to calibrate the hygrometer. ALSO, remember that temperatures and humidity readings will vary by the location/height, etc where you place the instrument.

1. As soon as you fill up your incubator, those eggs you've been trying to find for months/years are suddenly available;

2. No matter how many incubators you own, they will all be full.

 

[Hotttmommi]

100% agreement with everything that has been said. Why didnt someone warn me more sternly?!?!?!?!

 

[johnwilly1962]

Someone mentioned the "scams" on ebay. I always wondered why bidders don't do a follow up comment regarding their hatch rate or if the eggs even showed signs of fertility. If bidders did that, maybe we could weed out the bad sellers. Just a thought. I know I will be doing follow up comments.

 

[JeanGenie]

Here in the UK...

1. No matter how much you stare through the window of your incubator it wont speed things up..!!!

2. I had designed and built a low volatge 12V controlled system first as the light drives us mad at night..!!!

3. No matter how many Temp/Hygro's are installed they all read different....!!!

4. Friends who you tell about your new hobby still phone everyday to ask if they have hatched.

5. Why after all the sleepless nights, worry, effort when they do hatch they would rather be with my wife...!!!

But its all worth it the end when you see that shell move and little peeps are heard...

AHHHHHH.... love em....

 

[taraann81]

I forgot one.

6- MOST people look at you funny when you talk about how excited you are about your eggs/chicks/poultry

 

[R@ndy]

Quote:
Yelling at an egg for it to hatch will get you nowhere lol, lol, lol,