5th Annual BYC New Year's Day 2014 Hatch-A-Long

[rochelle1021]

lockdown tomorrow!!! I have crazy looking air cells saddle and detached do I lockdown upright or put them on their side?

 

[rochelle1021]

lockdown tomorrow!!! I have crazy looking air cells saddle and detached do I lockdown upright or put them on their side?

the detached did reattach and chickies are moving

 

[ChickenCanoe]

ChickenCanoe-
all I can say is they are dang lucky I wasnt there when they did it, it would have been open season on the fools

That kind of thing makes me a little crazy so if it had happened to me, the perpetrator AND I would probably have been lucky I didn't witness it.
I don't think I'd fare well in prison.

To be honest...this is how Sally Sunshine taught me,

so I can't take credit for it, lol!

Someone on another thread about caring for a sick bird suggested weighing the bird daily. That's brilliant. If they're improving they'll gain weight, if not, they'll probably lose.

 

[rochelle1021]

I'm expecting 2 or 3... my new toy arrived today and checking to make sure it works.... now just add chicks good and water...... oh so nerve wracking .....

 

[rochelle1021]

I'm expecting 2 or 3... my new toy arrived today and checking to make sure it works.... now just add chicks good and water...... oh so nerve wracking .....

food and water.... my DH and 10 yo DD may have to egg sit for me .... oh that just adds to the craziness... making me nervous so I'll have a check list and constant update requests by video somehow...

 

[MontanaDolphin]

That kind of thing makes me a little crazy so if it had happened to me, the perpetrator AND I would probably have been lucky I didn't witness it.
I don't think I'd fare well in prison.

I don't think I'd fare well in prison, either, and that's where I'd be heading if I witnessed someone harming my chickens...or any other animal I own!!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I thought I'd add another day by day embryonic development page.
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/1459/embryonic-development-day-by-day

Another link for breakout analysis of failures.

http://www.aviagen.com/assets/Tech_...os/05HowTo5-BreakOutandAnalyseHatchDebris.pdf

 

[bantambury]

What I try to do is lay them down with the same side up as it was when I pulled them out of the incubator, or if hatching in the incubator, just stop turning. I don't stress over it though.
Sure, it will have a couple days to reposition itself.

Always best to follow incubator instructions since there are so many variables between them.

ok! thanks!

What I do is just before lockdown, I trace the air cells. There will be a dip, lower side, that's the side I face up. Another way I've done is to put the egg on a flat surface, and where it settles is how I put it in the bator. Honestly I do both because I need that air cell tracing as a gauge if a problem should arise. I would also get some rubber shelf liner (found in the kitchen section of Wal Mart) in there. It saves a very big mess and is good traction for the chicks.

ooohhh! I get it! so however it settles on the flat surface is how you put the egg in is where the baby is....sine it is heavier? that's smart! thank you! I think I will draw the air cell lines too, just in case I need to do an assisted hatch.

the walmar liners are a very smart idea too! that way, if poo goes through, there would be a tiner hole it would have to fall through, making mess easier to clean. THANK YOU!!!!!

~Bantambury

 

[Peep-Chicken]

I have my fingers crossed I will get a incubator of Christmas!

 

[SoManyHats]

IMO it somewhat depends on if it is a still air or forced air, table top or cabinet. I know I have to interpret differently from a still air to a cabinet.
If it is still air, I think it's best to measure as close to the top of the egg as possible, take an average of all the thermometers and shoot for 101.5.
If it's a cabinet with a fan, at least in my case, the temps will shoot way up on the instant reads when the heat elements kick on. Then they'll fall back to the actual temperature of the eggs and surfaces in the incubator till the set point is reached and the element turns on again.
The water wiggler may be reading higher because that's closer to what the inside of the eggs is like.
I think if you stay under 102 you'll be ok. Take notes on all of this. If the eggs hatch early, it was too hot. If they hatch late, likely too cool.

It's a forced air table top. I thought I was supposed to keep it between 99.5 and 100.5 in the wiggler. Good idea to keep track of the hatch times. I record the temps from all three thermometers every time I go in to check.