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

[Myfourladies]

Brinsea is as confused as we are, they are sending another cradle and would like this one back to look it over. We adjusted screws and lubricated all the things they suggested and it didn't change anything. DH says there's too much play in the linkage, and when I told them that on the phone I swore I could hear them scratching their heads LOL.

After another lecture about how I should have just bought the cabinet incubator from the get go, I ordered a Sportsman 1502. I felt physical pain as I typed in my card number. I do not ever ... EVER ... spend that kind of money. Hopefully it will arrive in perfect working order, and I can clean and disinfect the tabletops I've been using and resell to get at least a little of the money back. They aren't bad incubators once the temps are correct, especially for smaller hatches, but I expect to set more eggs this year, so I guess it will be better than having tabletops scattered all over the room, which is what I have right now. If the new cradle works I'll hang onto the Brinsea, probably. It's only 2 weeks old.

Broody hens are, indeed, among the most amazing creatures on the planet. When 2 2-lb hens can scare a grown man out of checking under them, they are worthy of worship LOL. The only Cream Legbars ever hatched here, were hatched under broodies.

I would be willing to relieve you of your Brinsea when you get to that point! LOL

I am sorry you have had so many issues, and it kind of scares me since I was preparing to buy one myself. Hopefully your sportsman 1502 pays it forward!

 

[mstricer]

It's almost time for Lock down and the waiting begins..Who is so excited they can't contain themselves

 

[Gardeningmama]

So do chickens go into lockdown on the 18th day? Just wondering why when hatching in an incubator it goes into lockdown. I also wonder about humidity. Chickens can't adjust humidity right? The rules for incubating just doesn't make since to me lol. Even though I do follow the guidelines.

My broody goes into lockdown a couple of days before a hatch. Nothing on Earth will move her. She will not eat, drink, or defecate until every last chick hatches...thus the horrendous Broody Poo afterwards. So, I would say yes a hen goes into lockdown.

 

[Gardeningmama]

It's almost time for Lock down and the waiting begins..Who is so excited they can't contain themselves

Lol! I use this one every chance I get!!​

 

[chickengirl1193]

Like Chickencanoe said, there is nothing to do now but ,

If they do not hatch you can open them up and see where they quit. Use the hatch diagnostic pdf on the first page to help with the next hatch.[IMG]http://www.smileyvault.com/alb...94.gif[/IMG] Of course we can always help too.



Thanks for the laugh!

Okay thanks

Day 4 hoping for good hatches for everyone

C'mon chickies!

I am realizing that I don't have any large boxes for a brooder, so I will go brave The Evil Empire to find a big tote.  I will make a lid for it with hardware cloth and wood, so that I can use it to store the baby chick stuff.  Maybe I can bungee cord it to the tote, as watermelons are out of season  . . .

I have the ecoglow, the baby chick feeder, waterer, medicated chick starter, and bags of sand. 

I was pondering making a brooder out of wood, but I don't seem to be doing that.  A tote will be so much easier to clean out and lift up over head to store in the garage. 

Really hoping I hatch some to put in my brooder.

if watermelons are out of season get a pumpkin!

The breed I've had that they're most similar to are Anconas. They're slightly flighty but after the raccoon attack and my nursing her back to health, she seems to like me a lot more. I had a bunch of them from day olds. I sold several to another chicken group member here. I kept 2 pullets and they looked identical. The raccoons killed her sister and mauled the heck out of her. She had some inner ear damage and had her head cocked to one side for a long time but she seems fairly well recovered. She had started laying again before she started molting.
They are small birds, barely bigger than a bantam but lay a full size white egg. So feed/egg conversion is very good. They can handle extreme cold yet being small and tight feathered they've handled the heat and humidity well also. They don't bully anyone. If I ever get the space, I'll probably have lots more of them.
Temperament wise, I'm not a chicken pet person - obviously. I don't play with my birds, nor are they inclined to sit on my lap. The only time I handle them is when I take them off the roost at night to move them to a new flock or check their health.
I think a lot of the breeds I've had that are flighty would be quite calm if someone handled them more often.
I love the wariness of most of my birds. I think it makes them more predator proof.
I have no qualms about letting them out to roam and leave for several hours.


Good luck.

All eggs were not created equal. I even get a big difference in weight loss with the same type of eggs in the same rack.
Perhaps an adjustment would work. Sounds wonky though. Sorry I'm not a Brinsea expert.


Don't take this the wrong way because  so many people do exactly as you do.
Again, this is just my opinion, but until the chicks are exposed to the outdoor environment they aren't really in danger of coccidiosis.
I've fed medicated once on purpose. I also treated a flock with Corid recently.
Small doses of coccidia will engender immunity. Keeping feeders at least half full and bedding bone dry will eliminate almost any danger of coccidiosis.
I'm a minimalist.
I've been there. Go to sleep and wake up, all of a sudden they're all running around the hatcher.
I now put matings and specifically sired eggs in labeled mesh bags.


I just picked up some organic grower feed for $22 a 50# bag. That's really cheap around here. I know people who are paying 36 for the same thing.
Organic is supposed to be GMO free. GMO free was my main goal. I'm using it in my FF and it is now going to be the base of all my feed. The organic finisher, layer and soy free is much higher. Since I've been doing FF, my feed is going much farther which makes me believe I'm going to break even.

Good for you. I'm very interested to hear what happens.
I'm doing something similar. I cut back the temp for a couple hours and turn the light on in the incubator. I figure the only light the eggs get is when the hen is off the nest, which is when the temp will drop.
I'm reluctant to do the 6 hour thing since my hatches hadn't gone well before I bought good thermometers. I had 2 batches of chicks killed by raccoons that broke into my basement this summer so I'm paranoid.

Lockdown is a weird thing. It's so that when embryos pip, the humidity will be high enough to prevent shrink wrapping. No one knows when that will happen. To be safe, people raise humidity and don't open the incubator a day before the extremely early pip.
I agree, a hen won't keep the humidity at a certain level for 18 days and miraculously raise it for 3 days.

I have dropped eggs when candling so it is a danger.

I just got a bag of grower and it's 16% so I was going to get medicated starter in a small bag for the first week or so, should i not get medicated? the only starter i can get is dumor :/

 

[ronott1]

Brinsea is as confused as we are, they are sending another cradle and would like this one back to look it over. We adjusted screws and lubricated all the things they suggested and it didn't change anything. DH says there's too much play in the linkage, and when I told them that on the phone I swore I could hear them scratching their heads LOL.

After another lecture about how I should have just bought the cabinet incubator from the get go, I ordered a Sportsman 1502. I felt physical pain as I typed in my card number. I do not ever ... EVER ... spend that kind of money. Hopefully it will arrive in perfect working order, and I can clean and disinfect the tabletops I've been using and resell to get at least a little of the money back. They aren't bad incubators once the temps are correct, especially for smaller hatches, but I expect to set more eggs this year, so I guess it will be better than having tabletops scattered all over the room, which is what I have right now. If the new cradle works I'll hang onto the Brinsea, probably. It's only 2 weeks old.

Broody hens are, indeed, among the most amazing creatures on the planet. When 2 2-lb hens can scare a grown man out of checking under them, they are worthy of worship LOL. The only Cream Legbars ever hatched here, were hatched under broodies.

I loved reading this!

Congratulations on getting a Sportsman!

 

[chickenman80]

Well now that the holidsy is over i finally got to candle my eggs. Only 5 not fertile. 23 progressing well. I always have good fertility but can never seem to have a good hatch. Usally ill only hatch 8 out of 24. All will be fully developed but just wont hatch. I have digital thermometers for temp and humidity. I run my humidity 50 percent the first 18 days and 70 percent the last 3. I use the force air styrafoam. I think its time to upgrade to a digital incubator.

 

[ronott1]

Okay thanks

if watermelons are out of season get a pumpkin!
I just got a bag of grower and it's 16% so I was going to get medicated starter in a small bag for the first week or so, should i not get medicated? the only starter i can get is dumor

You do not need medicated until they are exposed to the dirt or coccidiosis http://www.urbanfarmonline.com/urban-livestock/chickens/chicken-diseases.aspx

It is possible to have the parasite in your Brooder if it was not cleaned from an earlier hatch.

 

[Aphrael]

It's almost time for Lock down and the waiting begins..Who is so excited they can't contain themselves

I am! It is getting soooooo close.

Well now that the holidsy is over i finally got to candle my eggs. Only 5 not fertile. 23 progressing well. I always have good fertility but can never seem to have a good hatch. Usally ill only hatch 8 out of 24. All will be fully developed but just wont hatch. I have digital thermometers for temp and humidity. I run my humidity 50 percent the first 18 days and 70 percent the last 3. I use the force air styrafoam. I think its time to upgrade to a digital incubator.

Have you ever tried a "dry" hatch?

Edited because I meant to say dry incubation, not hatch.

 

[mstricer]

Quote: I love that