Are the chances as slim as I think?

[Julie08]

humidity comes off the hen I'm not exactly sure how she regulates humidity, maybe she doesnt need to in a natural enviroment, I don't know. Maybe you would have to run AC I have not encountered that problem myself. how is your temp running....... you can grab a hydrometor at walmart for less the 10 bucks if you want to check it out before the other one arrives,

I see your eggs arrived saturday, have you been rocking them by alternately elavating one end of the carton the the other? have you been storing them in a cool place?

How old were the eggs when they were shipped? You really need to set them within 7 days of them being laid.........

do you think you might want to order 3 female sexed day olds from my pet chicken and be done with it?

 

[Andi]

Quote:
The hygrometer I ordered is only around $12 shipped, and that's fine.

The temp is staying steady at just a fraction over 100º.

Rocking them? Yes, 5-7 times a day with the box tipped as far as I can get it to tip without sliding off of the little box under the box the eggs are in.

Setting within 7 days I knew about. That's why I was getting antsy and put the lamp on them. Before the lamp I kept them in the basement and rocked them 5-7 times every day with the pointy end down, as the breeder instructed to do after shipping. Now that they are under the lamp I have them on their sides, like they would be naturally.

How old they were when I got them, I don't know. They were 3 days in transit, which is another reason I put the lamp on them. 3 days in transit plus 4 days here is 7 days.

These are lav Orps and Marans. I won't be able to get them from anyone other then a private breeder. I checked. All of the breeders of lav Orps say they don't sex and pullets shipped is out of my price range (although now that I might be looking at getting an incubator...). On top of that there's the disease transmission potential with birds plus permits to come into my state and who knows what else.

 

[Slater1995]

If you don't or can't buy an incubator, get a fish aquarium or something and put the eggs it in and put 2-40 watt bulbs in the top - or if you can find a way to attach the heat lamp and the temp is good it might work. make sure the temp stays between 99-100 and the humidity around 65%. The humitity is the hardest part. you need to keep the warm air inside where the eggs are and provide ventalation at the same time.

I think it can work. Don't know how good a hatch rate will be though.

Good Luck

 

[lemurchaser]

The thing I'd be concerned about is that with a heat lamp the temperature on the egg shell is not the air temp. I would make a cardboard cover for the eggs so the top isn't being baked. The AIR temp should be around 100.

You can search the aquarium incubators on here and maybe put something together. See what you get.

It's worth a shot.

But don't put those babies in with a non-broody, that's really risking those babies lives. But I got my 2 chicks integrated at 8-10 weeks old, and they can live in a dog crate/cardboard box until then.

 

[Andi]

Empty aquariums I have. I even have insulation foam sheets that I use for shipping fish in boxes with that I can put around the outside of the aquarium. The aquarium could even double as a brooder.

Once the hygrometer arrives I'll have a better idea of whether I should keep them in the fish room or move them somewhere else and provide humidity in a different way.

About the 2 - 40 watt bulbs, are you suggesting incandescent bulbs? I haven't seen those in stores in this area for well over a year. I don't know that florescent get warm enough. I suppose in an aquarium with insulation the infrared heat lamp is too hot. What about a flood lamp or would that be too much also?

 

[Andi]

Quote:
Thanks for the advise. I have some plastic mesh that I use to separate fish in aquariums that I'll put between the lamp and the eggs. I wondered about that.

Hmm...aquarium incubator topics? I'll have to check that out. Thanks. Using something that is so much a part of my every day hadn't occurred to me before Slater mentioned it. So other people have done that? Cool. Somehow it seems fitting for someone who's nickname is Fish to use an aquarium to hatch chicks.

I just gotta say that you guys are great! Thank-you so much for walking me through this! If there's any other potential issues, please speak up. I gotta go for today, but I'll update this thread with post #s of the updates on the first post I made in the thread.

 

[Julie08]

before the hydromater arrives if you have them in a fish take cover the top with some plastic or plexiglass if you have some. If water droplets form on the under side of the glass cover the humidity is to high obviously this is a pretty rough idea but it is gauge for now as rough as it might be.

 

[Slater1995]

You could not use the engery saving bulbs as they do not put off enough heat. the old fashion are hard to find, but you should be able to find some. You could also buy just a heating element for an incubator and try that or anything that keep the air temp close to 100%. You can use a thermometer to do the humidity, it is called a wet bulb and you have to put a wick on the end of the thermometer. Try looking up the instructions. I think I read it on BYC somewhere. I have never tried it, but you might be able to.

I don't know what type of heat a flood light puts out so I am not sure about how that would work. You could also do some reasearch on appliance bulbs or something odd like that.

I am not sure about these, just trying to give you some ideas. I have even heard of people hatching eggs in an oven or counter top toaster. Not sure how that would work but who knows.

Good Luck

 

[lemurchaser]

Here's a how-to on an aquarium incubator
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=19548-homemade-incubator

Also someone else has said they were able to borrow a incubator from their county extension office. You might try that.

 

[Andi]

I'm a little late at updating, but here it is.

Things didn't turn out as good as I was hoping. I had 1 Marans hatch, no deformities and healthy as can be. Other than that the only other one that had development was the one Lav Orp egg that I dropped during candling. Either I ended up with a lot of unfertilized eggs, I waited too long before setting up the aquarium for an incubator or the impact from the box getting dropped during shipping (deep dent in the corner of the box, like it had been dropped from a high place, when I got it) was the reason or all were contributing factors. I'll never know. I do know I can do it though, so next time I'll be better prepared. The single chick has found a new home with other chicks so its not going to be alone.

It wasn't the best outcome, but it was a learning experience. Anything you learn from has value.