August Hatch-A-Long

[ChickenCanoe]

A towel is a good idea. Something as simple as a piece of cardboard on the side will help. Just make sure the air holes on the top and bottom aren't blocked. Sitting the incubator on a towel will prevent proper airflow. The older the embryos the more oxygen they need.

The heat elements in those styrofoams are only 40 watts. It takes a while for them to heat up and regulate.

 

[Puddin Fluff]

I'd love to join in too please! We candled our 11 eggs tonight, and have 8 eggs with movement and veins! We have them under our broody hen and we're so excited! It's our first ever hatch. They could be silkies, frizzles or sizzles. They're due on August 9th. I'm looking forward to going on this journey with you all.

Welcome! The more the merrier!

Good point about the broody breaks Chickencanoe! I think we get so focus on trying to keep everything perfect we forget the natural process of the broody! I have read some incubators now have a "natural cooling" feature to imitate the broody getting off/on the nest...but mine is the good old simple still air, no frills bator

Me too. My 2 borrowed Styrofoam still air, no humidity checking incubators have done well for me. When I do candle, I take the lids completely off and go through all the eggs, add more warm water if it is low and then replace the lid and watch for the temp to setlle in.

So cool! What day was this candle?

Day 7. That one is a White Face Black Spanish banty egg.

A towel is a good idea. Something as simple as a piece of cardboard on the side will help. Just make sure the air holes on the top and bottom aren't blocked. Sitting the incubator on a towel will prevent proper airflow. The older the embryos the more oxygen they need.

The heat elements in those styrofoams are only 40 watts. It takes a while for them to heat up and regulate.

I think one reason I look in the bator every time I pass by is that they are not new and fancy and the temp does seem to fluxuate some. Also I have cheepo thermometers but they have worked fairly well for me. I am not a breeder, scientist or perfectionist so I am happy with the hatches that I get.

I don't have time to stress over why one or two eggs quit developing. If I lost an entire batch, then I would worry that I did something wrong.

 

[Sylviaanne]

How exciting!!! I have never done this so sorry for silly question but does a chick hatching that early happen on a regular basis? I'm a nervous wreck and I'm not normally like this...so many unknown things...lol Hopefully in a couple weeks I will be more relaxed

I'm also curious as to what your temp and humidity have been at and if you have still air or not? Good luck to all your chicks

No, nonono. This egg came from under a duck who was sitting on chicken and duck eggs. I didn't want her leaving her eggs when the chicks hatched because chicks take 21 days and ducks take 28 days. I didn't think she had been sitting on them long enough for them to germinate and the other egg I removed from the nest is on a par with the other eggs in the incubator. I am thinking that when the hens (ducks and chickens) were laying in the same nest this egg was one of the first laid when the duck became broody. At first I didn't remove the eggs, it took me a while to figure out if I wanted to let her hatch the chicken eggs or sit longer and hatch the duck eggs. The duck eggs won because I thought it might confuse her if her babies didn't want to get into the water to swim.

I use 2 Little Giant incubators and the newer one, bought this year, has a fan but the older one is still air. I bought egg turners and temp/humidity meters for both of them. Now, I am not good at keeping records but I am working on it. My chicks, at times, have started hatching as early as day 18 and all of them are usually done by the end of day 21. Last year, I did hatches without knowing what the humidity was in the incubator. The LG incubators come with a little thermometer like the old fashioned mercury thermometers but no way to measure the humidity. Earlier this year I had a hatch of 22 chicks out of 32 (I added extras and the others hatched later) it was a staggered hatch. I did not plan for a staggered hatch, a broody left a nest of eggs I put them in the incubator and they hatched a week earlier than I expected. For that hatch I didn't have the temp/humidity meter so I kept the water troughs full of water. What has happened since then makes me amazed that any of them hatched. When we got a temp/humidity meter, from Walmart, I found the humidity was really high, mostly because it was raining a lot here. I couldn't get the humidity down at all. I removed the water a bit at a time from the incubator until there was none left and it still was over 50%. There was nothing I could do or knew to do so they had to hatch like that. I did have more hatches but they were not good. One thing you should know is that I read when you wash the Styrofoam incubators it takes a long time for them to dry out. So, when I removed all the water, that might have been why the humidity was still so high. I did not know this at that time.

Since I bought the 2nd incubator, my hatches haven't been good either but I have high hopes for this one. I don't know if I will do another or not but I am very tempted to try another incubator full and hand turn them again like I was doing last year and earlier this year.

As for my temps, I try to keep them right at 99 - 100. With my Little Giants, once I get them set and they are steady, I just unplug them when I am done with them. I don't mess with the knobs and when I want to use them again, I just plug them in and let them sit for 24 hours to see if they are remaining steady. For some reason, they do fluctuate now and then and I need to tweak the knob because it is at 98 or 102 but within a few hours or a day, they have stabilized again. I only worry about them when I first start them up for the year. Then again, like every chicken mama and daddy, I stop and look in every time I pass them. LOL

I didn't mean to write a book but if you have more questions, just ask. It might take me a while to get back to you but I will. Sylvia

 

[Iko127]

No, nonono. This egg came from under a duck who was sitting on chicken and duck eggs. I didn't want her leaving her eggs when the chicks hatched because chicks take 21 days and ducks take 28 days. I didn't think she had been sitting on them long enough for them to germinate and the other egg I removed from the nest is on a par with the other eggs in the incubator. I am thinking that when the hens (ducks and chickens) were laying in the same nest this egg was one of the first laid when the duck became broody. At first I didn't remove the eggs, it took me a while to figure out if I wanted to let her hatch the chicken eggs or sit longer and hatch the duck eggs. The duck eggs won because I thought it might confuse her if her babies didn't want to get into the water to swim.

I use 2 Little Giant incubators and the newer one, bought this year, has a fan but the older one is still air. I bought egg turners and temp/humidity meters for both of them. Now, I am not good at keeping records but I am working on it. My chicks, at times, have started hatching as early as day 18 and all of them are usually done by the end of day 21. Last year, I did hatches without knowing what the humidity was in the incubator. The LG incubators come with a little thermometer like the old fashioned mercury thermometers but no way to measure the humidity. Earlier this year I had a hatch of 22 chicks out of 32 (I added extras and the others hatched later) it was a staggered hatch. I did not plan for a staggered hatch, a broody left a nest of eggs I put them in the incubator and they hatched a week earlier than I expected. For that hatch I didn't have the temp/humidity meter so I kept the water troughs full of water. What has happened since then makes me amazed that any of them hatched. When we got a temp/humidity meter, from Walmart, I found the humidity was really high, mostly because it was raining a lot here. I couldn't get the humidity down at all. I removed the water a bit at a time from the incubator until there was none left and it still was over 50%. There was nothing I could do or knew to do so they had to hatch like that. I did have more hatches but they were not good. One thing you should know is that I read when you wash the Styrofoam incubators it takes a long time for them to dry out. So, when I removed all the water, that might have been why the humidity was still so high. I did not know this at that time.

Since I bought the 2nd incubator, my hatches haven't been good either but I have high hopes for this one. I don't know if I will do another or not but I am very tempted to try another incubator full and hand turn them again like I was doing last year and earlier this year.

As for my temps, I try to keep them right at 99 - 100. With my Little Giants, once I get them set and they are steady, I just unplug them when I am done with them. I don't mess with the knobs and when I want to use them again, I just plug them in and let them sit for 24 hours to see if they are remaining steady. For some reason, they do fluctuate now and then and I need to tweak the knob because it is at 98 or 102 but within a few hours or a day, they have stabilized again. I only worry about them when I first start them up for the year. Then again, like every chicken mama and daddy, I stop and look in every time I pass them. LOL

I didn't mean to write a book but if you have more questions, just ask. It might take me a while to get back to you but I will. Sylvia

lol! Thank you!! I think mine is doing ok for now seems to be setting in rt at 100 temp and humidity just went to 60....I think I will let it ride from 50 to 60....I have someone that said they do staggered hatches a lot and keeps it at 60 until some are ready to hatch....I guess as long as there aren't any bad spikes either direction it will be ok....time will tell

 

[Book]

Can I hang out here?

I kind of got in over my head....
I set eggs that are due tomorrow but then set a few eggs due the next few days, one due on the 8th, and then 6 due on the 11th and then a dozen due on the 13th....

All in the same incubator.
​

I have heard of people doing a staggered hatch and doing it well but goodness this has my head spinning. (and more eggs to set on Monday!) The kids think this is fabulous, my husband though I think is seeing the bigger picture. Lock down means not opening the incubator at day 18, but staggering the hatch means I still need to open it to turn the eggs. I have stopped letting the kids turn the other eggs though for now as I am faster and can add more water and check the temp and such. Not doing lock down correctly though has husband not thrilled. He likes following directions to a T. He said we will have to get more incubators at some point. LOL

For now though.... eeep! Hopefully Peeps soon!

 

[Iko127]

Can I hang out here?

I kind of got in over my head....
I set eggs that are due tomorrow but then set a few eggs due the next few days, one due on the 8th, and then 6 due on the 11th and then a dozen due on the 13th....

All in the same incubator.
​

I have heard of people doing a staggered hatch and doing it well but goodness this has my head spinning. (and more eggs to set on Monday!) The kids think this is fabulous, my husband though I think is seeing the bigger picture. Lock down means not opening the incubator at day 18, but staggering the hatch means I still need to open it to turn the eggs. I have stopped letting the kids turn the other eggs though for now as I am faster and can add more water and check the temp and such. Not doing lock down correctly though has husband not thrilled. He likes following directions to a T. He said we will have to get more incubators at some point. LOL

For now though.... eeep! Hopefully Peeps soon!

Well happy for you to join!!! This is my first hatch and I have some of the same problem...I have two batches in bator that were started just shy of 2 days apart. The one person I talked to that does staggered hatches all the time says they just keep the humidity up around 60...they also have a humidifier and keep it on when getting in and out of bator....says they don't have a problem. As for me I'm just going to stop my turner on day 18 for first batch and lay them down to hatch...If all numbers look good I will try to sneak in and turn the second group a few times and just keep humidity up closer to 75...still going to research since my brain is forgetting some things after reading so much

Good Luck and keep posted!!

 

[calichicken]

Thank you! My bator is a styrofoam still air...I think I have a slight draft from the side that has the cord coming out from turner, which is why I didn't have a temp difference with the one batch of eggs on the opposite side, until I added my second batch of eggs and my digital therm. was close to side. I have a towel around that side now and will keep check on it... rt now I have my digital at 98...the left side therm. at 99 and the rt side at 100...humidity at 51... Thank you all for your help and input

Your bator is probably good so try not to stress to much! You can go crazy with all the thermometer and readings...ect! Once you have used your bator for a few hatches, you will trust it to be stable and get all the kinks worked out...like draft from the cord...ect!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Welcome! The more the merrier!

Me too. My 2 borrowed Styrofoam still air, no humidity checking incubators have done well for me. When I do candle, I take the lids completely off and go through all the eggs, add more warm water if it is low and then replace the lid and watch for the temp to setlle in.

Day 7. That one is a White Face Black Spanish banty egg.

I think one reason I look in the bator every time I pass by is that they are not new and fancy and the temp does seem to fluxuate some. Also I have cheepo thermometers but they have worked fairly well for me. I am not a breeder, scientist or perfectionist so I am happy with the hatches that I get.

I don't have time to stress over why one or two eggs quit developing. If I lost an entire batch, then I would worry that I did something wrong.

I am a breeder of extremely rare birds but I don't stress a lot either. Normally, I feel like if they hatch and survive then they're vigorous. If they don't survive then I don't want them reproducing their kind. I invested in the thermometers because I just got tired of spending all that money on electricity and frying eggs.
I'm paying much closer attention to storage and temps now since I lost so many birds recently to mink.

Well happy for you to join!!! This is my first hatch and I have some of the same problem...I have two batches in bator that were started just shy of 2 days apart. The one person I talked to that does staggered hatches all the time says they just keep the humidity up around 60...they also have a humidifier and keep it on when getting in and out of bator....says they don't have a problem. As for me I'm just going to stop my turner on day 18 for first batch and lay them down to hatch...If all numbers look good I will try to sneak in and turn the second group a few times and just keep humidity up closer to 75...still going to research since my brain is forgetting some things after reading so much

Good Luck and keep posted!!

I don't check humidity. I occasionally fill a container in the incubator and keep humidity high in the hatcher.
I weigh the eggs when I set them and at a couple intervals. They should lose 0.65% of their weight each day and if you chart it you can tell if the humidity has been high or low and can adjust accordingly. There's a lot of difference in the porosity of eggs and using a standard humidity for all eggs may not be the best course of action.

 

[calichicken]

Can I hang out here?

I kind of got in over my head....
I set eggs that are due tomorrow but then set a few eggs due the next few days, one due on the 8th, and then 6 due on the 11th and then a dozen due on the 13th....

All in the same incubator.
​

I have heard of people doing a staggered hatch and doing it well but goodness this has my head spinning. (and more eggs to set on Monday!) The kids think this is fabulous, my husband though I think is seeing the bigger picture. Lock down means not opening the incubator at day 18, but staggering the hatch means I still need to open it to turn the eggs. I have stopped letting the kids turn the other eggs though for now as I am faster and can add more water and check the temp and such. Not doing lock down correctly though has husband not thrilled. He likes following directions to a T. He said we will have to get more incubators at some point. LOL

For now though.... eeep! Hopefully Peeps soon!

You bet...WELCOME!!!

and Yikes...you have a lot going on there!! But here is something to remember..when your first eggs start hatching and you let those babies dry and fluff in the incubator, they really knock those other eggs around so although it is not precise turning they do get moved around by the hatchlings! I have had a staggered hatch where they were due a week apart and I just got in quickly to turn the ones that needed and it seemed to work out ok for both hatches. Good luck with your Peeps due tomorrow

and remind hubby that broodies don't follow any directions...LOL...so it will be ok! Rule followers

 

[calichicken]

I am a breeder of extremely rare birds but I don't stress a lot either. Normally, I feel like if they hatch and survive then they're vigorous. If they don't survive then I don't want them reproducing their kind. I invested in the thermometers because I just got tired of spending all that money on electricity and frying eggs.
I'm paying much closer attention to storage and temps now since I lost so many birds recently to mink.

I don't check humidity. I occasionally fill a container in the incubator and keep humidity high in the hatcher.
I weigh the eggs when I set them and at a couple intervals. They should lose 0.65% of their weight each day and if you chart it you can tell if the humidity has been high or low and can adjust accordingly. There's a lot of difference in the porosity of eggs and using a standard humidity for all eggs may not be the best course of action.

Completely agree! I am not a breeder at all, just have them as pets...hubby for pet and eggs...and I hatch in my classroom with my students in the spring. I just watch for the basics and let nature take care of the rest.

Too much for me to get too indepth