Bad weather last night, power outage, help!

[chicken_china_mom]

Last night we got hit with a series of really BAD storms, and around 10pm the power flickered like it's done a few times in the last few weeks, and I held my breath, and then bam! Power goes out!

I started to send my older DD down to check the fuse box when my mom says don't, the entire town is out. What?! I started freaking, I have 2 bators still running! In one bator are eggs that are suppose to go into lockdown today, and in the other bator are eggs that I just set the other day. So I kept checking the bator temps, and praying the power would come back on. Hours passed, the bator temps steadily kept dropping, and no power was coming on.

Finally, power comes back on at 1:47am.

Unfortunately the temperature in the bator that's going into lockdown today dropped to 87, and the other bator with the new eggs dropped to about 91. Did I just lose nearly $100 in eggs, or is there still hope? Please, please, PLEASE tell me there is still hope!

I have 42 Silkie eggs, 7 Showgirl eggs, and 8 Marans eggs that just started, and 12 d'Uccles set to hatch in 3 days!!!! And there is absolutely NO money to rebuy eggs if I lose these!

 

[Denninmi]

Well, I'm far from an expert, but it sounds to me like it shouldn't be a big problem -- they didn't get THAT cold, and they weren't out for more than what, like 4 hours. I've been reading horror stories on here about power outages or whatever where it was colder and for longer and they still had at least decent hatches.

For future reference, do what I did and put the incubators on an Uninteruptable Power Supply device -- computer stores sell them. I bought one a few years back for a desktop computer I no longer ever even turn on, so I repurposed it for my incubator, and I'm sure it would power my Brinsea incubator for close to 24 hours during a blackout, more than enough time to let me get my generators hooked up and running.

I live in the suburbs of Detroit, and we have DTE Energy as our utility here, so we are experts at surviving blackouts -- I think we had a total or 9 or 10 in 2008, and probably 5 or 6 in 2009. Terrible utility company when it comes to line maintenance.

 

[popcornpuppy]

temperatures cooling off is safer than over heating. It may mean a delayed hatch, but the eggs have a better chance than they would from a temperature spike. Just give them a few extra days in the bator.

 

[chicken_china_mom]

What about the ones that are suppose to go into lockdown today? Should I wait an extra day to do it? Like maybe tomorrow evening instead of this evening?


And thanks Denninmi, I didn't know they made devices like that. How did you repurpose it? I'm not good at things like that. Does it run on a battery?

 

[Bunnylady]

Well. I'm not sure about the newly set eggs, but I think the others should be just fine. I have some broody hens that were sitting on some mixed-parentage eggs while waiting for some eggs that were being shipped to arrive. One of the hens had a bad spell, I found her out of her nest, sitting with her head in the corner of the cage. Her eggs were cold (well, ambient temperature, which was in the 80's that day), so it was clear she had been out for some time. I really didn't care whether those eggs hatched or not, so I left them as they were, and gave the hen a bit of TLC. She perked up, and returned to her nest a few hours later. Those eggs all hatched a few days later (oops! Don't know anyone who wants some mixed-breed chicks, do ya?) I've had other times when a hen would up and quit, or an incubator bulb would burn out, and the eggs cooled, but kept right on developing once warmth was restored.

I certainly wouldn't give up on your eggs!

 

[chicken_china_mom]

Quote:
Thank you, that sets my mind more at ease. That's the first bad power outage that we've had since I first started incubating eggs last summer.

 

[Kedreeva]

You can also add smooth stones to your incubators, or things like bottled water, that help to keep temps held through lapses like that. The stones will give off heat if the temp starts to lower.

 

[Denninmi]

Quote:
Computer stores sell them -- they cost anywhere from $30 to a couple of hundred -- the more you spend, the longer it will run and the more devices it will power. Mine was about $75 when I bought it like 3 or 4 years -- it's rated to power a desktop, a monitor, and a printer for up to 45 minutes, but I found it can power all of those (and the monitor is a 19" widescreen) for well over an hour if I turn the brightness down on the monitor. I used it to power a CFC lightbulb for like 40 hours and a small portable oscillating fan for like 12-14 hours during blackouts.

It is basically just a big power strip type thing with a built-in battery -- mine has 6 regular 110 volt outlets. You just plug it in and then plug your appliances into it. When the power goes out, it automatically reroutes everything to the battery backup without a blip -- for the computer, the screen doesn't even flicker. It also beeps when it goes on and off of line voltage so you know (as if suddenly sitting in the dark with just a computer running wasn't a good enough tipoff that you're having a blackout!).

By "repurposing" I just meant that I unplugged all of the computer stuff from it and moved it into my spare bedroom where I keep the incubator.

Here is a link to an Amazon.com listing for an APC brand UPS unit that cost about $60 -- it pretty much looks like it's about the equivalent of what I have. American Power Conversion (APC) is a really good brand.

http://www.amazon.com/APC-Back-UPS-...2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1277229007&sr=1-2

 

[chicken_china_mom]

Quote:
Computer stores sell them -- they cost anywhere from $30 to a couple of hundred -- the more you spend, the longer it will run and the more devices it will power. Mine was about $75 when I bought it like 3 or 4 years -- it's rated to power a desktop, a monitor, and a printer for up to 45 minutes, but I found it can power all of those (and the monitor is a 19" widescreen) for well over an hour if I turn the brightness down on the monitor. I used it to power a CFC lightbulb for like 40 hours and a small portable oscillating fan for like 12-14 hours during blackouts.

It is basically just a big power strip type thing with a built-in battery -- mine has 6 regular 110 volt outlets. You just plug it in and then plug your appliances into it. When the power goes out, it automatically reroutes everything to the battery backup without a blip -- for the computer, the screen doesn't even flicker. It also beeps when it goes on and off of line voltage so you know (as if suddenly sitting in the dark with just a computer running wasn't a good enough tipoff that you're having a blackout!).

By "repurposing" I just meant that I unplugged all of the computer stuff from it and moved it into my spare bedroom where I keep the incubator.

Here is a link to an Amazon.com listing for an APC brand UPS unit that cost about $60 -- it pretty much looks like it's about the equivalent of what I have. American Power Conversion (APC) is a really good brand.

http://www.amazon.com/APC-Back-UPS-...2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1277229007&sr=1-2

That definitely sounds like a handy tool to have around. I'm going to have to get one. This was stressful worrying about the eggs.