Beginner's Hatch-A-Long

[mariama]

Blue French Copper Maran chick!
Only one that hatched out of the 4 eggs I bought.
Last one out, too.
Total eggs that hatched on the first time incubating was 12.

What a lovely color!

 

[Alaskan]

OK, Questions.....


1. How many of you mark the air pocket in the egg to watch its size?

2. How constant does the temp stay in you'll's incubators? Like I just saw mine this morning went down to 98 then the heater kicked back on and it went back up to 100

When answering question 2, I would love to know the brand and age of your incubator.

Mine is I think 15 years old, and says "pet"iatric on it. It is supposed to be an incubator as well as a brooder for altricial chicks. It does have an egg turner, but no thermometers etc. with it.

When some people were talking about calibrating their thermometers, I thought that maybe the best way would be to use an old fashioned one, the type with mercury or alcohol in it, so they are always correct, NOT a digital one.

 

[SA Farm]

OK, Questions.....


1. How many of you mark the air pocket in the egg to watch its size?

2. How constant does the temp stay in you'll's incubators? Like I just saw mine this morning went down to 98 then the heater kicked back on and it went back up to 100

My incubator was new a month ago lol. It's a hovabator. The lowest mine went was probably 98 or close to and the highest it went was 101. It was most often at 99.5 and I had it set for 100.

When answering question 2, I would love to know the brand and age of your incubator.

Mine is I think 15 years old, and says "pet"iatric on it. It is supposed to be an incubator as well as a brooder for altricial chicks. It does have an egg turner, but no thermometers etc. with it.

When some people were talking about calibrating their thermometers, I thought that maybe the best way would be to use an old fashioned one, the type with mercury or alcohol in it, so they are always correct, NOT a digital one.

 

[FFAChickenFan]

OK, Questions.....


1. How many of you mark the air pocket in the egg to watch its size?

I do! Mostly because I like to watch the process of growing and also just because I want to be able to keep tabs on whether or not things are going right. Also, thats just what my family has always done, so I guess i picked it up too!

2. How constant does the temp stay in you'll's incubators? Like I just saw mine this morning went down to 98 then the heater kicked back on and it went back up to 100

I have a Hovabator 1588 Genesis. Its not too old but not too new either, I guess. All the eggs I've ever hatche dout of it do fine, though on this most recent incubation (since its my first solo) I decided to buy a thermometer to monitor it with as well as letting the incubator do its job. It seems to maintain temperature, but its a little lower than I'd like it to be. I guess we'll just have to see how well its done when i hatch this batch!

 

[Penny Hen]

THANKS!

Anyone have tips for cleaning the incubator????
I have one of the basic farm innovations still air incubators that are like $50 at TSC.
My hatch is over so I went to clean the incubator out and I'm having a heck of a time.
With the dried on stuff, I tried soap and warm water, then I tried gently scrubbing. Little pieces of styrofoam are breaking off and the dried up gunk is still there!!!!!

I think I have the thing for you. Now I haven't done this personally yet but I will later today. I ran into this post on Facebook about using Cream of Tartar as a stain remover.

In my little world, items like cream of tartar (potassium bitartrate) are not simply a super way to stabilize egg whites but also scandalously inexpensive cleaning secrets.

This long-forgotten gem of a cleaning agent may be used with a little water or vinegar to lift even the most stubborn stains. Unattractive grout driving you batty? Mold and mildew stains got you reaching for the Prozac? Burner pans and casserole dishes giving you fits? Cream of Tartar is your new best friend.

Cream of tartar is one of nature’s best bleaching agents. Cream of tartar, a.k.a “crusted wine,” is mixed with baking soda to create baking powder (bet you didn't know that.. okay, some of you probably did, you smartypants). While it is an acid, it’s not harmful. It’s an acidic salt which comes from grapes.

Use a few tablespoons of cream of tartar with hot water or hydrogen peroxide and clean any aluminum pans which have discoloration or any rusty drains, pans, or stains.

Do you have copper kettles? Mix some cream of tarter with lemon juice and rub the copper with it. Rinse and be amazed!

How about a porcelain sink, tub, commode? Rub the porcelain surfaces with cream of tartar and watch the stains disappear.

Fabric stains? No prob. Mix a few teaspoons of cream of tartar with some glycerin and use like spray-and-wash. The results? Well, I’m here to tell you that this stuff cured the ring around Joshua’s shirt collars.

Just need a great nonabrasive cleaner? Mix 2 teaspoons of vinegar and 2 teaspoon of cream of tartar in a small dish (use 3 or 4 teaspoons of vinegar and 3 or 4 teaspoons of cream of tartar if you have more items to clean). Apply with your cleaning rag or scrub brush and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. Scrub. Wash with hot soapy water.

 

[ivyrash]

I still remember the dogwood trees just outside of Homer, Alaska when we were headed out to get on the ferry. That's been a few years ago.

OK, Questions.....


1. How many of you mark the air pocket in the egg to watch its size?
This is my first time but we started marking at day 10 because that was the first time I read about it. I like doing it.

When answering question 2, I would love to know the brand and age of your incubator.

I started with a brand new Farm Innovators Pro Series with a fan in it.

Mine is I think 15 years old, and says "pet"iatric on it. It is supposed to be an incubator as well as a brooder for altricial chicks. It does have an egg turner, but no thermometers etc. with it.

When some people were talking about calibrating their thermometers, I thought that maybe the best way would be to use an old fashioned one, the type with mercury or alcohol in it, so they are always correct, NOT a digital one.
That would probably be good if you had one of those around.

 

[Alaskan]

Thanks for the replays to my questions (I hope a few more people answer as well)


Ad here I have another question.

I thought that the eggs in the incubator had to be on their side.... But here I was looking at some incubators on the net, and it showed an incubator full of eggs, with all of the eggs standing up!!!

So huh? Anyone know what the deal is?

Anyway....I am gonna see what I get from googling, but I also wanted to know what you guys all do.

 

[Manningjw]

With egg turners people place them large side up(NEVER small side up) because that is where the air cell is and have them turn side to side. Those without an egg turner, will be turning by hand and the simplest way to achieve this is by laying them on their side and rolling them when needed.

I don't think there is a right or wrong way as long as you are not putting them small end up. I imagine under a hen they would be ever so slightly small end down due to the eggs shape.

Another great way to turn eggs without an auto turner is to use an empty egg carton bottom with the bottoms cut out (for air circulation) and place one end on a block, move the block from either side to "turn" the eggs whenever needed.

 

[Alaskan]

With egg turners people place them large side up(NEVER small side up) because that is where the air cell is and have them turn side to side.  Those without an egg turner, will be turning by hand and the simplest way to achieve this is by laying them on their side and rolling them when needed. 

I don't think there is a right or wrong way as long as you are not putting them small end up.  I imagine under a hen they would be ever so slightly small end down due to the eggs shape. 

Another great way to turn eggs without an auto turner is to use an empty egg carton bottom with the bottoms cut out (for air circulation) and place one end on a block, move the block from either side to "turn" the eggs whenever needed.

See, I would stress that putting the eggs in that way, and changing the block from one end of the carton to the other, simply wouldn't be enough turning.


My egg turner holds the eggs on their sides, and then the entire thing tilts back and forth (which is pretty much what you are describing with moving the block back and forth under the egg carton) but that doesn't make me happy either. So I BOTH turn by hand, and let the turner tilt back and forth.

But, when I put the eggs in on their sides, sometimes the pointy end tries to stay up higher than the large end...and that also stresses me.

I was thinking if I put the eggs in standing up (yes, big end up) that I would stress less about how the eggs are sitting....but the lack of good rotating would get to me.

Maybe I am a bit too OCD. *sigh*

Also, rereading all of this incubate stuff (it has been a few years since I have incubated, and I am getting a set of eggs tomorrow) I don't think I ever realized how important it is for the eggs to be getting oxygen!

Sheesh, another thing to worry about.

 

[My peeps]

I'm on day 7 of my first hatch. I candled tonight and 8 out of 13 eggs don't look good. 3 blood rings and the rest were clear I left them in there for now. I will check again on day 11 before getting rid of them. I hope a few chicks hatch. The kids will be so disappointed if they don't.