Biggest Incubation Mistakes

[Shezadandy]

UGH - yes, the cheap incubator issue. Ugh.

 

[Rusty Hills Farm]

Biggest mistake was starting in the first place. I was not emotionally prepared for what happened--deformed chicks that I had to euthanize. There's a learning curve with ANY new activity, but chicks are living creatures. They live and breathe and FEEL. I was not prepared for the reality of what my learning curve ultimately cost them.

Rusty

 

[meepANDpeep]

Do NOT ever attempt to 'help' an egg pip, if it hasn't got a hole in it already. I was just lucky to have an open window within two feet of my 'experiment'. Should've listened to my hubby when he said, "mmm I don't think that's a good idea....."

lol I pipped a chick’s egg that got shrink wrapped and could not pip… saved that chick’s life and helped it through the whole hatch…..
It survived….

That chick is now a healthy *serial killer* quail that has scalped 3 other quail…. 2 of which were his own children (as adults when I tried to integrate them) and luckily I saved them but the first was not so lucky. The first one he killed was my favorite quail.

He’s literally a psycho and he eats eggs from the only hen I can leave him with I now realize maybe you shouldn’t help but for much different reasons than you. He came out mean lolol

 

[Melly-Mae]

Hard water can leave deposits which make it very difficult to clean. A friend of mine use to use well water, which in this area is very hard, and he was forever having difficulties.

Crap! I just put my first batch in a few days ago (after y'all gave me baby fever lol) and filled it with my new farms well water. I was wondering if it would be different from any of my previous batches.

 

[Crazy Duck Lover]

Question! What is the reason people use distilled water instead of tap? I didn’t know that was a practice

 

[casportpony]

Question! What is the reason people use distilled water instead of tap? I didn’t know that was a practice

 

[DatCampG]

The very first time I started incubating and right after bathing at the end the day, I smelled something, an egg had exploded. It was horrible. It made the whole room reek bad! I immediately put all eggs in cartons, cleaned the styrofoam unit quickly as possible and gently with a toothbrush and water hose on the back porch and then refilled with warm distilled water. Whew! It was rough. It took a day for the smell to dissipate. If I had to I could boil water on the stove (I have well water) and let it get warm before putting in the incubator water channel. I prefer to buy two gallons of distilled, especially because I am using a styrofoam incubator. From my experience, I think using distilled water is best and is reccomend on the styrofoam incubator I'm using. I have never put tap water in mine.

 

[DatCampG]

Wed 9/8 right after I posted here...I hear a tweet!! It is 1a but I don't see a pip yet. How exciting!!!

 

[R2elk]

The very first time I started incubating and right after bathing at the end the day, I smelled something, an egg had exploded. It was horrible. It made the whole room reek bad! I immediately put all eggs in cartons, cleaned the styrofoam unit quickly as possible and gently with a toothbrush and water hose on the back porch and then refilled with warm distilled water. Whew! It was rough. It took a day for the smell to dissipate. If I had to I could boil water on the stove (I have well water) and let it get warm before putting in the incubator water channel. I prefer to buy two gallons of distilled, especially because I am using a styrofoam incubator. From my experience, I think using distilled water is best and is reccomend on the styrofoam incubator I'm using. I have never put tap water in mine.

Boiling your well water will make the TDS (total dissolved solids) worse because only the water boils off, not the stuff dissolved in the water.

 

[DatCampG]

Boiling your well water will make the TDS (total dissolved solids) worse because only the water boils off, not the stuff dissolved in the water.

"County Rules Apply"
When your poor an elderly farmer told me....He said; why I ain't about to gonna' do that, spend money on water in a bottle. *laughing* He is slicker than a peeled onion. Smart too!