Crumb Returns With Questions and Chicks

[--crumbzz_]

Heyo, so I've come back to BackYard Chickens after quite a while, so I feel like I should give everyone an update, although I doubt the majority of people here knew me at all haha- ^^'

Anyways, a lot has happened since I disappeared-

My Lohman Browns, Custard and Caramel, have been as demanding as usual, wanting strokes, food, love, food and more food. Charcoal ( my silky cross easter-egger ) has also been alright, a bit skittish, but fine. Unfortunately, Smoke, my little black and white easter-egger cross has passed away, and since Phoenix is a roo, he's gone to a nice farm as well.

I'm visiting some folks who breed nice paint silkies, which is a find here in S.A, so i'm suuuuper excited 'bout that! Planning to get eight or so silky eggs and do a little hatch-a-long.

Needing tips for cheap, yet decent incubators, as i'm on a quest to raise some more chickens but am on a budget.

Finally, I need tips fire raising chicks, just to be safe.

Thanks!


PS: Sorry if this was put in the wrong area, I wasn’t sure where to put it. ^^’

 

[LoveMyPeepers]

We recently hatched chicks about 3 weeks ago, I looked it up and our incubator wasn't listed as one of the best, but it always works great for us.
Have you hatched eggs yourself by using an incubator before? If not I can give you some tips on that, cause a lot depends on how well your using the incubator (depending on the incubator). Gotta go now, I'll give you advice on chicks later.

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

Heyo, so I've come back to BackYard Chickens after quite a while, so I feel like I should give everyone an update, although I doubt the majority of people here knew me at all haha- ^^'

Anyways, a lot has happened since I disappeared-

My Lohman Browns, Custard and Caramel, have been as demanding as usual, wanting strokes, food, love, food and more food. Charcoal ( my silky cross easter-egger ) has also been alright, a bit skittish, but fine. Unfortunately, Smoke, my little black and white easter-egger cross has passed away, and since Phoenix is a roo, he's gone to a nice farm as well.

I'm visiting some folks who breed nice paint silkies, which is a find here in S.A, so i'm suuuuper excited 'bout that! Planning to get eight or so silky eggs and do a little hatch-a-long.

Needing tips for cheap, yet decent incubators, as i'm on a quest to raise some more chickens but am on a budget.

Finally, I need tips fire raising chicks, just to be safe.

Thanks!


PS: Sorry if this was put in the wrong area, I wasn’t sure where to put it. ^^’

Welcome back, and good luck with uour projects.

I use Nurture Right 360. pros- good viewing, roomy, easy to fill water from outside. Easy to clean. Good value for cost.

cons- the lid is hard to align - mark contact points with a sharpy! Humidity is hard to regulate if lower humidity is desired- as in dry incubation. Temp accuracy is always questionable. Use a reliable thermometer and hygrometer.

 

[--crumbzz_]

We recently hatched chicks about 3 weeks ago, I looked it up and our incubator wasn't listed as one of the best, but it always works great for us.
Have you hatched eggs yourself by using an incubator before? If not I can give you some tips on that, cause a lot depends on how well your using the incubator (depending on the incubator). Gotta go now, I'll give you advice on chicks later.

I have actually hatched chicks using an incubator, but said incubator was faulty- so I don't actually know if I was doing anything particularly wrong. I suspect that the turner was broken and the temperature changed rapidly, hence the lack of chicks, and the fact that silkies were the only ones that hatched, which i think was because their eggs were small enough to turn under the flimsy turner.

Thanks!

 

[--crumbzz_]

Welcome back, and good luck with uour projects.

I use Nurture Right 360. pros- good viewing, roomy, easy to fill water from outside. Easy to clean. Good value for cost.

cons- the lid is hard to align - mark contact points with a sharpy! Humidity is hard to regulate if lower humidity is desired- as in dry incubation. Temp accuracy is always questionable. Use a reliable thermometer and hygrometer.

Ah, alright! The reviews aren't the best, but i assume that is due to the cons you already listed above. Any other incubator recommendations? i want to get the full scope if i can, haha!

 

[--crumbzz_]

We recently hatched chicks about 3 weeks ago, I looked it up and our incubator wasn't listed as one of the best, but it always works great for us.
Have you hatched eggs yourself by using an incubator before? If not I can give you some tips on that, cause a lot depends on how well your using the incubator (depending on the incubator). Gotta go now, I'll give you advice on chicks later.

oh, also, which incubator did you use?

 

[--crumbzz_]

NOTE: I live in South Africa, and shipping can be tough and pricey, so tips on that would be great too-

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

Ah, alright! The reviews aren't the best, but i assume that is due to the cons you already listed above. Any other incubator recommendations? i want to get the full scope if i can, haha!

Brinsea- I don’t have first hand experience but I’d love to get one. Way too rich for me, though.
I may bite the bullet next year just to be able to control humidity better- still researching it, but I have had horrible hatch rates lately with Marans eggs in the NR360 due to the need to maintain humidity at 35% until lockdown.

 

[LoveMyPeepers]

We use the GQF Hova Bator. Pretty sure somebody gave it to us, but as long a you are careful about turning the eggs and temperature it works great.

Also, chick advice, for the first week keep the chicks at 100 degrees F, after the first week you can slowly decrease the temp and might not need to turn the heat lamp on at all during the day. After the first week as long as it's warm enough outside we put them in a cage, making sure they have shade. If for some reason less than three eggs hatch, you should buy a couple more so their not lonely.

 

[--crumbzz_]

We use the GQF Hova Bator. Pretty sure somebody gave it to us, but as long a you are careful about turning the eggs and temperature it works great.

Also, chick advice, for the first week keep the chicks at 100 degrees F, after the first week you can slowly decrease the temp and might not need to turn the heat lamp on at all during the day. After the first week as long as it's warm enough outside we put them in a cage, making sure they have shade. If for some reason less than three eggs hatch, you should buy a couple more so their not lonely.

Oh, alright, I'll take a look at that incubator. As for the chick advice, thanks! I did that for my first clutch, and yeah, i got some extra chicks so that Char wasn't too lonely. Thanks!