Cub Scout Animal Science Badge~ Incubator on its way~

[namastemama]

I am a mom of 4 rambunctious boys and 2 girls.

I have two boys involved in the Boy Scout program right now. We tried hatching for my oldest son and its was not as successful as I would like, we used a still air incubator last time and only got 3 chicks out of 20. My second son is wanting to do the hatch part of the badge, he loves chickens. I am a little nervous about trying again and would like to use a better incubator if we are to try this again. This time I am looking at a Octagon 20 Advance incubator. I will use this for me afterwards and I think it would be a perfect way for the boys to earn their badges in his troop. We want to also involve the kids in showing at the state fair so I think this will be a great way to get them involved in this.

I would love to hear from any one who has done this before and has suggestions, comments or advice on incubators and even breeds. I would like to do silkies, Ameraucanas or Orpingtons. Thanks!~


* We have a Brinsea on its way! Hopefully in a week or two we will be set to hatch!

 

[wolftracks]

I've had a hard time hatching out Silkies. I can do it with my own (haven't laid in a while), but never get one from a shipped egg.

I give this link to everyone. My hatches were going from great to zero and I followed this and everything started hatching great. I use 2 still airs and They do really well for me. At the moment I have one double stacked with eggs. one that I use as a hatcher and my Sportsman completely full. I get more nervouse using the Sportsman since I have so many eggs in there that I could possibly lose. LOL


OK use this sheet and I can almost promise your hatch rate will be much better, Depending on what you do at your end.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/we...et&PHPSESSID=6a9ef75252d048761e502795e39964f4



Oh and of the 3 breeds you have picked out, the AMs and BOs usually hatch really well.

 

[mmaddie's mom]

I would for sure use local eggs, NOT shipped eggs, even if they are just mutt eggs... hatching mutts is just as much fun as pure-breds!

 

[namastemama]

Thanks for that great link. That should be a sticky in this forum.

One question I have is that it says ignore humidity? I live in a desert climate where we commonly have less than 10% humidity. In fact I think it was as low as 1 or 2 % this past month. Are there breeds that are easier to hatch? I want the boys to have better success. We do want to stick with pure-breeds so they can show them too.

 

[wolftracks]

You know I bet if you pm'd Renee she would help you with the humidity thing. It does work. I have had less problems with the hydrometer setting next to the bator instead of in it. LOL

You know I have no problem with my American Games hatching. Those things hatch fast and almost every one I set here hatches. I've shipped them crossed with FBCMs and most usually hatch out. One person so far has had 100% hatch, but they are usually around 75% to 85% and not too bad for shipped eggs. They also handle the heat well. It gets really hot here and then really cold in the winter. Heck, it's cold now. LOL These birds are tough and very friendly.

I'm not sure how well they hatch out, but I'm raising my 5 year old grand daughter and she's chicken crazy. I signed her up for the APA-ABA Youth Poultry Program. She wants bantam Modern Games. They look so prehistoric they are strange looking until you get used to them. They make great birds for kids to show. I've been trying to come up with eggs or a pair or trio that isn't too much, so she can raise a pair of them. Maybe you can check into those.

If you're looking more towards layers than there are just too many to even think of that will hatch out great.

Maybe you could look on the Where am I Where are you section and find the threads for your state and area. You could probably find a member here that would have something you could try. You could also check out the auction section. Maybe someone has birds or an egg auction and you can pm them to ask what they can offer you.

 

[namastemama]

Those modern Games are wild looking!

So they are gentle enough or kids to handle? Are they very noisey or flighty?

Do the American Games lay well? I would like to get 3-4 eggs a week from a hen.

Sorry for all the questions! Thanks for the awesome suggestions.

 

[wolftracks]

Quote:
They are gentle. Lots of the kids out here have them.

Games lay like crazy. As a matter of fact I mix them. You can check the auction archives here and see some of my info on them. I like this mix because they are bigger dur to the Marans, they lay like crazy because of the Games. They do well in the heat, will go broody when you need that and the roos will be fuller than a Game roo, so you also get meat birds. Even Game roos are friendly with people, so the hens are very friendly and you don't have to worry about them fighting with other birds.

I think you'd like the American Games too. But if you're going to have a roo and pure Game roo isn't going to be able to be with a second roo after a few months. But it you want hens, then yes they lay all the time, but the pure games usually lay a medium to large egg where the Maranas lay a BIG egg.

 

[namastemama]

We have a Brinsea on the way right now. So I am very excited about getting started. I think I may do a test hatch before I let the boys have a go. Should I try out with Trader Joes eggs or just pick a breed and have a go?

 

[Amarisus]

I have heard that hatch rates with the trader joes fertile eggs are pretty low. However I have not tried it myself. You can usually find mutt eggs from a member or from someone on craigs list for cheap if your looking to do a test hatch.

 

[wolftracks]

I've hatched out TJ eggs, but only got one out of 24 eggs. I'd find someone local and try a test hatch with their eggs.

You can always sell them on CL if they aren't what you want.

I'm one of the few I guess that hated my Brinsea. I get better hatches out of a LG. LOL

I'd still use the cheat sheet too. I've lost a lot of birds with humidity too high. I calibrate my hydrometer and do what I need to do and now I just add water and walk away.