Early February 2016 Hatch - Who's In?

[TurkenMomma]

Me too!!! That fun and funky assorted is always at the top of my wish list. Go to eBay right now and search fertile silkie eggs the farm I got mine from just relisted another bunch and I got mine (9) for $30shipped. I think the fun and funky ships free though right? But you need a big #?

I have been putting only 3 eggs in my cart and is still qualifies for free shipping. But, $10 an egg makes me cringe. But I really am curious about what you would end up getting! My calicos and my super blues were about $10 an egg

so I didn't let my DH know that!

 

[raisechickens]

CoopDeDoo - yep, that is the one I have.

 

[CoopDeDoo]

CoopDeDoo - yep, that is the one I have.

Please let us know how it goes with that incubator

 

[CoopDeDoo]

I have been putting only 3 eggs in my cart and is still qualifies for free shipping. But, $10 an egg makes me cringe. But I really am curious about what you would end up getting! My calicos and my super blues were about $10 an egg

so I didn't let my DH know that!

Do you have chicken ordinances are can you have as many as you want?

 

[TurkenMomma]

Do you have chicken ordinances are can you have as many as you want?

No ordinances here, but I am at the mercy of my DH and our 0.70 acre lot.

 

[CoopDeDoo]

No ordinances here, but I am at the mercy of my DH and our 0.70 acre lot.

We have a quarter acre

 

[CoopDeDoo]

As far as price per egg paid - my average is $2.80 but I have paid $4. That is per egg set - not hatched unfortunately. There is no problem selling chicks or chickens here so I can usually break even selling extra chicks for $5, juveniles 5-10 and hens $12-15. Yes I know that doesn't make up for food and other costs but I still have those anyway for the other birds.

Edit to add: If I was able to breed SOP birds - I would certainly consider paying more per egg from a reputable breeder.

 

[raisechickens]

CoopDeDoo,

My first time using this incubator I hatched 23 out of 30 eggs. I had 1 day 3-4 quitter and the rest made it to lockdown. Had one deformed chick that did not hatch, and the other 5 that failed to hatch was my fault...didn't turn the temp down enough on days 20 and 21.

I used my thermometer with probe to find the temp of almost every egg holder in the egg racks. It took a couple hours to do this but I now know where the cool spots are. The back corners had the highest variance and are .5 degrees cooler than the rest of the incubator. A couple other similar spots in different areas.

I did find it is VERY important to keep the styrofoam packing material around the incubator to keep the temp steady. You usually have to add a little water every 3 days or so but it does a great job on lockdown if you add a lot of water and a damp sponge.

 

[CoopDeDoo]

CoopDeDoo,

My first time using this incubator I hatched 23 out of 30 eggs. I had 1 day 3-4 quitter and the rest made it to lockdown. Had one deformed chick that did not hatch, and the other 5 that failed to hatch was my fault...didn't turn the temp down enough on days 20 and 21.

I used my thermometer with probe to find the temp of almost every egg holder in the egg racks. It took a couple hours to do this but I now know where the cool spots are. The back corners had the highest variance and are .5 degrees cooler than the rest of the incubator. A couple other similar spots in different areas.

I did find it is VERY important to keep the styrofoam packing material around the incubator to keep the temp steady. You usually have to add a little water every 3 days or so but it does a great job on lockdown if you add a lot of water and a damp sponge.

Nice I am window shopping other options.... usually not home enough to babysit the incubator but not quite ready to shell out the bucks on a Brinsea if I only hatch every one to two years

 

[LilChickens2]

I caved in and candled my first six. I'm going out of town tonight until Wednesday night for work (and I think my shipped eggs are arriving tomorrow...hopefully my husband can follow instructions on setting them up to recover) and I wanted to see how they were doing. Three looked viable, one I wasn't sure, and in two of the small ones I didn't see anything. Since they don't smell and it is early days, I will keep them in there. When I get back I'll candle my other 5 and put in some of my shipped eggs.

I also ordered another incubator off Amazon and it will be here Wednesday. It looks like a Farm Innovator but it was called something different. It had 4 out of 5 stars so I thought I'd give it a try. I'll hook up Wednesday night when I get home, monitor it all day Thursday, and put the rest of the eggs in on Friday morning.