Eggs are supposed to lock down... the day a hurricane rolls in

[topochico225]

Y'all, what in the world do I do?

I've got 3 eggs set to lock down Sunday night. In a super cool and fun development, we're supposed to get a direct hit from a Cat 2 or 3 hurricane... at the exact same time. We do not have a generator. I'm texting church friends to see if anyone has one and would be willing for me to drop off the incubator.

If I can't find one, and my power goes out, what do I do? I've heard swaddle the bator in blankets, but that doesn't seem like a multi-hour fix. I'll probably grab some of those pocket hand warmers from CVS pre-storm.

TIA!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Hand warmers/heat packs are a great idea. If you have a means of heating water or bricks, like on a wood stove, that may work too.
At that stage, they are generating some of their own heat by metabolism so they don't exactly have to stay at 99.5 F on hatch day.

 

[topochico225]

Hand warmers/heat packs are a great idea. If you have a means of heating water or bricks, like on a wood stove, that may work too.
At that stage, they are generating some of their own heat by metabolism so they don't exactly have to stay at 99.5 F on hatch day.

We're lucky enough to have a gas stove, thank goodness! I found a church friend with a generator, so I'll run it over Saturday. Thank you so much for the advice!

 

[Artichoke Lover]

Hand warmers, body heat swaddling the incubator will all help. The humidity could also become and issue but I don’t know of any ways to solve that if the power goes out.

 

[NatJ]

If I can't find one, and my power goes out, what do I do? I've heard swaddle the bator in blankets, but that doesn't seem like a multi-hour fix.

Blankets might work better than you expect.

The eggs are producing some heat by that time, so putting blankets around the incubator is like putting a coat around yourself or insulation around a house: it keeps in the heat that the eggs produce.

If you are really worried about a power outage, you might put blankets around the incubator BEFORE the hurricane comes. That way the blankets are pre-warmed in case they are needed. But remember that chicks need air too, so don't cover the ventilation holes.

 

[topochico225]

I'm now rethinking taking the chicks over to my friend's. Will they really be fine if I just wrap the bator in blankets?

I'm running the bator at no added humidity rn anyway because the air cells are too small. It's still at 28%

 

[NatJ]

I'm now rethinking taking the chicks over to my friend's. Will they really be fine if I just wrap the bator in blankets?

It would depend on how long the power was out.

I'm thinking 12 hours would probably be fine, but much more than that would get me worried. If it's more than 24 hours, I would personally be happier with the incubator on a generator.

Factors to consider:
--whether the friend has any experience with incubators, eggs & chicks
--how likely the power is to go out
--how long until power would probably come back on
--whether you could safely get to or from your friend's house during a power outage
(this might matter if the storm moves on, but the power takes several days to get restored.)
--whether the friend would run a generator all day and night, or just during the daytime. (I grew up in an area with regular power outages, and we always turned the generator off for the night.)

I don't know what the best choice is, because I can see difficulties with all the options, so it's going to come down to your best guess about the situation, and which things make you most comfortable or uncomfortable about each choice.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Just be careful wrapping the incubator that you don't cut off oxygen supply to the embryos.
Sometimes you can use cardboard to create a wall around the incubator but still leave the air holes top and bottom open. You can even cover the top except for the air holes.

 

[topochico225]

It would depend on how long the power was out.

I'm thinking 12 hours would probably be fine, but much more than that would get me worried. If it's more than 24 hours, I would personally be happier with the incubator on a generator.

Factors to consider:
--whether the friend has any experience with incubators, eggs & chicks
--how likely the power is to go out
--how long until power would probably come back on
--whether you could safely get to or from your friend's house during a power outage
(this might matter if the storm moves on, but the power takes several days to get restored.)
--whether the friend would run a generator all day and night, or just during the daytime. (I grew up in an area with regular power outages, and we always turned the generator off for the night.)

I don't know what the best choice is, because I can see difficulties with all the options, so it's going to come down to your best guess about the situation, and which things make you most comfortable or uncomfortable about each choice.

Honestly, our power isn't *super* likely to go out. I'm on the same grid as the firehouse next door. It def wouldn't be more than 12hr. He kinda lives in Egypt, so I was going to do it as a last resort. Not sure how long he would run the generator.

I'm gonna keep the incubator here.

 

[yakitori]

can you... borrow a broody instead? a hurricane was supposed to come near where i lived, and we were all bracing for power outages. Thank goodness the storm veered away. I had a broody at the same time my eggs were incubating, and i figured I’d just put them under her...