First Annual Cinco de Mayo Turkey Hatchathon- Join us! Set Day: Easter

[yinepu]

I've been thinking about the fan too. I installed it so it blows up against the ceiling and never directly on the eggs. The commercial brands blow air directly on the eggs????

Most do.. Brinsea is horrible for it .. and you would think they would know better too.. *sighs*

 

[yinepu]

This was the most difficult chick I've ever tried to photograph. It never stood still and never shut up for a second. But I love it anyway

Sorry the photos are a bit fuzzy.



And only ten toes, I counted.

Deb

i have to admit.. i've never been a big fan of showgirls.. but that chick is just too adorable!!

 

[superchemicalgirl]

SCG how are your two later hatchers doing today? Wind woke me up waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay to early. I still only have two hatched and two pipped. Hoping that the rest start popping out today.

They are still kinda weak and keep flipping over to their backs. One still has a bloody spot on its stomach. I just put them in the brooder about 20 minutes ago, so hopefully they'll perk up a bit. The lurching turkey from last night is perky - eating and drinking, too.

The last chick was dead in shell, so I guess my hatch is over. Thanks Dsqard for some crazy poultry fun!

 

[yinepu]

My incubators are all over the house... tiny house, lots of eggs cookin'! My Farmgirl NQB8R is in my bedroom, 3 others in the DR. I'm being 'restrained' and only have those 4 going...an today, my straightjacket is green-striped and a light cotton, as it'll be 100" later. Perfect for the hatchers to come out and play, since we'll scarcely need heating elements!!!

I'm trying to be very patient. I have 4 tutors out now: a Silkie, a Konza, a Chantecler, and a Heritage Barred Rock.

i have bators in the office, bathroom, on the bar between the kitchen and dining room.. plus one in the bedroom... it's a good thing we don't entertain.. the dining room is minus a table and is filled with brooders!.. gonna call it the "brooder room" from now on..

Thanks everyone for the advice yesterday! 16 poults so far, 7 narragansett x sweetgrass crosses and 9 bourbon reds, 6 more in the incubator, 1 pipping

our almost 2 year old is going crazy watching them hatch and wanting to hold them, I don't know who's worse him or me

I have a Black Spanish out, one more zipping and two more pips. Nothing on the turkey tutors yet though.

I intervened.........after reading here about the fan and seeing no progress before I went to bed, I took each egg that was pipped and cracked the shell at the pip and peeled it away. The membrane was dry. I made sure that the poult could breathe. I put damp paper towels around the eggs but left the open ends exposed and returned them to the incubator. This morning, nothing had hatched so I took them to the steamed up bathroom, two at a time and opened them, rinsed them in warm water and returned them to the incubator under a dry paper towel. All the yolks were absorbed. One had expired but the other six are drying in incubator with the three that managed to hatch. The one egg that had no pip, I candled and there was no movement so I opened the end, it looked like it had quit around lockdown.
I had the humidity between 75 and 80% during lockdown so it had to be the fan that was drying them. I have an old Farm Master cabinet incubator. It has six trays but I never use more than two, and that's only because I spread the eggs out or separate them into groups. The fan is made to circulate the air around hundreds of eggs so is quite powerful, I guess. It would have taken me alot of hatching to realize the fan was the problem but I don't hatch much so I don't know if I would have figured this out without the help of all of you. This is the kind of thing that makes BYC so invaluble to me. Thanks for being here!!

hey guys... congrats on all the new babies!

(i'm sure I missed someone....)

 

[zookeeper15133]

I have a Black Spanish out, one more zipping and two more pips. Nothing on the turkey tutors yet though.

I'm just the opposite! I have 6 turkey tutors and no turkeys! 1 Cochin, 3 Silkies and 2 EE's. 2 more Cochins about half zipped and another half dozen pipped.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

I decided to make a turkey rail for the one really weak turkey with the bloody stomach. It can't stay on its legs, keeps flipping over. The other one is doing a bit better. The first turkey hatched is incredibly advanced, for a turkey.

 

[karimw]

Kari, Is that an incubator on your dining table?! Girl...you've got IT bad!!

Doesn't everyone do that?

Okay, I'm home and thought I'd do some chick stuff before the novacaine wears off. I had an abcess on my gum and it turned out it was two broken roots from a molar. The molar, along with it's gold crown is now sitting in a plastic bag on the table. The space it vacated was the recepient of a bone graft and several sutures.


Deb

OW ow ow ow ow! I'm experiencing sympathy pain.

Miss "kick the stalls and get into trouble" got the gate open. I realized this when I heard the dogs going bonkers. I went outside to figure out what was going on and three of my horses are happily munching the neighbor's backyard. Some days that youngster goes too far.

I've had to change all my latches to bolt snaps and chains. If I'm not careful I have lock picking horses on my lawn too.

I intervened.........after reading here about the fan and seeing no progress before I went to bed, I took each egg that was pipped and cracked the shell at the pip and peeled it away. The membrane was dry. I made sure that the poult could breathe. I put damp paper towels around the eggs but left the open ends exposed and returned them to the incubator. This morning, nothing had hatched so I took them to the steamed up bathroom, two at a time and opened them, rinsed them in warm water and returned them to the incubator under a dry paper towel. All the yolks were absorbed. One had expired but the other six are drying in incubator with the three that managed to hatch. The one egg that had no pip, I candled and there was no movement so I opened the end, it looked like it had quit around lockdown.
I had the humidity between 75 and 80% during lockdown so it had to be the fan that was drying them. I have an old Farm Master cabinet incubator. It has six trays but I never use more than two, and that's only because I spread the eggs out or separate them into groups. The fan is made to circulate the air around hundreds of eggs so is quite powerful, I guess. It would have taken me alot of hatching to realize the fan was the problem but I don't hatch much so I don't know if I would have figured this out without the help of all of you. This is the kind of thing that makes BYC so invaluble to me. Thanks for being here!!

I'm have to help all the turkeys hatch so far. the chicks did fine, but the membranes are drying out and the poults are huge and can't seem to finish zipping.

 

[dsqard]

I have another Black Spanish and another mixed out and one more pip. I am thinking my turkey tutors might be late. I am watching any that start zipping closely for getting stuck. So far only the one has been stuck. I did pull the first three hatched out and put them in the brooder since they were "helping/encouraging" the newly hatched ones by pecking at them. Not real hard but I can't stand to watch that so they are now out of there. The two that just hatched get to stay in the bator and encourage the next ones out.
I moved the Easter chicks to the big brooder in the barn yesterday since I needed the little brooder for this hatch. At first they just stayed piled up in the furthest corner from the food and water. I waited hours before going in and showing them where the supply was. Silly chicks. I was a little worried about how they were going to do on their first night "outside" since it got kinda chilly and very windy. Checked on them this morning and they were fine but I am glad that I put a heat lamp out there for them.
SCG I had a somewhat weak one last year and what I did was the "cup method" until it was stronger and more stable on it's feet. I would take it out of the cup every so often to let it eat and drink. After a day or so, it was fine and able to keep up with the others. Sorry your last tutor didn't hatch. I know they are shipped eggs but I was really hoping you would wind up with a few more. Ah well, there are the blues for next year if I get a boy and girl.

 

[Arielle]

I guess I never thought about it. When I was 16 I met a grad student and we became friends. She was from Ate Adele Canada attending Ottawa University. THe long story is that her professor ,the one who over sees her grad project, was working with a researcher who I was working for. She lived for 2 years in our house. I just picked up on her Canadian lingo. I guess that makes it "part of the British Empire". Just don't tell her that--Quebeca's are French.

 

[Arielle]

Quote:
Boy, I thought that was a cardinal rule-- it is when making homemade incubators!