Hi, working on my first hatch and I have a few questions. Perhaps I shoulda asked my questions earlier but I did think I had gathered enough information from this site and some others to do this on my own without asking...
Ok first of all I will give background info on what I have done so far and what has happened and my observations up to this point...
Don't forget my first hatch... so I don't know everything nor do I have extensive, or any experience hatching, for that matter.
All right, after buying a bunch of chicks here and there I decided that it may be more cost effective to hatch some eggs of my own...a heck of a lot more interesting too I thought. So I asked around and just so happened one of the guys I worked with had some chickens at home that were laying eggs so I asked him if I could have some to try and hatch. He said sure stop by and get all you want. So I did. I gathered up 37 eggs from his chicken coop. He said he had no idea as to how old the eggs were when I asked him; he had just found this particular nest. No biggy, they are free and if they don't hatch nothing lost I thought. Well, he offered to let me use an incubator he had purchased a few years back. He never used it nor did he know how to. I didn't either but I did read a lot of BYC so I said sure I will try it. It is a model 1602. Much better than the old thing I gotten earlier...I haven't even turned it on--an old round hova-bator--it may still work who knows. I wanted to use the square one so I could put in a turner. Yea I went to the co-op and bought a turner to use in a borrowed 1602. I work and commute so the turner was needed. Now I have one borrowed bator, one new turner, and 37 old eggs from various mutt chickens.
I put it all together, let it run for a day, then tossed in the eggs. That was a sunday evening, May 3. This leads to my first question.
How do I count the incubation time. Are these things due on the 23, 24 or what? Due time seems to be dependant on how one counts the days.
First observation. I have had to steadily turn down the temp on this bator from about the 5th day on. Actually it was worrysome.
Second observation, a one to two inch difference in elevation inside the bator equated to roughly a four degree temp variance. I did not like this at all.
Third observation. I had to increase the temp after I removed the turner and reset the eggs. I am assuming due to egg elevation change in turner and lack of turner generated heat. Comments?
Question: The wafer thermostat? If it is set then why will it not hold a stable temp? Temp stability by all rights in an insulated and stable outer environment should be solely dependant on the thermostat. If the turner generates heat the thermostat should sense it and shut down the heating element. If the metabolic development of the chicks generate heat as well then the thermostat should compensate by NOT energizing the heating element. This thing does NOT seem to follow physical rules. Anyway, rant off, vigilance seems to be the only answer in this case or a better bator. My own personal purchace in the future will be a genesis. I do have a turner for it now anyways.
Fouth observation. Several times during the incubation period I candled eggs. I did notice that some of the air cells seemed to have a 'lean' to them. Question. Is this normal? or not?
I found two eggs that were completely clear. They did however take flight and managed to land in the woods back behind my house...just because it aint got wings don't mean it can't fly. Dropped me down to 35 eggs. I assume they were infertile from the get go.
Fifth observation. Sometime shortly after nine am this morning as I was still in the bed enjoying the sound of a tropical rainstorm I heard a bird chirping. I looked at my wife and said 'you hear that?' she said 'yea those chicks outside are really loud'. "no that was from inside, I think I hear a baby chick!' says me. So I go and look and sho-nuff I see a bunch of eggs with lil holes and cracks in them. Made me smile actually. I was kinda thinking it would make me happy if just one of those old eggs hatched. I wandered around, stared a bit, and waited patiently. I watched the greasy lil thing fight its way outta that old egg
Sixth observation. After the first one hatched the humidity went out the top. I can only assume it was a combination of the rain, and the fact maybe as he was drying out it was adding to humidity as well. The starting humidity was around 64%. Last I checked the windows are foggin up with humidity around 90%. More chicks are entering thier new world. Oh yea, early humidity lvls during the turn stage where 35-45 percent. I gained this from BYC so I went with it.
Seventh observation. Ok since 7 is a lucky number everyone can observe
Sorry about picture quality. It has to do with condensation on the viewing windows. After I feel like the hatch is complete I will open up and take better pics. For chick safety I will only open it at this point for emergency reasons.
Wow!!! I am happy at this point. I have seventeen baby chicks and more pips and zips. Hopefully all will be well and none of the chicks that have already hatched will perish. I hope they all hatch now even though the odds are against that happening. All in all so far for a first attempt with unknown eggs I feel pretty good about this.
Guess you know I am pretty stoked about all this. After the first two hatched this morning my wife and I went to dinner and a movie to celebrate something else. It never dawned on me when I put the eggs in the bator when all this was gonna happen as I normally dont think of our anniversary 3 weeks in advance. But still kinda cool. I plan to update this tomorrow with more news good or bad and some more pics as I can.
Thanks for reading this and your comments will be surely welcomed. Thanks for all the help from all those folks who wrote all those great posts that I have been reading. I am dedicating my first hatch which I think is a success to all these folks.
I'll be adding to this soon,
Thanks,
Wes
Ok first of all I will give background info on what I have done so far and what has happened and my observations up to this point...
Don't forget my first hatch... so I don't know everything nor do I have extensive, or any experience hatching, for that matter.
All right, after buying a bunch of chicks here and there I decided that it may be more cost effective to hatch some eggs of my own...a heck of a lot more interesting too I thought. So I asked around and just so happened one of the guys I worked with had some chickens at home that were laying eggs so I asked him if I could have some to try and hatch. He said sure stop by and get all you want. So I did. I gathered up 37 eggs from his chicken coop. He said he had no idea as to how old the eggs were when I asked him; he had just found this particular nest. No biggy, they are free and if they don't hatch nothing lost I thought. Well, he offered to let me use an incubator he had purchased a few years back. He never used it nor did he know how to. I didn't either but I did read a lot of BYC so I said sure I will try it. It is a model 1602. Much better than the old thing I gotten earlier...I haven't even turned it on--an old round hova-bator--it may still work who knows. I wanted to use the square one so I could put in a turner. Yea I went to the co-op and bought a turner to use in a borrowed 1602. I work and commute so the turner was needed. Now I have one borrowed bator, one new turner, and 37 old eggs from various mutt chickens.
I put it all together, let it run for a day, then tossed in the eggs. That was a sunday evening, May 3. This leads to my first question.
How do I count the incubation time. Are these things due on the 23, 24 or what? Due time seems to be dependant on how one counts the days.
First observation. I have had to steadily turn down the temp on this bator from about the 5th day on. Actually it was worrysome.
Second observation, a one to two inch difference in elevation inside the bator equated to roughly a four degree temp variance. I did not like this at all.
Third observation. I had to increase the temp after I removed the turner and reset the eggs. I am assuming due to egg elevation change in turner and lack of turner generated heat. Comments?
Question: The wafer thermostat? If it is set then why will it not hold a stable temp? Temp stability by all rights in an insulated and stable outer environment should be solely dependant on the thermostat. If the turner generates heat the thermostat should sense it and shut down the heating element. If the metabolic development of the chicks generate heat as well then the thermostat should compensate by NOT energizing the heating element. This thing does NOT seem to follow physical rules. Anyway, rant off, vigilance seems to be the only answer in this case or a better bator. My own personal purchace in the future will be a genesis. I do have a turner for it now anyways.
Fouth observation. Several times during the incubation period I candled eggs. I did notice that some of the air cells seemed to have a 'lean' to them. Question. Is this normal? or not?
I found two eggs that were completely clear. They did however take flight and managed to land in the woods back behind my house...just because it aint got wings don't mean it can't fly. Dropped me down to 35 eggs. I assume they were infertile from the get go.
Fifth observation. Sometime shortly after nine am this morning as I was still in the bed enjoying the sound of a tropical rainstorm I heard a bird chirping. I looked at my wife and said 'you hear that?' she said 'yea those chicks outside are really loud'. "no that was from inside, I think I hear a baby chick!' says me. So I go and look and sho-nuff I see a bunch of eggs with lil holes and cracks in them. Made me smile actually. I was kinda thinking it would make me happy if just one of those old eggs hatched. I wandered around, stared a bit, and waited patiently. I watched the greasy lil thing fight its way outta that old egg
Sixth observation. After the first one hatched the humidity went out the top. I can only assume it was a combination of the rain, and the fact maybe as he was drying out it was adding to humidity as well. The starting humidity was around 64%. Last I checked the windows are foggin up with humidity around 90%. More chicks are entering thier new world. Oh yea, early humidity lvls during the turn stage where 35-45 percent. I gained this from BYC so I went with it.
Seventh observation. Ok since 7 is a lucky number everyone can observe
Sorry about picture quality. It has to do with condensation on the viewing windows. After I feel like the hatch is complete I will open up and take better pics. For chick safety I will only open it at this point for emergency reasons.
Wow!!! I am happy at this point. I have seventeen baby chicks and more pips and zips. Hopefully all will be well and none of the chicks that have already hatched will perish. I hope they all hatch now even though the odds are against that happening. All in all so far for a first attempt with unknown eggs I feel pretty good about this.
Guess you know I am pretty stoked about all this. After the first two hatched this morning my wife and I went to dinner and a movie to celebrate something else. It never dawned on me when I put the eggs in the bator when all this was gonna happen as I normally dont think of our anniversary 3 weeks in advance. But still kinda cool. I plan to update this tomorrow with more news good or bad and some more pics as I can.
Thanks for reading this and your comments will be surely welcomed. Thanks for all the help from all those folks who wrote all those great posts that I have been reading. I am dedicating my first hatch which I think is a success to all these folks.
I'll be adding to this soon,
Thanks,
Wes
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