First hatch!!

[Chick a dee1023]

Thanks Azer We saw a lot of what looked like blood in there as well, how long should I wait if it is bad? I heard leaving eggs that have died in the bator with the rest could cause bacteria to grow and kill them all... I'm new at this, so any advise is great! Thanks!!

 

[loveourbirds]

Thanks Azer We saw a lot of what looked like blood in there as well, how long should I wait if it is bad? I heard leaving eggs that have died in the bator with the rest could cause bacteria to grow and kill them all... I'm new at this, so any advise is great! Thanks!!

it is true, if a chick dies in the egg in the incubator, it can cause a spread of bacteria. when you candle at day 7-10 you take out any eggs that are "clear" all the way though. if you see a dark mass its usually ok to leave them until day 18 when you move them candle again. if the egg is not almost completely full of a dark mass throw it out (the can explode making a huge mess). remember the hen doesn't have a built in thermostat or hygrometer. so some fluctuation in temp and humidity isn't going to kill the eggs as easy as some people will tell you. it will just decrease your hatch rate.

 

[loveourbirds]

We just got our first chicks a week ago (day olds), and I am incubating my 1st eggs in a Styrofoam homemade incubator (runner ducklings). My kids, hubby and I are so excited and I def see where you are coming from... I am DYING to hatch more and mine haven't even hatched yet! LOL I'm pretty positive (although I'm new at this) that we have lost one of the 3 so far (I got them 2 days ago, they were in with mom for 2 weeks, then an incubator the day I picked them up. My hubby was like "I hope you know what you are doing, this is all you" and the first day we had the chicks he was attached, and hes running to the bator as much as me to check on the eggs! LOL HA he's hooked too!

lol. I candled them the day I got them, then my bator dropped to 93 degrees for a few hrs so I candled them again later that night.... WE SAW MOVEMENT and it was so exciting! I know, we are dorks. We candled them today again because my one thermometer said it was 99 d and the other said 103! We are pretty sure we saw blood and no movement in one, but we are going to check it again today (this evening) to make sure since we don't really know too much about this stuff yet.

I'm so addicted already and it's only been a few days!!!!

remember duckings take a lot of moisture, sometimes homemade incubators aren't humid enough. if your not successful the first time around with this incubator, try some chicken eggs.

 

[Chick a dee1023]

it is true, if a chick dies in the egg in the incubator, it can cause a spread of bacteria. when you candle at day 7-10 you take out any eggs that are "clear" all the way though. if you see a dark mass its usually OK to leave them until day 18 when you move them candle again. if the egg is not almost completely full of a dark mass throw it out (the can explode making a huge mess). remember the hen doesn't have a built in thermostat or hygrometer. so some fluctuation in temp and humidity isn't going to kill the eggs as easy as some people will tell you. it will just decrease your hatch rate.

We had to throw it out today, we opened the bator to turn the eggs and it smelled REALLY bad

so we got rid of it and candled the other 2 to make sure they didn't look like that one, and they seemed fine

. We only had 3 eggs to start with, its a home made incubator (although I made it 4 days before I got the eggs and vigilantly watched it to make sure it would be OK temp and humidity wise), AND it's our first try, so I wasn't expecting a great turn out, but I'm just bummed and the kids are too. I want to BUY an incubator, but we don't have lots of money and I promised DH I wouldn't let this become an expensive hobby (at least not until down the road lol). I'm quickly becoming addicted! LOL I think I need more land so I have more room for a bigger variety and number of birds! LOL

 

[Chick a dee1023]

remember duckings take a lot of moisture, sometimes homemade incubators aren't humid enough. if your not successful the first time around with this incubator, try some chicken eggs.

Ours is doing wonderful with the humidity, I'm actually very surprised (and proud) it's holding between 58- 69% humidity. It goes back up fairly quickly after I open it to turn them etc... I spray the eggs once in a while if the humidity starts to get too close to 55% to be safe that it doesn't drop below that, and that seems to be working beautifully. I was actually looking into incubating Lady Amherst Pheasant eggs (hum and temp are basically the same as chicken) because my son (11 soon to be 12 yr old) is basically OBSESSED with ALL birds but has a special interest in Ladys <3 Anything for your kids right? LOL. thank you everyone for your info and help, this site is WONDERFUL and people are so great, friendly and helpful!!!!

 

[rlh1]

So far everything looks to be going well with most of the eggs. There were two that I was worried about. One we finally saw the veins in and the other was the red ring of death. Confirmed when we cracked it open. Oh we'll, Ill be lucky to get one to hatch alive I'm sure. I got silkie eggs today!! I'll put them in the bator in the morning before work. I'm very proud of myself, I'm not as crazy about the bators temp and hum as I was. Well, as long as everything is going my way anyway

 

[loveourbirds]

just so you know, its not a good idea to mix silkie chicks with other breeds in the brooder. silkies are sometimes born with holes in their skulls (soft spots) the skin covers it. if they are pecked in the head, it typically kills or causes severe neurological issues.

it is typically healed by the end of the first month.

it seems every time I mix my standard fowl and bantams, the standards pick on the bantams. im not sure if this always happens, just wanted to throw it in there.

Congrats on the good eggs!

 

[rlh1]

Thank you for the info. I plan on putting a barrier between the two sets of eggs. The SBEL and OE will hatch abou a week before the silkies. I'll go from there, see what makes it and how many.v

 

[loveourbirds]

i love old English (bantams are all i raise) i cant put my finger on what SBEL is?

are your old English bantams or standard? do you know what color?

*correction, i don't raise only bantams, just only bantams in game breeds.

 

[rlh1]

loveourbirds- I'm SO sorry! I thought I had answered your post. SBEL are Super Blue Egg Layers. The OE is for Olive Eggers, they are both large fowl. I have a Serema and a Silkie Ameraucana in SLC that Im trying to find a ride to St. George for.