First Time Incubating. *Pics*

[Colourful]

Welcome to the thread MJ! I'm glad that you're following us, and glader still that you're also incubating soon.


I'm glad that everyone still has eggs coming along, though it's still sad you had no ducklings this time round, udovichtony

 

[NestingHillsSC]

Welcome to the thread MJ! I'm glad that you're following us, and glader still that you're also incubating soon.


I'm glad that everyone still has eggs coming along, though it's still sad you had no ducklings this time round, udovichtony

This is all a test. I have unlimited supply of chicken and duck eggs from my birds. It's all good. There's a next time.

 

[mjanderson437]

Thanks Colourful! I'm with Udovichtony...if it doesn't work this time I'll try again til it does. In fact, with this cold snap, I wonder if the mallard eggs will be OK. The hen hadn't started setting that I know of so they probably got fairy cold last night. I had intended to go swipe some during the day but circumstances intervened. Oh well, we'll see!
[/quote]

 

[NestingHillsSC]

Thanks Colourful! I'm with Udovichtony...if it doesn't work this time I'll try again til it does. In fact, with this cold snap, I wonder if the mallard eggs will be OK. The hen hadn't started setting that I know of so they probably got fairy cold last night. I had intended to go swipe some during the day but circumstances intervened. Oh well, we'll see!

[/QUOTE]

That's where I think my duck eggs went wrong. It was around 25 at night when I was gathering eggs for those 3 days. My Pekins lay very early in the morning. between 6.30 and 7.30. And there not like my chickens where there is always somebody on the nest lay and keeping the eggs warm. These ducks lay and then leave. So the eggs where very cold when I got them.

 

[Lacey1988]

Can't really see anything but its a baby in there lol

 

[Deerling]

I just want to comment so I can see how all the hatches turn out! So exciting

We have four EE chicks and two Pekin ducklings currently, and 25 from McMurray that are hatching today and starting the journey from Iowa to California

But my six year old daughter just joined 4H and wants to raise Silkies and I was thinking maybe it would be fun to hatch some from a breeder instead of buying one. We'll be up to our necks in chicks for a while but we'll probably sell some pullets as they grow and then try our hand at hatching eggs. I hope! She's homeschooled, so it would be pretty neat. I would love to hatch some ducklings, too.

 

[mjanderson437]

I went to the duck nest by our pond and took 3 eggs. One was more on top and cleaner so I hope it was laid today after last nights cold snap. I might check again tomorrow and see if she's added any new ones. They feel so light compared to my big chicken eggs!

 

[Colourful]

So many chickens! And now we have more and more ducklings (

Good luck MJ)!

Lacey, the egg looks great and I can't wait to see the chick that comes from it

Udovichtony, You're smarter than me. I should've done a learning round of eggs too. That said, you still have 15 eggs still growing for you, so you're doing a good job.

And welcome Deerling

! I do suggest the incubating process, especially since it's a great lesson (and experience) for your daughter. You'll be up to your ears in fluffy chicks and ducklings in no time.

Wow, the days since I place the eggs into my incubator have actually flown by, and gone ridiculously slowly, because now I'm two days from lock-down!



Here is my currant incubator, in the top right corner (second one down) you can see my lone Sebright egg still hanging in there. It's full of gaps. I originally put 38 eggs in a 42 egg turning tray. Then I dropped an infertile Sebright egg while candling (I'm still so very happy it was infertile). Then I did the great toss of quitters and infertile ones which had left me at 27 eggs.

Problems I've had so far and what I'll do in future;
- My Temp keeps variating too far on either side. In future I'm putting flat rocks and/or a closed jar of water or anything to hold the temp a bit more steady.
- Low fertility rate in Sebrights. This is because the lady who sold me the eggs (a breeder with 9 different breeds of chicken) actually lost her Sebright roo a week before my order. I found this out when I picked up my currant lot of chicks (2 white Silkies and 4 Sebrights that I haven't had any problems with and have lovely personalities). They aren't show quality, but they are lovely.
- Controlling my humidity. Keeping it around 40-50% has been a nightmare of constantly adding the tiniest bits of water at a time. I'll fix that by covering most of the surface with foil to limit how much water can be absorbed. I haven't done it this time because I really don't want to pull all the eggs out to get to the base.
- Candling has been difficult and I feel bad leaving the eggs out for any amount of time. For the future, I'm going to buy two led candlers and always have an assistant (family member) helping me. Hopefully that will help the results and quicken the time out of the heat.

Okay. So that's my list of what I'll change in the future and photo's of my incubator at day 16.

How about you guys?

 

[Dirty_South_Chickens]

I wouldn't be to concerned with being fast with the candling...the way I see it is hens will get off the nest for 10 minutes or longer to get a drink, snack and to just shake her tail feathers. When I help my buddy with candling his eggs we will pull the turner out of his LG foam incubator and candle one at a time and put the turner and all the good eggs back in at the same time. Rocks will help with a stable temp but temp swings are hard to get rid of. I cant wait for your hatch day and I should be right behind you!

 

[Colourful]

There will be chicks everywhere