Got my bator, some questions.

[katrinag]

There is some good info here.
http://urbanext.illinois.edu/eggs/res00-index.html

 

[Mojo Chick'n]

Quote:
No idea, but hope that at least TWO hatch out - one lone chick is no party - it'll cry and cry all day and night looking for a buddy.

a stuffed animal helps, if one hatches but it isn't a good replacement for another chick.

haha!

any tips or tricks?

what do i do wiht the chicks after they hatch?

You'll want some type of brooder. If it's inside, you probably won't need the red 250 watt heat lamp - a 100 watt bulb (or a 150 spotlight bulb) will be enough heat for them.

I use a huge plastic bin, but for 10 chicks a smaller bin would do. I line the bottom with a puppy training pad (easy cleanup) and then after a day or so I put some food on the bottom of the brooder bin and put water in there - you'll have to stick their beak into the water once,m then they'll catch on and drink on their own. After they figure the food out (day two or three in the brooder) you can put the food in a shallow dish for them.

temps should be about 95 degrees the first week, then go down 5 degrees each week.

 

[NancyDz]

Quote:
Thats why you want to wait to put the eggs in ....

just VERY minute adjustments, wait an hour or so and see what it is before you change it more....

 

[dave_Cash69]

alright..

 

[NancyDz]

I'd concentrate on the incubation right now.. then you have 21 LONG days where you just wait that give you time to figure out what to do with the chickies! Tons of info and thread on that here.

 

[dave_Cash69]

okay;
say that i raise the top off of the incbator to turn eggs, etc..
temp goes down to 89 degrees
if i put the top back on, itll raise it back to 100, right?


what if it jumps up while im at school unexpectantly,
or should it hold pretty steady.

i know nancy, im just excited.

and thanks katrina

 

[Mojo Chick'n]

Quote:
Thats why you want to wait to put the eggs in ....

just VERY minute adjustments, wait an hour or so and see what it is before you change it more....

Yeah, that tiny knob is very touchy

I took a marker and put a small mark on my knob, so I could visualize how much I was turning it.

 

[Mojo Chick'n]

Quote:
It usually holds pretty steady once you get it set - as long as household temp stays steady.

I have had them spike on me but usually not for long. But it does happen, so keep an eye on it.

Do you have an Accurite thermometer? if ya do, it has the high and low temps for the last 24 hours. You can see if it spiked at all while you were gone.

when turning only 10 eggs, the temp probably won't drop that much.
I just lift the lid a little and roll them (when I was turning by hand)

If you start to hatch more often, I'd invest in an auto turner - my hatch rates came up significantly with the auto turner and the fan. The fan helps my temps to stay very steady, too. I had more temp spikes in the still air.

 

[dave_Cash69]

Quote:
yeah i know.

 

[Mojo Chick'n]

I got my first incubator last November - LG still air.

I added a fan to it, then bought two more incubators, use one as a hatcher, have turners in the other two with fans in all of them.

I have chicks hatching out about every 10 days,

You might not get that addicted (or want to hatch that much, I sell the chicks, so I fill em up every time I have an empty bator).