Harris Farms Nurture Right 360 Incubator is AMAZING!

[Faraday40]

Looks like I’m going to be using my NR again sooner than expected. We lost half our flock last night to the neighbor’s dogs so now we’re down to 4 hens and 4 pullets. There’s not really anywhere to get chicks right now so I’m looking at those bielefelder eggs I’ve been wanting.

so sorry about the loss. That really hurts. At least you've something to hatch and grow out before winter comes

 

[Willow2253]

so sorry about the loss. That really hurts. At least you've something to hatch and grow out before winter comes

Thank you, and yeah, I was wanting to do a later season hatch anyways, but the problem was convincing the rest of my family. But now half our layers are gone and there aren’t many chicks being sold here this time of year, so hatching is going to have to be the way to go. My last batch out of the incubator is now 4 weeks old so they should be out of the brooder before the next ones hatch.

 

[CrisAnderson27]

Well, I have one feisty...very active little Ayam Cemani/Cornish X chick roaming around in the egg crate incubator. The other egg is still not hatched. I'm going to give it till tomorrow and then candle it to see if it even looks viable. I'm hoping that what's left of my Ameraucana (3 of 15 birds...and I don't have a lot of faith in two of them) hatch out to keep her company. They're on day 19 today. I'm probably going to keep our little AC/CX chick in the incubator for at least tomorrow to help her keep warm without other chicks to cuddle up to.

The next batch we have coming up to hatch is currently on day 9...so 12 days from now we'll have another group running around (cross your fingers lol). Then...another group of 14 (5 Ayam Cemani/Cornish X, and 9 Ayam Cemani/Barred Rock) at day 3.

I'm not seeing the hatch rate increasing with these by the way. BUT...I did apparently begin my hatching career with probably THE hardest demographics of birds to hatch (Ayam Cemani are rough, shipped eggs are rough, and brand new laying pullets are rough lol). It can only get better from here right?!?!

OH!! I also bought two Black Australorps today (they GAVE me this...thing lol...along with it. Poor bird is supposed to be 6yrs old, but looks 60). They're 1yr old and apparently lay like mad. Going to be hard not to hatch a group of Ayam Cemani/Australorp before winter hits!!! Laying birds are selling like crazy around here...and by next spring I have a feeling the demand will be even higher. This crew will keep me in eggs through the winter, and I'll clear out room in laying hens for the next group of chicks come spring at $25/ea.

And in closing...well, I know y'all are curious...sooo....

Apparently,THIS is what an Ayam Cemani/Cornish X chick looks like. Not what I was expecting!!

I don't know what gives, but to me it barely looks like a Cornish X, and in NO WAY resembles an Ayam Cemani.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Well, I have one feisty...very active little Ayam Cemani/Cornish X chick roaming around in the egg crate incubator. The other egg is still not hatched. I'm going to give it till tomorrow and then candle it to see if it even looks viable. I'm hoping that what's left of my Ameraucana (3 of 15 birds...and I don't have a lot of faith in two of them) hatch out to keep her company. They're on day 19 today. I'm probably going to keep our little AC/CX chick in the incubator for at least tomorrow to help her keep warm without other chicks to cuddle up to.

The next batch we have coming up to hatch is currently on day 9...so 12 days from now we'll have another group running around (cross your fingers lol). Then...another group of 14 (5 Ayam Cemani/Cornish X, and 9 Ayam Cemani/Barred Rock) at day 3.

I'm not seeing the hatch rate increasing with these by the way. BUT...I did apparently begin my hatching career with probably THE hardest demographics of birds to hatch (Ayam Cemani are rough, shipped eggs are rough, and brand new laying pullets are rough lol). It can only get better from here right?!?!

OH!! I also bought two Black Australorps today (they GAVE me this...thing lol...along with it. Poor bird is supposed to be 6yrs old, but looks 60). They're 1yr old and apparently lay like mad. Going to be hard not to hatch a group of Ayam Cemani/Australorp before winter hits!!! Laying birds are selling like crazy around here...and by next spring I have a feeling the demand will be even higher. This crew will keep me in eggs through the winter, and I'll clear out room in laying hens for the next group of chicks come spring at $25/ea.

And in closing...well, I know y'all are curious...sooo....

Apparently,THIS is what an Ayam Cemani/Cornish X chick looks like. Not what I was expecting!!

I don't know what gives, but to me it barely looks like a Cornish X, and in NO WAY resembles an Ayam Cemani.

Aw, she's adorable! Have you checked the other eggs for pips on the bottom? I only ask because I have heard of that happening when using cartons. It's part of why I've never used them but I know a lot of people do it without issue. Also, I have a much higher rate of quitters when I run my NR360s too dry, have you tried running it around 45 yet? I wonder if that would improve your hatch rate like you've been looking for?

I have a batch of pullet eggs due to hatch tomorrow that we just couldn't wait to set, lol. 11 made it to lockdown and I already see a pip so that's exciting!

I thought our interest was going to die down like it always does this time of year in my area because it's soooo sweltering hot but there are still a ton of people interested in chicks here too. I've been trying to put my incubators away for a few months but I just can't say no when someone asks me to hatch something, lol! So I have another incubator full now too.

 

[SnapdragonQ]

Well, I have one feisty...very active little Ayam Cemani/Cornish X chick roaming around in the egg crate incubator. The other egg is still not hatched. I'm going to give it till tomorrow and then candle it to see if it even looks viable. I'm hoping that what's left of my Ameraucana (3 of 15 birds...and I don't have a lot of faith in two of them) hatch out to keep her company. They're on day 19 today. I'm probably going to keep our little AC/CX chick in the incubator for at least tomorrow to help her keep warm without other chicks to cuddle up to.

The next batch we have coming up to hatch is currently on day 9...so 12 days from now we'll have another group running around (cross your fingers lol). Then...another group of 14 (5 Ayam Cemani/Cornish X, and 9 Ayam Cemani/Barred Rock) at day 3.

I'm not seeing the hatch rate increasing with these by the way. BUT...I did apparently begin my hatching career with probably THE hardest demographics of birds to hatch (Ayam Cemani are rough, shipped eggs are rough, and brand new laying pullets are rough lol). It can only get better from here right?!?!

OH!! I also bought two Black Australorps today (they GAVE me this...thing lol...along with it. Poor bird is supposed to be 6yrs old, but looks 60). They're 1yr old and apparently lay like mad. Going to be hard not to hatch a group of Ayam Cemani/Australorp before winter hits!!! Laying birds are selling like crazy around here...and by next spring I have a feeling the demand will be even higher. This crew will keep me in eggs through the winter, and I'll clear out room in laying hens for the next group of chicks come spring at $25/ea.

And in closing...well, I know y'all are curious...sooo....

Apparently,THIS is what an Ayam Cemani/Cornish X chick looks like. Not what I was expecting!!

I don't know what gives, but to me it barely looks like a Cornish X, and in NO WAY resembles an Ayam Cemani.

Forgive me if you already told us, but did you keep the eggs in the carton the whole time...or just put them up like that for hatch?
Cute chick that's for sure!

 

[SnapdragonQ]

How are you guys selling your chicks/pullets? Craigslist? FB? Word of mouth?
I've got extra birds to I need to find homes for.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

How are you guys selling your chicks/pullets? Craigslist? FB? Word of mouth?
I've got extra birds to I need to find homes for.

All of the above are good options. I've gotten to the point now where I'm more word of mouth than anything. People ask me to hatch chicks for them.
I started out by using local chicken groups on Facebook. Facebook's rules have made it more difficult as far as posting prices but I find with some cute pictures, altering the wording so as to not trigger Facebook, and saying please message me for details works well.

 

[CrisAnderson27]

Aw, she's adorable! Have you checked the other eggs for pips on the bottom? I only ask because I have heard of that happening when using cartons. It's part of why I've never used them but I know a lot of people do it without issue. Also, I have a much higher rate of quitters when I run my NR360s too dry, have you tried running it around 45 yet? I wonder if that would improve your hatch rate like you've been looking for?

She's a cutie lol. I'm seriously wondering what her coloring will be though.

I ran the first one, if I recall...a lot higher. It was horrible lol.

I'm going to candle the other egg today to see...I haven't checked it otherwise...wanted to leave the chick in there one more day, because tomorrow is hatch day for the Ameraucana. Next batch I'm going to try to figure out weighing them. My air cells aren't excessively large...or really large at all....so I'm not really sure what the problem could be with the humidity. That's literally all it controls right? Air cell development?

Forgive me if you already told us, but did you keep the eggs in the carton the whole time...or just put them up like that for hatch?
Cute chick that's for sure!

No...the only ones that stayed in the carton were the ones with detached air cells. I moved the two AC/Cx eggs I had over just to hatch. Using that incubator like that (with a carton) seems to make sense. It'll be interesting to see how it works next time around.

How are you guys selling your chicks/pullets? Craigslist? FB? Word of mouth?
I've got extra birds to I need to find homes for.

I haven't sold any yet. These Austrolorps I bought I found out about off the feed store door lol. When I start selling them I think the best option will be Craigslist etc. Facebook will work, but it's not so good here for local people.

All of the above are good options. I've gotten to the point now where I'm more word of mouth than anything. People ask me to hatch chicks for them.
I started out by using local chicken groups on Facebook. Facebook's rules have made it more difficult as far as posting prices but I find with some cute pictures, altering the wording so as to not trigger Facebook, and saying please message me for details works well.

What I've seen some people doing is posting all the pictures, describing it in the text, and adding pricing TO the picture. So...a picture of Leghorn chicks...and in the top corner in red on the picture, it said $4. Facebook can't call that selling...and you didn't list anything as 'for sale' in the post. Win/win.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

She's a cutie lol. I'm seriously wondering what her coloring will be though.

I ran the first one, if I recall...a lot higher. It was horrible lol.

I'm going to candle the other egg today to see...I haven't checked it otherwise...wanted to leave the chick in there one more day, because tomorrow is hatch day for the Ameraucana. Next batch I'm going to try to figure out weighing them. My air cells aren't excessively large...or really large at all....so I'm not really sure what the problem could be with the humidity. That's literally all it controls right? Air cell development?

For the most part, yes, air cell development. What happened when I ran mine too dry for the entire incubation is I ended up with a higher number of quitters. Late quitters you can open the eggs and identify if it was from too low of humidity. So if for whatever reason they don't hatch successfully you can do an eggtopsy if you're comfortable. Much like the opposite of a sticky chick (from the humidity being too high), a dry chick won't be able to turn and get into position for hatch because there isn't enough room and sometimes the chick can get stuck to the membrane or the membrane will be tough and the chick won't be able to make an internal pip, though I see the tough membrane more often after there is an external pip if the humidity is low during hatch.
Low humidity can also result in smaller weaker chicks but again you'll know if that's a concern if you start hatching weak chicks that don't make it more than a couple days or again don't have the strength to hatch.

Overall I do find that setting the humidity lower is safer than too high. You'll experience more losses from too high of humidity than too low but there is a sweet spot to give you the best hatch rate. 30+ hatches later, I've found for me that humidity is about 45% (35-55%) for the first 18 days in the NR360s, 50% (45-55%) in the IncuView, and 35% in the Hovabator, Farm Innovators, and Little Giant.
I usually aim for 65% for hatch.
Wiggle room in the percentage to account for air cell growth or weight, whatever your preferred method of monitoring is.

I always say once you find what works best for you in your location with your incubators then stick to it! The Nurture Right's have been pretty forgiving in my experience though.

 

[CrisAnderson27]

For the most part, yes, air cell development. What happened when I ran mine too dry for the entire incubation is I ended up with a higher number of quitters. Late quitters you can open the eggs and identify if it was from too low of humidity. So if for whatever reason they don't hatch successfully you can do an eggtopsy if you're comfortable. Much like the opposite of a sticky chick (from the humidity being too high), a dry chick won't be able to turn and get into position for hatch because there isn't enough room and sometimes the chick can get stuck to the membrane or the membrane will be tough and the chick won't be able to make an internal pip, though I see the tough membrane more often after there is an external pip if the humidity is low during hatch.
Low humidity can also result in smaller weaker chicks but again you'll know if that's a concern if you start hatching weak chicks that don't make it more than a couple days or again don't have the strength to hatch.

Overall I do find that setting the humidity lower is safer than too high. You'll experience more losses from too high of humidity than too low but there is a sweet spot to give you the best hatch rate. 30+ hatches later, I've found for me that humidity is about 45% (35-55%) for the first 18 days in the NR360s, 50% (45-55%) in the IncuView, and 35% in the Hovabator, Farm Innovators, and Little Giant.
I usually aim for 65% for hatch.
Wiggle room in the percentage to account for air cell growth or weight, whatever your preferred method of monitoring is.

I always say once you find what works best for you in your location with your incubators then stick to it! The Nurture Right's have been pretty forgiving in my experience though.

I've got nothing to lose lol. Once the eggs in that incubator are done, I'll clean it out and run it with the first tub filled (keeps me right around 45%...vs 25%-35% without) again. I tried that with my 0/6 Ayam Cemani hatch...but I still don't think any of those were viable.