Hatching BCM, Blue Copper Marans, Cuckoo Marans, Olive, Welsummers

[dave27889]

Nancy: I learned a lot from you and my fellow BYC friends. I think I got my first mail order eggs from you and you gave me lots of information.

P.S. My daughter got a new camera for Christmas so there will be lots of pictures of the hatch.

 

[redfeather]

Wow! I'm so jelous!!!

Just a question... (amateurish, I know), but usually when I see incubators, they have some kind of rolling bar to make sure that the eggs are constantly turned so the eggs don't stick to the shell. Do you just make sure to turn them a few times a day? Does it matter at all since they are sitting kind of upright-ish?

 

[dave27889]

What I do is put my eggs in an egg carton. I use the foam type. I cut the bottoms of the egg carton out so the air can flow all the way around the eggs. I then place the cartons in the incubator like normal. Now as far as turning the eggs go I don't actually turn the eggs. I have a pice of 2 x 6 that I put under one end of the incubator. I place the wood under the incubator so as to get a 40 or 45 degree angel on the incubator. The several times a day I chance the wood board around to the other end and get the same 40 or 45 degrees. This tilts the egg inside just like turning the egg with a turner would do. I do it at least 3 or 5 times a day. You need to do it in odd nuber of times. I have tried the laying them down and putting the x on the egg and turning them by hand and I prefer the way I do it. There is no heat loss,no humidity loss, no germs passed on to the eggs by me and it is much quicker. I have not seen any difference in doing it my way. I get about the same hatch rate as by turning by hand. I am looking at putting an auto turnner in but money is tight. Thanks for the comments.
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[they'reHISchickens]

I want to know how you tell the new chicks apart as they all hatch and wander all over the bator during lockdown. Do you put up fences?

 

[dave27889]

I have them seperated in egg cartons and then I use small gage wire to seperate them. You can bend it almost anyway you want and I stay right by the incubators most of the hatching time any way. I have my incubators in the house in the spare bedroom. When they hatch I already have a system of leg bands to put on the chicks that tell me which chicks are what and even who they came from. The wire is is like hardware cloth but a bit heavier. Hope that helps you out. I use to dye the chicks thinking that would do it. I would take some food coloring dye and put it on a q tip and put it on the chicks. That did not work well. It got dye all over the place. Live and learn