How to collect a clutch?

[familypendragon]

Don't even have an incubator yet - just trying to do all my research way in advance We are in Texas and generally try to do without A/C unless it is over 100 degrees. Our house stays around 95, but we have box fans and are used to it. So I have read to keep eggs at 65 or 70. Where would that be? Fridge is too cold right? How do people do this normally?

 

[salt and pepper]

Don't even have an incubator yet - just trying to do all my research way in advance We are in Texas and generally try to do without A/C unless it is over 100 degrees. Our house stays around 95, but we have box fans and are used to it. So I have read to keep eggs at 65 or 70. Where would that be? Fridge is too cold right? How do people do this normally?

Do you have a basement that is colder? At that temperature, they will start incubating ( or souring ) on your counter! The fridge is to cold, I think 75 degrees would still be ok, but do you suppose that you could put them in a room with lots of box fans? That, or you do a delayed hatch, and just put the eggs in as they come, as long as the oldest and youngest chicks are no more than a week apart, they could still get along.

 

[familypendragon]

No basement (mobile home) but we do have a tornado shelter next to the house - I wonder what temp it maintians....? What about one of those little dorm fridges? I wonder if you could set one of those to a higher temp like 65 and it would work? Anyone ever try that?

 

[bobbi-j]

I haven't tried it, but can't think of a reason it wouldn't work. How many days do you need to collect your eggs before you have the amount you want?

 

[salt and pepper]

No basement (mobile home) but we do have a tornado shelter next to the house - I wonder what temp it maintians....? What about one of those little dorm fridges? I wonder if you could set one of those to a higher temp like 65 and it would work? Anyone ever try that?

Usually anything under ground more than a foot stays at around 65 degrees, and I don't see how a dorm fridge wouldn't work! Most fridges have a wide setting for temp.

 

[familypendragon]

Well, this is all mostly pre-emptive research (I am a research FREAK, LOL!) but the primary thing I will want to be incubating are Cream Legbars - but they are just chicks now and won't be laying till at least January or so. I have 4 chicks and 3 roos at this point. I will figure out which roos have the best breeding traits etc. But I hope for about 4 eggs a day once they get laying. And I am thinking of getting the HovaBator Genesis 1588 Advanced Egg Incubator Combo Kit from incubatorwarehouse.com which holds 41 eggs. But I am not sure if it needs to be full (?) And I have several other breeds I intend to get that I'd like to be hatching as well.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

do you suppose that you could put them in a room with lots of box fans?

Box fans don't change the temperature of the air, they just make you feel cooler because they hasten the evaporation of sweat from your body. They wouldn't change an egg's temperature much, since they don't sweat.

You could make a swamp cooler, though.

OR--turn on the air conditioning in your house just for those days you're collecting eggs.