I was told a funny incubation story and it gives me hope. lol.

[sweeterdeeter42]

This weekend my Husbands uncle was telling me a story about when he was young and hatched out chicks. All he had was a cardboard box with flaps cut out to control the heat and a light bulb. And on one of the last days, the power went out and his mom put them in the oven to keep them warm. A lot of them ended up hatching out too. I read a lot about people trying to get everything 100% perfect and panicking over little changes, and yet he had almost nothing and got a good hatch. It gives me hope that I can have a good hatch with my little Styrofoam incubator since I cant afford a really good one. And have little idea what I am doing. lol.

 

[caral07]

Thats a neat little story. You sound like me. I cant afford one either so I have a styrofoam as well; although it has had good hatching rates.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Give it half a chance and life will find a way.

I recently did a hatching display in an outdoor tent for my county fair. Which turned out to be some of the warmest days for that time of year on record. For about four hours every every afternoon we'd have to take the lid off the incubator every fifteen to twenty minutes to let some of the heat out to keep the temperature under 102. The box had NO water in it at all, but it was still everything I could do to keep the humidity under 70%. In spite of all that we still managed a 65% hatch rate.

Give it half a chance and life will find a way.

 

[wolftracks]

I tell you it's gotten harder these days with all these bators. I didn't have when when I was 12 ahhhhhmmm 42 years ago.

I put 3 eggs in a shoe box that had cotton in the bottom and sat it on my night stand under my lamp. I got 2 to hatch.

New Years hatch I set 82 eggs, 1 hatched and died.

 

[CCourson05]

I think we way overcomplicate the thing. Honestly.

 

[columbiacritter]

A friend of my in the deep south hatches egges in a wire box on her front porch that just has a turner in it. She throws a blanket over it at night but otherwise uses no extra heat or humidity. The wire box keeps the predators out and she regularly get 80% + hatches.

 

[clayb226]

Quote:
This sounds like how things go for me.

 

[Ariel301]

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This sounds like how things go for me.

Me too.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

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Another couple of weeks for the summer heat to set in and I could probably do that too. I'm already turning the brooder lights off during the day because it gets too hot in there if I don't.

 

[wowmanacat]

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I agree with that