I'm gonna try again, any tips?

[syble]

Last spring i tried to incubate black shouldered peafowl eggs. The breeder said they were much like turkeys (have hatched hundreds of turkeys, quail, chickens, etc.). I got them all started, then lost 2 at about 2 weeks, and lost 2 more about a week to go and the last two died a bit before hatch. Everything else in that incubator hatched as it was supposed to so i don't think i had any out of the norm issues. I had them in an older GQF cabinet style incubator. temp stays steady, has an automatic turner, humidity system isn't very scientific (Little bin came with it, you put 1 in full when incubating and add a second to hatch). I think if i remember right they were incubated standing up. I got 0 out of 6 peachicks. I have the opportunity to try again.

Any additional suggestions to try them again in the cabinet, or should i try on their sides hand turned in a modified circulated air hovabator. (I typically use this as my hatcher as it works much better then it should lol). I can incubate them alone in it, they would be on their side and hand turned. Any thoughts?

I'm in the great lakes area so natural humidity is already high.
thanks
Sib

 

[snowshoe]

I hatch my eggs from my peafowl in the same incubator as you but I lay mine down in turning racks front to back with large end slightly elevated, and turn them over by hand once a day also. I do use a separate hatcher so that I keep my incubator as clean as possible.

 

[syble]

so laying them on their sides is better then. I'll only have 6 or 12 eggs to work with so i wont be able to turn the turner off for the rest of my incubator. do you think my hova would be able to do it?

 

[Glenmar]

I put my 1 egg I had last year mostly on its side with the fat end slightly up. I hand turned it 3x a day in addition to the autoturner.
It hatched.

 

[Frosty]

Try doing a search on Yoda's old posts from last year... he uses one of the styrofoam incubators and seems to have good luck. One word of caution that I just remember because Yoda had a post on it... If you use a table top styrofoam incubator, you either need a guard over the fan or the fan will need to be disconnected before hatch. He had a peachick scalped by the blades.

 

[syble]

i had that bad boy fully caged from day one, a friend had her turkey poults scalped and one got its head stuck in and died in her fan, wasn't gonna even risk it! I'll search for yodas post tomorrow, I'm beat thanks!
Sib

 

[snowshoe]

Yes I still keep the auto turner on also, and I use a Rollx incubator as my hatcher and it has a cover over the fan

 

[ranit]

Had the eggs been shipped? I had terrible luck years ago trying to hatch shipped peafowl eggs but have had great success with my own. I like to put mine under a broody hen the first week then they get moved to the cabinet incubator with auto turn (Sportsman) in a rack standing up. I have put them straight into the incubator but have a higher percentage hatch if I use the broody the first week.

 

[syble]

I drove like 7 hours round trip to get them. I looked for the post from yoda on it, and i found many posts nut nothing too specific, just wee mentions here and there. I read the post on the scalped chicks yeiks, now i see why everyone stresses that. I covered my fan out of parinoia, never thought they could actually hurt them selves, thank god they heal fast!

 

[Margitas]

I hatch peaflow every year , i use GQF 1502 incubator and 1550 hatcher , but where i get my peahens the breeder told me for the hatcher need the humidity 75-80 for good hatch rate, if is fertile.
Last year i hatch out from 24 i get out 23 one was not fertile, than i lost two in the brooder, is good thing if you hatch some chicks too , that way the peaflow learn how to eat and drink.
Hope this help .