We've had chickens years ago but just started back up with them recently. We have Welsummer and Black/blue copper Marans from excellent, hopefully show quality lines, plus some Easter Eggers for fun, and some up-coming Blue Salmon Faveroles. The kids want to show the Marans and Welsummers.
After hatching our first batch successfully in the incubator, (great experience!) we tried again this last month for a second batch with eggs with different hatch dates. (I know you're not really supposed to do that, but we received fertilized eggs from different sources at different times, and whatcha gonna do?)
I don't know how successful we'll be, but my teenage daughter is the mastermind behind all this, and I'm happy to have her do it as a learning experience. She's been keeping meticulous records of humidity, temperature, and hatch times, so here goes:
Today, 7 Leghorns and 1 Mystery brown egg hatching today (practice for incubator hatching from free eggs from friends.) What can I say, once you begin to hatch them, it's a little addictive, like all things chicken, I believe!
Soon, 4 Mallard Duck eggs hatching on the 23rd, and 6 Silkies hatching on the 24th. (I know, duck eggs have different humidity req's, but they were FREE and the air sacs still look good, so we took the chance to put them in just in case.)
Later, 12 or so more Marans and Faveroles on March 1st.
Our automatic egg turner has a place to remove slots for when they need to stop turning, so we did that, and set up a new brooder for once they begin to pip. (Because once they begin to hatch they release a bacteria bloom into the incubator, so they have to be separate from the other eggs for actual hatching.)
So this is my daughter's deal, and I've let her run with it. She's VERY excited to add pictures, so here are some...
Ta-da!
Here's a description of set-up: (as given by daughter~)
-The orange and black squares are: A old, clean sponge soaked in very hot water for humidity and to help the temperature, and a small plate (for the sponge.)
- A thermometer.
- Layers of newspaper with paper towels on top.
- The bottom half of a old styrofoam cooler, with two sheets of plexiglass on top.
- A 100 watt bulb in a old heat lamp.
- 8 chicken eggs.
The nursery's ready, now just waiting for babies!
After hatching our first batch successfully in the incubator, (great experience!) we tried again this last month for a second batch with eggs with different hatch dates. (I know you're not really supposed to do that, but we received fertilized eggs from different sources at different times, and whatcha gonna do?)
I don't know how successful we'll be, but my teenage daughter is the mastermind behind all this, and I'm happy to have her do it as a learning experience. She's been keeping meticulous records of humidity, temperature, and hatch times, so here goes:
Today, 7 Leghorns and 1 Mystery brown egg hatching today (practice for incubator hatching from free eggs from friends.) What can I say, once you begin to hatch them, it's a little addictive, like all things chicken, I believe!
Soon, 4 Mallard Duck eggs hatching on the 23rd, and 6 Silkies hatching on the 24th. (I know, duck eggs have different humidity req's, but they were FREE and the air sacs still look good, so we took the chance to put them in just in case.)
Later, 12 or so more Marans and Faveroles on March 1st.
Our automatic egg turner has a place to remove slots for when they need to stop turning, so we did that, and set up a new brooder for once they begin to pip. (Because once they begin to hatch they release a bacteria bloom into the incubator, so they have to be separate from the other eggs for actual hatching.)
So this is my daughter's deal, and I've let her run with it. She's VERY excited to add pictures, so here are some...
Ta-da!
Here's a description of set-up: (as given by daughter~)
-The orange and black squares are: A old, clean sponge soaked in very hot water for humidity and to help the temperature, and a small plate (for the sponge.)
- A thermometer.
- Layers of newspaper with paper towels on top.
- The bottom half of a old styrofoam cooler, with two sheets of plexiglass on top.
- A 100 watt bulb in a old heat lamp.
- 8 chicken eggs.
The nursery's ready, now just waiting for babies!
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