INCUBATING w/FRIENDS! w/Sally Sunshine Shipped Eggs No problem!

[Saris]

Update: 6 chicks, 10 pips

 

[kwhites634]

Yeah, I have 21 nest boxes for 11 layers, I'd take them out but they were built into the coop by the previous owner!!!!

I added two nest boxes to the outside of my made-in-China-hurry-up coop so my seven lf birds would have more floor space & not have a tendency to roost in the nest boxes. Even built a lip separating the nest from the main floor. An exercise in futility!. However, my 6 hens all lay in one nest; very seldom do they use both.

 

[lazyacre]

I was hoping my Bielefelder eggs would have shipped yesterday but they haven't shipped yet. They are coming to Utah from Colorado. It will be 12 eggs, I have a havobator 1588. Do the hatching do better if there are more eggs in the incubator. Just wondering if I should try to get extra local eggs to hatch with them? I just don't know know what I'd do with the extra chicks.

With my first hatch I ordered 100 quail eggs. Then I thought I have enough room to add 7 chicken eggs. I bought 7 SLW eggs locally. I started the chicken eggs in the turner four days before the quail eggs. The quail eggs arrived a day later than I expected. I too my surprise they sent 120 quail eggs. I let the quail eggs sit for about 12 hours, then we decided to put the quail eggs in the turners. There was enough room on the edge for the 7 chicken eggs. We hand turned the chicken eggs. My elderly parents live with us. So because I had to go out of town for a week my Father took care of the eggs. The humitity was in the 45-55% range, temp was 100. I tried to candle but I really don't know what I'm doing candling so I just left all the eggs in. 30 of the quail hatched one died a couple days later. 3 of the Chicken eggs hatched. My dad helped one and it died the next day. So three weeks later 29 quail and 2 SLW chicks moved from the inside brooders to the outside brooders.

 

[Kraftcrazychick]

Hi! I am on day 3 of my first batch of hatching eggs. Things are mostly going well but I am a bit unhappy with the fluctuation of the temperature. It doesn't get too high or too cold but it varies between about 3-4 degrees right now. It's a modified lower water heater thermostat which has large holes drilled through- which was supposed to make it more sensitive.

Any idea how to make it more sensitive? It used to vary between 2 degrees, which I was okay with but since the weather went crazy the range has gotten bigger.

 

[Sally Sunshine]

woot, I have an internal pip (I didn't lift the egg but I did lift the bator lid and shined a light on the top and saw what looked like a little beak. Here is my question, I have my eggs on a towel and not a flat mesh like a lot of you have. I read somewhere to place it so the lowest part of the air cell is on top, Should I put something hard and flat so they can roll around or will they be fine.

I have a 300 watt space heater in my bator so it heats up quickly only drops in temperature while its open, but from now on. NO MORE Openings, It will be tough!.

Also my aircell shifted,,, before it was more centered on top but after laying horizontal without turning for a few days it seems to have dipped lower in the egg ( I mistakenly thought the air cell got bigger but it didn't)

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YAY!!!!! is the towel wet? if you have the air cells up as below you should be ok



air cells do shift! yep just before pipping is called drawdown, this is when they tuck and pip into the air cell, sometimes you can see in the high part inside the back they pop up inside as well! good sign!!!

mark the time!! and wait!!

dont open the bator!!! keep humdiity up!

Candle day 18 is to determine growth, weigh, pencil mark air cell size and dispose bad eggs. It will look pretty dark and FULL in there! You may or may not see movement on this candle. Its ok if not, don’t panic! The chick may easily be resting! See how that air cell is beginning to dip more to one side and if you lay the egg down it will roll into the hatching position. I set my eggs with lowest dip in the aircell up. This position for hatching is good so the chick is able to turn into position and I can easily see my pips too! Day 18 laying horizontal for actual hatching helps a chick hatch 1-2 hours earlier. I lay my eggs down LOWEST DIP of the AIRCELL UP! This is the normal and most likely hatching position and the chick will break through or Internally pip and externally pip in that probable area. See the image below with the x, x being lowest dip in air cell and probably pip area/s.

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Internal pip can sit and gain strength for up to 24 hrs b4 external

External pip! then can sit and gain strength 24+ before ZIPPING (zipping around shell should only take up to hour!)

Serama, Day 19 Draw down, very close internal pipping, you can see in these candles as I turn the egg the draw down in front where the pip will be and the bump up in the back!




another Serama Day 19 drawn down and very close to internal pip if its not already pipped


VIDEO : Early day 19 INTERNAL PIP
(shipped initially loose air cell, set after 12 hours and turned upright in the cabinet cooler incubator right from set)
Silky embryo in position for hatch and with internal pip (NOTE: NO EXTERNAL YET!)



THIS IS A ZIP it should only take half hour to maybe a little over an hour

​

 

[Sally Sunshine]

I was hoping my Bielefelder eggs would have shipped yesterday but they haven't shipped yet. They are coming to Utah from Colorado. It will be 12 eggs, I have a havobator 1588. Do the hatching do better if there are more eggs in the incubator. Just wondering if I should try to get extra local eggs to hatch with them? I just don't know know what I'd do with the extra chicks.

With my first hatch I ordered 100 quail eggs. Then I thought I have enough room to add 7 chicken eggs. I bought 7 SLW eggs locally. I started the chicken eggs in the turner four days before the quail eggs. The quail eggs arrived a day later than I expected. I too my surprise they sent 120 quail eggs. I let the quail eggs sit for about 12 hours, then we decided to put the quail eggs in the turners. There was enough room on the edge for the 7 chicken eggs. We hand turned the chicken eggs. My elderly parents live with us. So because I had to go out of town for a week my Father took care of the eggs. The humitity was in the 45-55% range, temp was 100. I tried to candle but I really don't know what I'm doing candling so I just left all the eggs in. 30 of the quail hatched one died a couple days later. 3 of the Chicken eggs hatched. My dad helped one and it died the next day. So three weeks later 29 quail and 2 SLW chicks moved from the inside brooders to the outside brooders.

WELCOME!!!

The more eggs, the more stable the temps yes. you can add jars of water or sterile stones/rocks instead but you have turners so not sure that would work. CL is a great place to sell chicks for a few dollars a piece. or your local FB sales pages, and even byc sales pages. or you can eventually switch out thermostats and never worry about stable temps, see the notes I posted at the top I threw a link on thermostats. but more chicks = more fun!

Hi! I am on day 3 of my first batch of hatching eggs. Things are mostly going well but I am a bit unhappy with the fluctuation of the temperature. It doesn't get too high or too cold but it varies between about 3-4 degrees right now. It's a modified lower water heater thermostat which has large holes drilled through- which was supposed to make it more sensitive.

Any idea how to make it more sensitive? It used to vary between 2 degrees, which I was okay with but since the weather went crazy the range has gotten bigger.

WELCOME!!!! @Kraftcrazychick

3 and 4 degrees is way too much flux, I have been there with that thermostat, can you take pics and show me how you have it set up? and how close it is to the heat source

this is how close we had to get ours before we switched out to a wafer between the lights

this guy has a different concept using that type check his out http://floridahillbilly.com/building-an-incubator/
​

 

[cliffoco]

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YAY!!!!! is the towel wet? if you have the air cells up as below you should be ok

The towel under the eggs is not wet, the other side of bator (by heater and fan) is wet. The sides of the cooler also have droplets.

If I wait around 18 hours (tomorrow morning) and don't see an external pip should I make a "window", (due to the hard shells)

 

[cliffoco]

Hi! I am on day 3 of my first batch of hatching eggs. Things are mostly going well but I am a bit unhappy with the fluctuation of the temperature. It doesn't get too high or too cold but it varies between about 3-4 degrees right now. It's a modified lower water heater thermostat which has large holes drilled through- which was supposed to make it more sensitive.

Any idea how to make it more sensitive? It used to vary between 2 degrees, which I was okay with but since the weather went crazy the range has gotten bigger.

I was going to use a water heater thermostat, but decided to get a STC-1000... It's very good and keeps the temperature constant. Also I used a cheap cooler and i noticed the heat source was going on often, now I am using my bigger and better cooler and it hardly goes on!

 

[WVduckchick]

I will add trouble with most of us is that we think we need tons of nest boxes and in the end we realize we can have 20 hens and they use two or three nest boxes and all that space is wasted in our coops!! in fact that was one of the things we did the past two weekends, after all these years we ripped out all our nest boxes and cut them into thirds and 1/4 !! and so much more room in every coop!!! we shouldnt have procrastinated! wow the room to move in them and more roosting room and cleaning room and area for feed!!

love the coops now!!! we learn as we go!! but nesting boxes are so pretty, but you really dont need many!! they love to share and be greedy hens!!

Mine sleep in a couple of nest boxes too, and the boxes are lower than the roosts. I have 2 roost poles, I think I need to remove one (they might be too close together for them to comfortably hop onto, and also add another 2x4 in front of the edge of the nest boxes, because they are kinda open from inside the coop. Might just eliminate a couple boxes and make it more open space. Thanks for that thought!

Ok ya'll please don't shoot me. I tried to tape up the broken wing. It's broken in TWO places!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I even thought about and am still thinking about glueing it in place with and every few days trying to clip the down. Now the question I don't want to shot over........does anyone put down their babies that have issues like this or do they try to fix all of them. I have put several down from issues over the hatches I've had but never one that's up and healthy with a wing issue

Gotta do what you feel is right.

I was hoping my Bielefelder eggs would have shipped yesterday but they haven't shipped yet. They are coming to Utah from Colorado. It will be 12 eggs, I have a havobator 1588. Do the hatching do better if there are more eggs in the incubator. Just wondering if I should try to get extra local eggs to hatch with them? I just don't know know what I'd do with the extra chicks.

With my first hatch I ordered 100 quail eggs. Then I thought I have enough room to add 7 chicken eggs. I bought 7 SLW eggs locally. I started the chicken eggs in the turner four days before the quail eggs. The quail eggs arrived a day later than I expected. I too my surprise they sent 120 quail eggs. I let the quail eggs sit for about 12 hours, then we decided to put the quail eggs in the turners. There was enough room on the edge for the 7 chicken eggs. We hand turned the chicken eggs. My elderly parents live with us. So because I had to go out of town for a week my Father took care of the eggs. The humitity was in the 45-55% range, temp was 100. I tried to candle but I really don't know what I'm doing candling so I just left all the eggs in. 30 of the quail hatched one died a couple days later. 3 of the Chicken eggs hatched. My dad helped one and it died the next day. So three weeks later 29 quail and 2 SLW chicks moved from the inside brooders to the outside brooders.

Are you at high elevation? I know we have some members at high elevations who incubate differently than those of us at lower elevations, so if its something that you hadn't considered, I thought I'd throw that out to you.

 

[hippiestink]

say wa???

Blah got finger-tied. The BOXES are the same height as the lowest roost.