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

[mrleeroy]

Good morning everyone

It rained here quite a bit last night. Will have to check gauge when I go out.

 

[Pensmaster]

Good morning Mrleeroy hope to get something done in the garden today. Depends on this stupid head cold what I do.
Good week for transplanting the tomatoes if I get a chance. I grafted some last week 3 of 5 are looking great. They won't be transplanted yet though still to brittle at the graft.

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

I need someone online to answer some of my stupid questions. brinesa octagon 20 advanced. what humidity level?

Check out the Hatching 101 article by Sally Sunshine here on BYC. It's long, but SOOOOOOO good - I suggest reading the whole thing several times.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-101

Humidity is not a set number, but rather a method to get the air cells to develop at the right rate and, more importantly, to be the right size when you go into lockdown. The reasons you can't use a set number are:

- If your Brinsea hygrometer (thing that measures humidity) is not calibrated, it will be off (mine was off by about 10% in my brand new Brinsea Octagon Advanced)

- Smaller eggs will lose moisture faster than larger eggs (more surface area) at any given humidity

- Blue and green eggs will lose less moisture than other eggs. (I can't remember the white vs. brown thing, as I have no white egg layers - maybe someone will pipe up)

- Even individual eggs of the same type can lose moisture differently, for instance, some more porous eggs will lose moisture faster (and rounder eggs lose less, at least in my experience)

What type of eggs are you incubating? Unless you're incubating bantam or serum eggs, or blue or green eggs, most suggest starting with 35% (green/blue, often suggested to go with 30% - Sally will say). You should mark your air cells with a pencil before putting them in the incubator. You'll look at and mark the air cell size when you candle (starting at day 7 usually) and compare to what it should be. (There are also lots of good examples to compare here). If they're too small or too big, you could then adjust the humidity as needed (I usually ask for help on here when considering that, as so many experienced folks have good input). You can also try tracking egg weight, but unless you have a very good little scale, it can lead you astray (happened to me, got a new scale).

You DO really need to calibrate/check the temperature, though, as there's no "air cell" to check on that. My temp was off a few degrees (again, a brand new Brinsea - great 'bator, it was just off a bit). Calibration is covered in the article, I believe, but @Chaos18 and @BantyChooks are much better than I am at finding and linking the pertinent info, and @Sally Sunshine will give guidance of course, but occasionally has online access issues (due to horrible HughesNet). Thermometers by Thermoworks are great, and many have found that Brinsea Spotchecks are good.

Originally Posted by Sally Sunshine

How to Prevent
Chickens from Getting Coccidiosis
A few good management practices will help control coccidiosis. Contact your veterinarian for full details.

• Anticoccidial drugs mixed in the feed are used to limit high levels of infection.
• Keep chicks, feed and water away from droppings.
• Roost birds over wire netting if brooding arrangements make this possible.
• Place water vessels on wire frames to eliminate a concentration of wet droppings, in which the chicks can walk to pick up or spread the disease.
• Keep litter dry and stirred frequently. Remove wet spots and replace with dry litter.
• Avoid overcrowding.
• If coccidiosis does break out, start treatment immediately.

That's the only one that is really necessary. Coccidia can't complete their lifecycle without moisture.
Yup - and when I cleaned out the brooder yesterday (it was due anyway, but especially with the baby with probable cocci), I discovered that they had spilled a decent bit of water into the bedding and I had missed it (tracking under the dry stuff). That would do it...

- Ant Farm

 

[BantyChooks]

@Dingleberry

Place a teaspoon of salt in a bottle cap or small cup and dampen it with a few drops of water (without dissolving it).
Carefully place the wet salt and the hygrometer inside a see-through container and close tightly. You can use a zip lock bag provided it seals well and you leave some air inside as well.
Let it sit for at least 6 hours and note the reading on the hygrometer without opening the container. The hygrometer should should read 75%. The difference is how much your hygrometer is off. For example, if your hygrometer reads 70% during the salt method test this means that to obtain the real humidity level you should add 5 points.
If you have an analog hygrometer, you can correct the reading. You will need to adjust the needle to the 75% mark by turning the screw on the back using a small screwdriver. Your hygrometer is now ready to be placed inside your incubator.

 

[mrleeroy]

Good morning Mrleeroy hope to get something done in the garden today. Depends on this stupid head cold what I do.
Good week for transplanting the tomatoes if I get a chance. I grafted some last week 3 of 5 are looking great. They won't be transplanted yet though still to brittle at the graft.

I hope you have fun in the garden. I decided to start some tomato seeds a couple of weeks ago and just as soon as they start to sprout, we have highs below 40 and I've had to leave them inside all the time for the last 4 days. I'll get to bring them out today, but the shock is probably gonna kill them... I shall see. The only time I ever have luck is if I can bring them out everyday and put them in at night. I do hope to have a small greenhouse for next year though.

 

[Pensmaster]

I need a structure just like that to grow hops on.

None of the places around here have the ability to fill. They have the refilled tanks delivered to the store

What type of hops do you like? Do you brew your own beer?

The RV trailer park here still refills the propane tanks. I have mine hooked up to the house propane tank now. It would be one heck of a BBQ to run that one out

 

[kwhites634]

How's the weather in MD this morning?

Below freezing, but at least there's no wind

 

[Pensmaster]

I hope you have fun in the garden. I decided to start some tomato seeds a couple of weeks ago and just as soon as they start to sprout, we have highs below 40 and I've had to leave them inside all the time for the last 4 days. I'll get to bring them out today, but the shock is probably gonna kill them... I shall see. The only time I ever have luck is if I can bring them out everyday and put them in at night. I do hope to have a small greenhouse for next year though.

Same here with the weather. In order to graft the tomatoes the parent plant needs to be started a week before the root stock. The root stock grows extremely fast so a weeks head start is needed. So with the weather warming up I started the heirloom seeds and they came up great. Then I planted the root stock and the weather turned cold. Yeah not so good. The goal is to get both the same size at the same time so a match can be found to graft. Was lucky to get the three I did. I still have a few to work with so I might try again.

 

[kwhites634]

Have fun and good luck.


X2 All true.
Check for the first few days to make sure that she's covering all of them.

Good Morning to you, sir, How'd the class go yesterday?

 

[Cluck cluck moo]

Okay, I have not seen Motorcyclechick in days. Has anyone heard from her?