Incubating when the powers out?

[Mariella posey]

We are haveing an ice storm right now and they are predicting power outages that could last a week or more. Problem is I have 41 eggs set right now that are on day 8 and looking great! Only 1 out of all of them doesn't have a baby and they are Cochin eggs. Does anyone know of a way to keep them warm while the power is out?

 

[MGG]

We are haveing an ice storm right now and they are predicting power outages that could last a week or more. Problem is I have 41 eggs set right now that are on day 8 and looking great! Only 1 out of all of them doesn't have a baby and they are Cochin eggs. Does anyone know of a way to keep them warm while the power is out?

Hm. Not for that long. You'll need to get a generator or move them to a gas station or something. They need to be incubated full 24 hour days or you'll have a lot of deaths. Could you buy a generator from someone? Most community centers have generators running during outages, that's what I do with mine when there are power outages.

 

[Mariella posey]

We might be able to get a little portable solar powered generator if they aren't sold out yet.

 

[MGG]

We might be able to get a little portable solar powered generator if they aren't sold out yet.

That would be good. Is there a hotel or anything near you that would let you plug it in during the outage?

 

[Chickenman MAN]

We might be able to get a little portable solar powered generator if they aren't sold out yet.

A generator is most certainly needed. If all else fails move to a neighbors.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

We might be able to get a little portable solar powered generator if they aren't sold out yet.

What is your ambient temperature? What sort of heating do you use.. wood stove, forced air, etc.

Wrap blankets around the bator to insulate extra.

Heat up hot water on the BBQ, (or even from your tap if you have water when the power's out I don't).. anyways.. fill hot water bottles and put around the outside of the bator. Keep them refreshed and warm under the blankets.

How ling is your outing expected to last?

Some bators like hovabator sale an alligator clip that hooks to a 12v car battery to run!

My car even has ac plugs but only support a limited wattage.

I have an RV trailer.. that has a solar powered battery back up, just bought this year.. but still saving for the generator! It won't support a coffee maker but very well would support a bator. Mentioning if you don;t have it maybe a neighbor or friend does!

Is the whole town out.. just your block?

 

[MGG]

What is your ambient temperature? What sort of heating do you use.. wood stove, forced air, etc.

Wrap blankets around the bator to insulate extra.

Heat up hot water on the BBQ, (or even from your tap if you have water when the power's out I don't).. anyways.. fill hot water bottles and put around the outside of the bator. Keep them refreshed and warm under the blankets.

How ling is your outing expected to last?

Some bators like hovabator sale an alligator clip that hooks to a 12v car battery to run!

My car even has ac plugs but only support a limited wattage.

I have an RV trailer.. that has a solar powered battery back up, just bought this year.. but still saving for the generator! It won't support a coffee maker but very well would support a bator. Mentioning if you don;t have it maybe a neighbor or friend does!

Is the whole town out.. just your block?

They said the outages could last a week or more. Those are good saves for a 24 hour outage or so, but would never work for a whole week.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

What is your ambient temperature? What sort of heating do you use.. wood stove, forced air, etc.

Wrap blankets around the bator to insulate extra.

Heat up hot water on the BBQ, (or even from your tap if you have water when the power's out I don't).. anyways.. fill hot water bottles and put around the outside of the bator. Keep them refreshed and warm under the blankets.

How ling is your outing expected to last?

Some bators like hovabator sale an alligator clip that hooks to a 12v car battery to run!

My car even has ac plugs but only support a limited wattage.

I have an RV trailer.. that has a solar powered battery back up, just bought this year.. but still saving for the generator! It won't support a coffee maker but very well would support a bator. Mentioning if you don;t have it maybe a neighbor or friend does!

Is the whole town out.. just your block?

Personally I don't trust those battery inserts. A youtuber I watch had theirs melt in the connector when they had to use it

 

[Eelantha]

When it comes to dealing with Mother Nature, I only have one thing to tell you: work with her rather than against her. Look up the local farmers and see which ones have broody hens (or turkey, or peahen, or... well, you get the idea). With some luck you'll find a few; discuss with the owner the possibility of you coming over for an emergency incubation if the power outage shuts down your incubator. DON'T buy the broody hen from him in advance; the shock of the transport and change of coop can deter her from brooding. Let her brood your eggs in familiar territory, then come fetch mom and chicks when they hatch. The farmer can get his emergency broody back when the chicks no longer need mama, and if you spot cockerels in the lot, send him some too as thanks for lending you one of his hens.

Note: Look for hens that have gone broody at around the same time you've placed your eggs in the incubator. A hen that's been brooding for almost three weeks is not one you want to put your eggs under, as she will abandon your eggs in favor of saving herself if hatching them takes an unusually long time. Target hens from brooding breeds (Cochin, Brahmas, Silkies, etc), note down all potential mamas, and see which ones would be ready to welcome your eggs if a power outage happened. Broody hens aren't picky when they want chicks - any egg they can claim becomes theirs.

This might sound far-fetched and pulled out of my hat, but honestly if electricity fails and generators run out, a broody hen will be your best (and perhaps only) bet of saving your eggs from a cold doom. If you can afford it, then it's worth a try.

 

[mcdze]

if theyre predicting that on the news its doubtful you can get anything locally, but you really need to be prepared to handle a long outage like that ... depends on what wattage your incubator is .. personally i wouldnt want to run a generator for a week non-stop and you better figure about 10gals of gas a day min. even for a small like 2500w unit, but you could get like a 800watt inverter, theyre pretty cheap and a deep cycle battery, two would be better, a charger that will do like 10A+ and of course a generator which you could charge the batterys with as well as get anything else done while its running a few hours .. 2 full size deep cycles would run it for a day likely .. so thats alot of stuff ... another option that could likely be incorporated into your survival prep plans for a week long outage(which will suck been there multiple times here in FL in hurricanes) ... but get a small propane heater like runs off those little 6$ cyclinders, you'd have to constantly monitor things but set up in a closet on low im sure you could balance things out with the door so the temps right .. one of those little heater jobs on low will use about 2-3 of those cylinders a day probably...