Incubators Anonymous

[feedman77]

@duluthralphie sorry to hear how bad your hatches are going.

I had a bust on my friends welsummer eggs 0 of 12.

So....I did a thing...
Or rather...I bought a thing...

A friend was selling it at the auction and it wasn't getting enough bids so he just bid himself and planned to bring it home.
After the bidding ended my husband who had quit bidding early when be saw how many people were bidding went up to him and asked how much he would have let it go for.
A few minutes later I had a new incubator. It has a wafer thermostat and is heated with heating coils and has a large fan to circulate the heat. Two stiff wire shelves and then two hatching baskets. It is deep enough to fit two trays of eggs on each shelf but is too narrow for an egg turner.
We have some old broken incubator we plan to cannibalize and use a full size fridge and fill it with shelves and egg turners. Then we will use the wooden cabinet as a Hatcher.

Nice score on the hatcher.

My chukar hatch is complete. 72 out of 110 set. Shipped eggs. Thought was 120 but didn't
Count them. Threw out 38 that were infertile or died. Lost 5 during hatching zipped out and expired. After all that work to get out and then that happens.

Set 12 turkey, 70 quail, 8 pheasant and 6 chicken eggs. Today. My white rocks finally started laying. Gonna incubate all of their eggs.

My luck with last 2 batches of hatchery chicks has been abysmal. Lost 8 of 10 barred rocks. Ordered 15 riw and 5 white leghorn cockerels. Got them Wed have lost 15 as of this morning. Put some chicks I hatched in the brooder a day after them. And have not lost 1.

 

[aliciaplus3]

So far the only Bad luck I have had is with my ducks.... I bought 2 welsh harliquin hens and hatched 8 mixed breeds first of March and now I only have 2 left and one apears to be a failure to thrive baby being less than a quarter as big as the other duck..... I have 5 that should hatch tomorrow so it's all ok

 

[WVduckchick]

This egg pipped this morning and stuff is oozing out of the egg is that normal? It's still breathing in there and peeping but I noticed the liquid coming out View attachment 1350992

Hope this turned out ok. No, it's not normal. But hopefully wasn't catastrophic.

 

[Harmony Fowl]

Hey, all, joining in. I incubate monthly with my little styrofoam Little Giant. I just have chickens but would love to add guineas and turkeys this year if I can find eggs or chicks at the right moment. I just set 18 eggs yesterday and am in the usual up and down with the incubator as it and I collaborate to determine what optimal conditions are this week. The LG can hold twice that and some more, but the temp control is poor in the far reaches of LG land. I set 24 last month and still only got 16 chicks and several of those with deformities (if not life threatening ones). If the hatch rate is the same for 18 or 24 I’d rather give 18 a better shot.

I see some very knowledgeable folk here. I look forward to learning more still.

 

[aliciaplus3]

It's a 2 headed monster!

its just 2 turkeys one black one brown. I have another pair to match for 4 live babies so far

 

[JudysMuscovy]

Hope this turned out ok. No, it's not normal. But hopefully wasn't catastrophic.

I hate to intervene because it seems they just die then or have issues so since it only was a few hours since it pipped I left it alone. This morning it looked the same so I took it out and it's Dead. I don't know what was going on with the oozing. I have another one external pip no stuff oozing so we will see if it makes it

 

[OneMountainAcres]

Hey, all, joining in. I incubate monthly with my little styrofoam Little Giant. I just have chickens but would love to add guineas and turkeys this year if I can find eggs or chicks at the right moment. I just set 18 eggs yesterday and am in the usual up and down with the incubator as it and I collaborate to determine what optimal conditions are this week. The LG can hold twice that and some more, but the temp control is poor in the far reaches of LG land. I set 24 last month and still only got 16 chicks and several of those with deformities (if not life threatening ones). If the hatch rate is the same for 18 or 24 I’d rather give 18 a better shot.

I see some very knowledgeable folk here. I look forward to learning more still.

Welcome! I know the LG bators can be very touchy with keeping a steady temp/humidity. A trick that I learned when I had one was to add a heat sink inside to help stabilize temps and also to use making tape around the seam when it's closed to seal it better. I used to tape mine shut and only access the eggs through the panels on top. I've since graduated to a GQF cabinet and a Hova bator for hatching

 

[OneMountainAcres]

I hate to intervene because it seems they just die then or have issues so since it only was a few hours since it pipped I left it alone. This morning it looked the same so I took it out and it's Dead. I don't know what was going on with the oozing. I have another one external pip no stuff oozing so we will see if it makes it

I'm sorry it didn't make it

 

[WVduckchick]

I hate to intervene because it seems they just die then or have issues so since it only was a few hours since it pipped I left it alone. This morning it looked the same so I took it out and it's Dead. I don't know what was going on with the oozing. I have another one external pip no stuff oozing so we will see if it makes it

Oh so sorry. I would probably have tried a very minimal assist, and taken a q-tip and tried to wipe away some of the goo, just to clear the bill.
I've had alot of gooey hatches lately, when I used to have none! I swear, I think it's the crazy weather roller coaster we have been on.

I'm stopping for a few weeks. Found some used cabinets on CL, so I need to get them cleaned up and running. Plus i have tons of broodies right now.

 

[OneMountainAcres]

Oh so sorry. I would probably have tried a very minimal assist, and taken a q-tip and tried to wipe away some of the goo, just to clear the bill.
I've had alot of gooey hatches lately, when I used to have none! I swear, I think it's the crazy weather roller coaster we have been on.

I'm stopping for a few weeks. Found some used cabinets on CL, so I need to get them cleaned up and running. Plus i have tons of broodies right now.

SOME used cabinets, as in you now have a collection of cabinet incubators!? I would be in SO much trouble! Lol

I've also had some gooey, sticky hatchers this year. They've mostly stopped now but it's weird dealing with them when they happen.