Incubators Anonymous

[OneMountainAcres]

@Cerenity welcome to the group! You will be addicted after your first successful hatch! There's just no way around it! Hatching at this time of year can be rough but it's not impossible. One of my turkeys started laying so if course, my incubator has turkey eggs in it right now..... Should be interesting!

 

[Faraday40]

Not sure if I qualify as addicted...yet. But, I was set to start on my first batch of eggs next weekend: a half dozen Buff Orpingtons. But, alas, it was not meant to be. The woman in my area who was going to sell me the eggs had her hens start molting last week and they stopped laying. Accordingly, the HovaBator that is currently in our guest room with a multitude of humidty-gauges and thermometers is still unopened.

Side note: I know that this cannot be the ideal time to be incubating eggs, but, we had some construction in our barn (where the chickens live) and I didn't want chicks in there while all that noise and dust was going on.

I have also been interested in getting some bantams, but had not decided which breed to keep. I found someone online with some bantam Barred Plymouth Rocks, so, nothing quite like combating disappointment with excitement again! The seller said she thinks it will take her a week or two to put the eggs together. So, not exactly my original plan for hatching since they are bantams, but, when life gives you lemons.

Any tips on incubating bantam eggs would be much appreciated. I am trying not to get my hopes up because they will be shipped (I was going to pick up my orpington eggs fairly locally), but, I know there are some more experienced folks here with good ideas.

I live in N. IL and we've already been down below freezing a couple nights. My incubator's been in storage since August & I promised DH that I was done hatching for the year. I guess my hens never made such a promise. Three hens went broody and are caring for their 12 chicks. My son's serama pullet laid for about 2 weeks, then went broody. Her 4 eggs were due today but I think the cold is delaying them a bit. I was going to move them inside but decided to leave everything alone for now. (I be upset if moving her caused her to abandoned the eggs so close to hatch.) I'll move her inside when the eggs are done.

 

[Compost King]

I live in N. IL and we've already been down below freezing a couple nights. My incubator's been in storage since August & I promised DH that I was done hatching for the year. I guess my hens never made such a promise. Three hens went broody and are caring for their 12 chicks. My son's serama pullet laid for about 2 weeks, then went broody. Her 4 eggs were due today but I think the cold is delaying them a bit. I was going to move them inside but decided to leave everything alone for now. (I be upset if moving her caused her to abandoned the eggs so close to hatch.) I'll move her inside when the eggs are done.

I have a Red Ranger hen and I put her with different roosters and make my own meat birds... when ever I get a fall broody I stick the Red Rangers under them so they can provide extra warmth. Last fall I had Japanese Bantam go broody in the fall and she hatched out 2 Bantam chicks and 3 meat birds. After 4 weeks (as temps plummeted) the 3 meat birds huddled over Mama bird because they were twice her size and helped to keep the baby bantams warm. The Red Rangers offspring feathered rapidly and acted as extra insulation for the slow feathering tiny bantam chicks. It was funny to watch chicks follow a mama bird that was half their size and eventually they were 3 times her size before they parted their ways.

 

[OneMountainAcres]

What is it with hens going broody this time of year? I have a silkie during in air and a muscovy duck on 8 eggs. My muscovy is violently broody right now.... She used to be very mild. I think she caught on that I don't want anymore ducks and I kept stealing her babies from her..... Now she will bite and attack if I try to check her nest for extra eggs. They only reason I'm letting her sit is that I've seen my Chinese and African ganders trying to breed her lately..... I'm curious lol.

 

[Faraday40]

I was getting a bit nervous about Coge's eggs. I thought they were due Th night -Fri night, but the cold temps delayed them a little. The 1st chick out hatched last night around 10pm. (I went out to check on the chickens in the middle of all the rain & flooding.) Sadly, one chick was dead by morning, but a 2nd chick had hatched. Sometime this afternoon, a 3rd chick hatched. I moved the little mama, her 2 surviving chicks, & last remaining egg inside the house. I'm doubtful that the last egg will hatch, because one egg looked a little different. (It looks like the embryo sank to the bottom & there's a little fluid layer before the air cell. No movement.) However, we're happy to have 2 chicks for this 1st time mommy.

Her new cage for the next couple weeks:


Some pretty pullet pics


....and the new chicks.
Older one is yellow & fluffy. The younger one looks more white & slightly damp.



I'll take better pics later. At the moment, they're having some bonding time. She's happily "talking" to her babies. I love hearing all their little noises, so for now I'm happy to have them in the house.

 

[Faraday40]

A jar lid works great as a feeder. Here's Broody Mama teaching her chicks to eat.

 

[Cerenity]

Other than those who live in a bitter cold climate I see this as the best time to incubate eggs. The Pullets will mature into laying after the days are longer than the nights (March 21) and before they days start getting shorter (June 21).. My problem with some spring chickens is that they often mature as days are getting shorter and when days are shorter than night. This can lead to delaying the Point of Lay.
Incubating is addicting, I did my first hatch in March of 2018 with the hatch day being April 1. I have hatched once a month (some months twice) ever since. I end up eating a lot of cockerels and selling chicks/Chickens to make room for the next hatch to grow up.

Good to know! The eggs are officially waiting for me at the post office and I'm cutting out of work a little early to go pick them up. I know some folks have said the eggs need to sit for 24 hours after shipping before incubating, so, maybe I'll be able to put them in the incubator tomorrow after work!

Ideally you want your eggs less than 10 days old. Hatch rates start dropping after 10 days, plus shipping stress added to older eggs. If it does take 2 weeks to gather and 4 days for shipping, you would be looking at 18 day old eggs on the oldest.
Something to think about. Maybe can get smaller amount to start with and try.
I have never hatched shipped eggs but I can attest to the fact incubating and hatching is addictive.

Actually, she was able to ship them the next business day after I ordered them! Hoping they're all less than 10 days old! I'll keep everyone posted!

 

[Cerenity]

All, the shipped eggs will have set for a full 24 hours by this afternoon and I plan on dropping them in the incubator after work - so excited! (Side note: the post office was not at all helpful. What a mess that was.) I had a couple of questions and I'm curious what folks' thoughts are.

1) We're in northern/central California (depending on who you talk to) and the temperature very rarely dips below freezing and there's never any snow. I bought a Brinsea EcoGlow and plan on using a trough feeder as a brooder (it's retired from it's original use as a horse waterer and has been cleaned and sanitized). Can the brooder be moved outside after a couple days with the EcoGlow? The barn is secure from predators. I just don't think my husband is going to let them stay in the house for too long and I don't want them to have a hard adjustment when they eventually get kicked outside. Right now the low here is in the lower 40s. It's uncharacteristically warm during the day in the mid seventies.

2) Since I'm hatching the eggs, they will not have been vaccinated, so, I have the Purina Medicated Chick Starter. Is this the food they should be getting from day one? Do I need to add water to it? Show them how to eat?

Thanks, in advance!

 

[Compost King]

They should adjust to being in an outside brooder rather swiftly provided they have that heat source and are out of the wind

 

[Faraday40]

1. If protected from extreme things like wind/rain/predators, your brooder & heat plate should be OK in a garage or barn or shed. It's best to listen to their sounds & watch behavior when figuring out if temp is in the correct range.

2. Vaccinations are usually for Marecks- given at hatcheries if requested. It's not cost effective to vaccinate handful of chicks, so most broody-raised chicks go un-vaccinated. Marecks is a neurological disease that can affect birds via dander exposure to other chickens carrying it. I believe they can catch it at any age.

Medicated feed is a preventative for cocci. Cocci can quickly spread to all the chicks making them sick, weak, lethargic, loose poops/ blood in poop. All the chicks can easily be treated with Corid if they contract it, but it could also kill chick if not caught in time and treated. It mostly affects chicks since they don't have as much immunity, so that's why some people choose to use medicated chick feed. There are pros & cons to everything & plenty of opinions.

There's no one, single "right" way to raise chickens, so like many things in life, you gather info and make a plan that best fits your needs.