Incubators Anonymous

[TeaChick]

Gotta go, all.

 

[ozexpat]

The link was actually to using a Vitamin C dip. I decided to substitute vinegar. Here are some of the links to this:

http://www.epsaegypt.com/pdf/2011_june/15- 1271.pdf This link is about dipping the eggs in Vitamin C.
http://www.arsveterinaria.org.br/index.php/ars/article/viewFile/515/857 This link is about injecting the eggs with the Vitamin C.
http://ejfa.info/index.php/ejfa/article/viewFile/12010/6146 This was about injecting Vitamins C and E in Muscovy eggs.
http://www.agriculturejournals.cz/publicFiles/84953.pdf This is about feeding Vitamin C and selenium to layer hens.
http://cabdirect.org/abstracts/20113110385.html;jsessionid=A7661977F1DF4BF48A62DCF1EB514283 This one compares dipping and spraying the eggs with Vitamin C.

When you read these you will find that the Vitamin C is doing more than getting the eggs clean. Significant weight gains and food conversion is noted in the young animals. I was substituting vinegar because my main goal was to stop bacteria. I knew that if the eggs in the studies stood up to 5% acidity of the Vitamin C then they could take the same level of acidity from the vinegar. I also knew that that level of acidity would kill most of the bacterias out there.

In the future I would like to do a comparitive study between regular vinegar and ACV. I would also like to compare Vitamin C with vinegar both on hatchability and in weight gains and food conversion. First though I need a reliable incubator that won't muddle the data by killing my eggs. So that is my first goal.

Fascinating stuff. I love reading research articles. I spent most of my adult life promoting evidence based healthcare in the cardiology sector. A long way from chickens. Since I became an incubator addict, I dove right into research of chickens. I have read hundreds and hundreds of full print articles. Thanks for these links.

So here is my take on the research.

All the articles are looking at Ascorbic Acid (AA) as a nutrient rather than a cleaner. The first article shows statistically significant improvement of hatchability by dipping eggs in a solution of 5g AA per Liter and 10g AA per Liter pre setting. The final article looks at dipping or spraying with AA in concentrations of 20g/L and 30g/L respectively buy in the latter part of a Muscovy Duck egg hatch

5g AA/L = (weight of solute/volume of solutionx100) 5g/1000mlx100= 0.5% AA solution
10g AA/L = 1.0% AA solution

The concentration of AA is significantly less than 5%.

The results are quite interesting. A 3.6% increase in hatchability is significant for me - My goal is to get up to 1000 chicks per week so 36 chicks is another employee's salary. Its $150/kg of 100% Ascorbic Acid on ebay. A little goes a long way.

There is nothing in the research that discusses Ascorbic Acid as an egg cleaner/sanitizer.

I googled acids as egg cleaners.

Manna Pro Egg Cleanser contains (In order of concentration) Water, Yeast, Citric Acid and Potassium Sorbate. As Citric Acid is third on the list, mathematically it can not be greater than 33% solution.
The instructions advise to use 2 caps in a fallon of water. Presuming a cap is 1/2 an Oz and there are 128 Oz in a gallon - the final solution is 0.4% Manna Pro Egg Cleanser and at a maximum possible citric acid concentration of 0.13%.

I could find nothing on Acetic Acid as an egg cleaner. Vinegar at 5% Acetic Acid is very corrosive. I would strongly recommend not using it - especially at full concentration but look forward to your research either way.

Cheers

 

[ladycat]

With all this discussion about washing hatching eggs, I did some googling and found this:

http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/8120.pdf

Quote:

that it is safe for hatching eggs,

leaves residual protection on eggs,
is safe for equipment and personnel,
is reasonable in cost.

I found quaternary ammonium at Amazon and it's pretty cheap.

Not sure how to use it, though. How much to how much water? Then I assume you dip the eggs in the warm water?

 

[Sylviaanne]

Well if the egg's are free or is she charging you for them ether way if you are getting what you want that is all that matters ........

I wish they had been free but she was charging $7 for the first dozen and $10 for the 2nd dozen. What had happened was she had her husband put the add on Craigslist and he put the wrong price. She wanted $17 per dozen and told me she had been charging as much as $40 per dozen. If anyone bought $40 a dozen guinea eggs from her and they had as many unfertile eggs as I did, she won't have much return business.

 

[Sylviaanne]

Serama with coke bottle cap. They are so TINY.

I can't wrap my mind around this. Is that a 2 ltr bottle cap or a 20 oz bottle cap?

 

[calichicken]

I am such an addict I set up a gofundme account so i could buy the land next to my house to start a small hatchery but I also said I would donate eggs in the off season to my local food bank and roo meat..there is a processing place in town that would do it as a write off..there is no grocery store within 20 miles of me and very small so no real help for the working poor in several small towns within 10 miles of me.

I had a wheaton Maran egg hatch last night from a Roo i lost 4 1/2 weeks ago..and 17 rabbit kits born

This is a very cool project and a great way to channel your hatch-a-holism in a positive way

NICE!!!!

 

[ladycat]

I can't wrap my mind around this. Is that a 2 ltr bottle cap or a 20 oz bottle cap?

It's from a 20 oz. bottle. My brother drinks 20 oz cokes all the time and saves me the caps so I can enter the codes at My Coke Rewards. But I'm pretty sure that the 20 oz and 2 ltr caps are the same size.

 

[calichicken]

Thanks!!!
Oh, good. The next thing I need is excuses to keep hatching even though I don't have anywhere to put the chicks. "Test hatch" is beginning to wear thin....

@TeaChick !!! You should do what @misbhaven is doing...it will be for the good of the community AND allow you ENDLESS hatching!!!! A gofundme account for hatching with community benefit...perfect to feed the hatch-a-holism

 

[Sylviaanne]

It's from a 20 oz. bottle. My brother drinks 20 oz cokes all the time and saves me the caps so I can enter the codes at My Coke Rewards. But I'm pretty sure that the 20 oz and 2 ltr caps are the same size.

That's right, they changed the bottle didn't they. Your chickie is sooo small! I had one baby hatch today and I put a 20 oz cap near it and I think your baby would be half the size of my newborn! LOL

 

[Sylviaanne]

@TeaChick !!! You should do what @misbhaven is doing...it will be for the good of the community AND allow you ENDLESS hatching!!!! A gofundme account for hatching with community benefit...perfect to feed the hatch-a-holism

What is a gofundme account?