Incubators Anonymous

[calichicken]

They test your flock for certain diseases. NPIP stands for National Poultry Improvement Plan.

They test your flock for certain diseases. NPIP stands for National Poultry Improvement Plan.

NPIP = National Poultry Improvement Plan

http://poultryimprovement.org/default.cfm

Ahhhh...got it! Thanks! I just have a few bantam cochins as pets so learning all the time

 

[DMRippy]

I have had two bright blue eggs that pipped, but didn't zip. The first one I assisted. There was virtually no blood. It went really well. This is my first incubation ever, so I'm really a virgin at this all.

The shell was soooo thick compared to the lighter blue one that pipped and zipped and hatch within about 2 hours. I'm glad I helped because it was not doing the zipping itself. I have a second bright blue egg that was in the same situation. I've peeled back the egg shell around the pip to about halfway down. There was a spot with blood that came through the membrane. It just pooled; it wasn't free flowing. I put it back in the incubator, in the egg flat with some moist face-cleaned towellettes around it and under it. I'm giving it some time to absorb the capillaries before I try to help again. This eggshell was really thick, too.

I have a bantam blue wheaten that just started peeping, but no pip. Does that mean it's internally pipped? I hope it manages. I also have a Silkie egg that I candled because something was smelling in the incubator. It looked fully formed, but no movement. I pipped the aircell end and there was no movement whatsoever. I put it back and am going to give it some time. I had an olive egger yesterday that had air sacs at both end and was really light. That one had mold in it and seemed to have died a while ago.

I just replaced the cover and am going to go back to my reading for grad school. Appropriately, I'm reading Frankenstein. I may just call myself the Modern Chicken Prometheus.

Crested Cream Legbar:




Splash Amerecauna:

That first chick is NOT a CCL and the second is not a Splash anything.... it might be blue but not splash. CCL are auto sexing and should have chipmunk stripes so you can sex them.

 

[MrsFitzDarcy]

That first chick is NOT a CCL and the second is not a Splash anything.... it might be blue but not splash. CCL are auto sexing and should have chipmunk stripes so you can sex them.

I was doubtful too about the chicks being crested cream legbars, but I was just going off what the breeder told me and labelled the eggs as. Maybe they are all blue Ameracaunas.

 

[Bazy]

That first chick is NOT a CCL and the second is not a Splash anything.... it might be blue but not splash. CCL are auto sexing and should have chipmunk stripes so you can sex them.

Don't lose hope with the splash though. It was a good two-three weeks before my blue Marans cockerel showed his splash. I did have a clue with one tiny black dot of dark on top of his head...Your chicks are not even dry yet to see any dots!

 

[MrsFitzDarcy]

Don't lose hope with the splash though. It was a good two-three weeks before my blue Marans cockerel showed his splash. I did have a clue with one tiny black dot of dark on top of his head...Your chicks are not even dry yet to see any dots!

I'm bummed about the CCLs though. I paid quite a bit for those eggs!

 

[Bazy]

Quote:
I understand your disappointment! . Ameraucana eggs and Cream Legbar eggs can look exactly the same. I bet if you send pictures to the breeder, she will replace the legbar eggs for you.

 

[LindaB220]

I'm bummed about the CCLs though. I paid quite a bit for those eggs!

Ordering eggs is a crap shoot. I have hatched exactly 4 chicks out of 56 eggs in 4 separate batches. And 2 of those were the wrong kind. Barred rocks instead of whites. My problem was allowing myself the opportunity to let me pay shipping on replacement eggs. They didn't change their way of packaging like I suggested. Definition of insanity: Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome.

Learned my lesson. Only reputable sellers that know how to ship. Bubble wrap and two boxes. I ordered two separate batches of Sapphires, the super blue egg layers, from DMRippy and got great hatches.

 

[silkiefive]

I have 23 living out of 29 silkie eggs in the bator, this is my third attempt and the best one so far, previous have been disasters, and thanks to some recommendations here I think Im doing better this time but dont want to spoil it at the end, tomorrow will be day 18 and I know this is a critical moment and turner has to be turned off and HR increased, as my bator has an auto turner which has to be removed (I guess) my major concerns are:

how to place the eggs so when hatching comes newborns dont mess with late hatchers?, the bator only has a flat plastic rack to put the eggs on, and previous experience is that chicks start rolling and crashing unhatched eggs.

I have also noticed before that when I placed the eggs and the thermometer on this rack on day 18 temperature goes down for about 1ºC though my built in thermometer says 37.7 ( obviously this sensor stays in the same place), I assume its because they are little farther from the heat element, think this shouldn t happen as it has fan, anyway, should I compensate by increasing for this last 3 days?

What humidity would be too low and too high during hatching?

Thanks in advance

Today is day 22 and only 1 has hatched so far, actually it hatched at the very beginning of day 21, so this noon will be 48 hours, other 2 pipped more than 12 hours ago, I think the story repeats once again, Im really dissapointed, dont know if I will try again, its such a sad situation when you realize that something went wrong but dont know what and those babies are the ones who pay, I suspect that the drop in temperature as I mentioned above could be the causeas I did not compensate, but just dont know

Anyway I keep the faith and will wait a couple more days...

 

[Bazy]

Quote:
I had a bad hatch this way...think back to the ones that developed from the first and second batches... and think of their location on the tray. Is there a pattern? Also, I'm sure you know not to open the incubator if there are any pips. Your incubator may allow for opening during pipping, but mine does not.

 

[Bazy]

Quote:
4 chicks from 56 eggs...sounds about right. I got 9 chicks from around 90 eggs (more, I'm sure, I lost count) and FIVE of them were from the only seller that shipped upright in an egg carton and double boxed everything. Have we learned our lesson yet?? ugh!