Incubators Anonymous

I counted how many will be going into lock down tomorrow if they pass candling tomorrow
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86 egg - 15 belong to someone else. So that helps.... Brooder is almost finished and will be put to good use soon. I tossed 42 eggs from the other tray of eggs (180 originally) So that will help too. Feeling better. I have some people that want chicks and hatching eggs. That will keep me from hatching some
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. (Some eggs I don't have advertised.... yet) Sold two doz today and have orders for more..... I need more EE laying.... At least the RIR are selling local... no one wanted them on BYC...
 
I only started hatching last year but yes I am addicted. so far this year I have hatched 16 from my own hens and have 50 eggs in the incubator due 3/24/12(2 are due 3/28/12) I keep the hens and butcher the roos.
 
I took a break from incubating in May until Dec 14th. Hatched some for a late version of NYD hatching, and then got some silkie eggs and hatched them about a month ago, maybe five weeks. Incubators have been cold since then. The Easter Hatch is coming up, I joined it, and goodness, the number of eggs I'm planning to set on March 17th is an indication I am a "binge" incubating addict, not a serial hatcher.
 
Lockdown today
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so many eggs.... so many to keep separate. I tossed 5 more that stopped. There are some Blue Cuckoo Marans, Black and Blue Copper Marans, Lav Split Ams, RIR, Red Stars, Leghorns, Olive Eggers.....hum probably something I forgot.... I think there were more eggs than I thought, probably pushing 90.

Should I scare the hubby and remind him we have only 3 days to finish that brooder
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well that was a disappointing hatch... the temp was low for about a day, and the next day the fan quit, so i quickly replaced it, but found the replacement had a slight vibration... didn't think much of it, but i think between the 2 i lost 13 good near hatching eggs... one hatched successfully(sg), one pipped, started to zip and died (colored), another pipped upside down, but managed to make a big enough hole to get out most of the way(red) i finished helping, i couldn't stand to listen to him cry any more.

on the plus side, of the 60 quail eggs i set, (some going on 3-4 weeks old at set time) i have 20+ quail-lets. they won't sit still long enough to get an accurate count, and the hatch may not be done, there's still more eggs in the hatcher. had one that rocked and rocked and rocked, zipped most of the way then stopped... after i pulled everyone else out, i checked it out, it was stuck to the bottom. ick. decided to open it up and see what happenned. his entire guts were outside the belly, mixed with his feet and legs. the worst part, he wasn't dead (yet). fixed that quickly tho.

nearly the same thing with the colored dorking chick... i openned it up to see what happenned, he had a loop of intestine running around one leg! explains why he didn't finish hatching. but seems to have died quickly as he bled out in the shell. going to give the rest a bit more time, but i think this hatch is over...

now i've heard back and forth about mixing quail with chickens, and i haven't, until now. the mostly stuck chick (red dorking) can't seem to stay upright yet on his own yet (the ee that had same thing happen got over it pretty quick), but with all those quail babies running around him, he seems to be motivated to staying upright more. it's funny seeing a sg and red (my first red!) dorking surrounded by brown and golden quail. as soon as both chicks can hold their own, they'll be relocated to the older chick brooder (7 week old EE's with a 2 week cochin bantam baby).

on the plus side, i've got more fans to test, and i'm getting 48+ red dorking eggs tomorrow from the same breeder. but they won't be shipped this time, i'm going down after them. 8)
 
Lockdown today
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so many eggs.... so many to keep separate. I tossed 5 more that stopped. There are some Blue Cuckoo Marans, Black and Blue Copper Marans, Lav Split Ams, RIR, Red Stars, Leghorns, Olive Eggers.....hum probably something I forgot.... I think there were more eggs than I thought, probably pushing 90.
Should I scare the hubby and remind him we have only 3 days to finish that brooder
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i started my stack-a-brooder today...

it'll be 3 shelves, with 18" interior height, and i'm building it to have removable plywood 'boxes' so i can take them out to clean between broods... here's the google sketchup screenshot. the doors will work like barrister bookcases, swing up and slide into the top part of the brooder compartment. wire on the sides & back where the box doesn't go all the way up. 12" tall on back and sides, and 6" at the front to allow for easy access, 12" tall door. roughly 4' wide, 2' deep, and just over 5' tall

 

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