Incubators Anonymous

[uziran]

Happy Holiday Hatchers!!!
Could someone write the BASIC PRINCIPLES
of hatching.
I have the skills to build my own
what I need is just the outline of the basics
of what is necessary to hatch an egg.
By the way I am a Goat and Goat cheese making
addict and it has been 3 days since I made yoghurt and Lebany!!!
Bye up early gotta go milk LOL Uzi Ran Northern Israel

 

[Purely Prairie Polish]

Hello, my name is Danica and I am addicted to incubating. It started in my teens with a cardboard box and a desk lamp. Over the next 15 years my addiction got worse, and now I own two incubators and will incubate anything I can get my hands on. The frustrating thing is that I live in Canada and there is no where near the availability or selection of hatching eggs. Of course I don't think my husband would agree that that's a bad thing. I'm all excited because I am supposed to be getting some eggs in may, which feels too far away still.

 

[beauty2thebirds]

Well,,, I know I am! This last month I overdid it so much I had to buy a 3rd incubator and now I am looking into the 4th one. Although I might be able to get rid of 1, or 2 but I doubt I will. A spare and a back up is always good to have.

 

[FiveMoreMiles]

After trying with poor incubators i finally broke down and bought a good Incubator. I opened the door to my GQF sportsman Incubator and found 10 of the eggs hatched today. there are more coming. The Red Bourbon turkeys start hatching next week.
I am hooked

 

[iluvsedward]

Hi,
My name is Rose Lane, and my incubator hasn't had a break since Feb.
Thats all im going to say...

 

[ki4got]

Quote:

I have 2 broodies

what eggs to give them.... newly laid... or day 14 incubated ones.... If I give them new ones they will hatch when I am out of town

These are my first broodies I am going to accomidate. How many eggs? I am thinking about 12 max. I am going to move them to a pen of their own, I think I need to just watch for another day and THEN give them some real eggs. ADVICE?

i gave my first broody (ok well didn't give, she had hidden...) 15 eggs (bantam brahma) hatched 13, who turned out to be the most spastic WILD critters... then again i let momma free range them daily and just locked her up in the dog crate at night... my mistake. next time broodymomma is put somewhere that the babies get to be touched and handled regularly... and if she's a grump about it, she won't keep the babies.

 

[ki4got]

Quote:

Happy Holiday Hatchers!!!
Could someone write the BASIC PRINCIPLES
of hatching.
I have the skills to build my own
what I need is just the outline of the basics
of what is necessary to hatch an egg.
By the way I am a Goat and Goat cheese making
addict and it has been 3 days since I made yoghurt and Lebany!!!
Bye up early gotta go milk LOL Uzi Ran Northern Israel

this was posted on another thread, but is entirely apropriate here.

The January Incubation Seminar is now available online at
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/609855/january-incubation-seminar-meetup-arkansas#post_8774009

 

[CSisley]

I bought a brinsea mini advance which only holds seven regular size eggs with the auto turner. I did this partly to keep the addiction under control but it's soooo taunting when someone sends extra eggs in case of breakage because I don't have room for them! I just ordered some hatching eggs recently and they sent 3 over my 7 egg limit extra so I said "THATS IT!"

and I immediately called someone I knew I could borrow and incubator from! I'm currently incubating some and have already planned my next hatch!

On the up side, I have gotten used to selling/giving away less favorable chickens to make room for the ones being incubated but I'm going to eventually run out of less desirables and have only favorites left. What will I do then?!

 

[TerriD]

It is day 20 on my first batch of hatching eggs. I have 2 incubators, one we made using a Styrofoam cooler and the other is a store bought incubator from Tractor Supply. I'm very anxious to see how many chicks I get from the 30 eggs. I candled them after one week and definitely did see developing embryos in many of the eggs. I candled again after another week and saw more development in the eggs. So now I wait and see what happens tomorrow and the days to come.

I have 6 hens and they have been very reliable in giving me eggs everyday since last May when they started laying. My hens are just "run of the mill", no particular breed but they have made me knowledgeable about raising chickens. The eggs I'm hatching are from Rhode Island Reds and in May I will be getting Leghorn and Delaware chicks from a hatchery.

I have been bitten by the chicken addiction.

 

[t/m]

TerriD:

and

from VA!