Incubators Anonymous

[bluewhoo]

I am a hatchaholic.... I cant stop... I hatch 12 to 20 and say no more. before i know it im looking at my eggs that are for the breakfast table and think Hummmm, this would be a beautiful chicken in this egg, i wonder what would this chick look like... before you know it i have my incubator fired up and warm and 10 silkie eggs going, then 4 to 5 black copper marrans going and then oh lord, the ducks and turkeys have eggs and then im hatching out more chicks that i can support. then i sell them to my friends and neighbors and purchase feed. and wait and wait then oh lord, it starts again and again and again. i know have silkie turken cross eggs oh man these will be cool chicks. help...

 

[ozexpat]

hello everyone I just or should I say the Good Lord and the incubator just hatch a batch of 14 cute little mixed chicks. I plan to run a hatch a month till September, does that qualify as an addict

lets see if you can stop in September. then we will know.

 

[maryhysong]

Hi , my name is Ed and I am a hatchoholic .I have 23 birds in the brooder,32 eggs in the incubator,60 phoenixs in the coup.
The wife said it was her or the birds. Sure do miss her but the chicks are so moch easier to please.

Oh my gosh, i almost snorted my tea ;-)
Hello Ed; My name is Mary and not only am I a chicken addict, but I am a hatchoholic, having gone in one jump from a borrowed hovabator to a Robert Bradley 300+ egg redwood.

In one year I have gone from 5 laying hens to mmmm, gosh, let me think now; I had about 38 chickens and 8 ducks and then I had a hatch last weekend, with 36 so that makes 104

and there's mmmm let see, now, about 32 duck eggs and ummmm 56 more chicken eggs in the 'bator and more piling up on the counter.....

 

[ozexpat]

I BETTER GET THAT CHICKEN MATH APP FOR SMARTPHONES FINISHED

 

[Keggen]

I am seeing a problem in my future! I am half way through my first batch of incubating eggs and I am already trying to plan and plot my next one. What on earth am I going to do with all these chickens?! We have 21 hens and 1 rooster (who is mean as all get out and wont be around much longer), and I have room for about 35 in my current coop. I have 41 eggs in the incubator, with about 30 looking real good right now. I have reached chicken math and yet I want to set more eggs when these are done! Do I build another coop? Do I cull some as meat birds? Do I sell hatching eggs or chicks? Mine are all a barn yard mix at the moment but I would *love love love* to work on specialized breeding and selling some of the more rare breeds. I just don't know where to start.

So count me in as a definite chicken addict/hatchaholic!

 

[ki4got]

well so far so good... i put 53 eggs in the hatcher day before yesterday. already i've got about 10 chicks running around, due tomorrow. LOL

*knock on wood* most of the ones out so far are my cochins shipped from luckypickens. i'm REALLY hoping to get some decent silver laced and a red or 3.

a couple of my own mille fleur cochins are also out. don't think any of the dorkings are yet. but they're usually on time for the most part.

oh, and speaking of hatchaholic-ism (?)... not only do i have the 53 eggs/chicks in lockdown, i've got another 30 due next week (the 18th), another 34 due the 23rd, close to 30 eggs at the PO (they can't read? said call for pickup, they left a note in the box), plus i've got a customer wants me to set 24+ guineas asap too.

 

[wabbit1964]

My daughter (grace jr) thinks I need to join this thread... hmmm.. I mean really just because I had one full incubator and wanted to buy another incubator and want to incubate instead of eat every egg out there since the rooster came just in case it might be fertile... no I don't have a hatching/incubating addiction at all

 

[kukupecpec]

I got my first 2 chickens last summer, swiftly followed by 4 more the next week, and a pair of serama the next month. My husband bought me a Brinsea Mini Advance for my birthday last December. It fits 7 full size eggs or 12 quail (Serama for me) eggs. He hoped that the small size would help me keep control. I have not turned off my incubator once since the day I set it up. It has never been without eggs/fresh hatched chicks for more than a few minutes.
Last week I built a cooler bator with 90% supplies found at home (just had to buy the water heater thermostat).
It fits 36 eggs.

I managed to squeeze in 40 eggs by doubling up Serama eggs in the big egg slots.
This is my Husband

 

[ki4got]

I'm lucky. hubby knows that i sell off all but the best breeders, so i can hatch all i want. i'm figuring 18 dorking girls, roos to go with (3 girls per roo), my trio of blrw, pair of bantam blrw (maybe keep a nice pullet to put back with them), and at least 1 trio of each cochin variety, plus 2 trios of sfh. or so.

+

the trick is, you have to hatch a LOT of chicks to get 1 or 2 great ones...

 

[Flowerbh]

i would say #1, your humidity is way too high (IMO). my best hatches have been incubated at between 10-20% humidity and up to 55-60 for the last 3 days only.

anything higher during incubation, the eggs can't lose enough liquid for the chicks to hatch normally. the chicks suck in all that fluid, which puts stress on the heart and developing lungs. in addition, they're so swollen they can't hatch normally because they can't move inside the shell.

increasing humidity is essential the last 3 days of development, because without it, the chicks will stick to their shells while hatching and become 'shrink wrapped', or glued in.

I have a question for you. Maybe you can help me. I am incubating chickens, but my DH also sent me the surprise of some duck eggs. I have to put them together. What humidity would you do the first 18 days? I know the ducks take an additional week....any suggestions?