Incubators Anonymous

[ozexpat]

You have only mentioned the two experiences above. One ebay one byc. Two is not a very big sample size to judge either source if you are thinking to buy at only BYC or only off ebay.

I too have had good sellers, and poor sellers. ANd all from BYC. Don't give up, keep enjoying he process of buying eggs and hatching little cuties.

i have bought from about 30 different ebay vendors. I have had problems with one, others have been great. several have replaced dud eggs. communication is the key

 

[ddpbk1]

Thanks Arielle, I have bought both about 6 times each from eBay and BYC. I have found that communication is the key and that the BYC members have always had great communication, except this one. It is hard to know who is better to purchase from but I have found that BYC members do for the majority have great communication. I see your ads and have thought about purchasing several times but worry about the distance. I do ok from Florida, California, and Arkansas but even in Texas I have had issues. The postal service is crazy and should be more reliable. The boxes all arrive in great shape and I have had a couple that have broke but that was the packing. Thanks for the encouragement. I love having the chicks around they are such characters.

 

[Flowerbh]

You have only mentioned the two experiences above. One ebay one byc. Two is not a very big sample size to judge either source if you are thinking to buy at only BYC or only off ebay.

I too have had good sellers, and poor sellers. ANd all from BYC. Don't give up, keep enjoying he process of buying eggs and hatching little cuties.

We have a friend who delivers mail. He told us that he has actually seen postal workers shake the boxes that say "Fragile, eggs inside" (or whatever the seller writes on there). They get a good laugh out of it. It makes me sick that some people are so heartless as to kill unhatched chicks like that!

 

[Flowerbh]

i have bought from about 30 different ebay vendors. I have had problems with one, others have been great. several have replaced dud eggs. communication is the key

I just had a lady from FL who replaced dud eggs for free. The first time only 2 of the 18 eggs she sent hatched. She sent me 20 replacement eggs. Only 6 hatched. All the other vendors in both groups had a great success rate. Am wondering why hers were they only ones that didn't do well. It really doesn't matter at this point....I got my one-wanted-female out of the first 2 that hatched. I will sell the ones that just hatched Thurs.

BTW, my DH has been getting on me for having too many chickens. He said "I bet you have 60 chickens out there" and I said "No way" so then I counted them.....ummmmm, I have 58 plus the two runner ducks I hatched!! OMG, do I really have that many chickens/chicks! Time to get busy with Craigslist!

 

[ozexpat]

I just had a lady from FL who replaced dud eggs for free. The first time only 2 of the 18 eggs she sent hatched. She sent me 20 replacement eggs. Only 6 hatched. All the other vendors in both groups had a great success rate. Am wondering why hers were they only ones that didn't do well. It really doesn't matter at this point....I got my one-wanted-female out of the first 2 that hatched. I will sell the ones that just hatched Thurs.

BTW, my DH has been getting on me for having too many chickens. He said "I bet you have 60 chickens out there" and I said "No way" so then I counted them.....ummmmm, I have 58 plus the two runner ducks I hatched!! OMG, do I really have that many chickens/chicks! Time to get busy with Craigslist!

58 is a nice starter flock

 

[Flowerbh]

Good afternoon Georgians! Here is a photo of one of my recent hatches. It was suppose to be a Lemon Orphington. Ha! It came from a lady who also sent me Salmon Faverolles eggs. Notice the feathered legs on this chick. Who agrees with me that a roo must have jumped the fence!!! So what mix do you think this chick is?

 

[Arielle]

Quote: I used to work for a large mail order company, and worked directly for the manager of distribution for a number of years. He told me horror stories he got from the post master. And I know how p ackages were handled in our facility. Packages must be packed to handle rough handling. When I pack eggs for shipping, I do not mark the box other than "this end up" to avoid targeting. My favorite PO is very good to my eggs, so I know they start off in good hands.

 

[RideRed93]

Alright, I need some help..

I have been (attempting to) hatch pheasant eggs for about a month now and out of all my many eggs, only 2 chicks have hatched. The rest have developed to full term but never hatch, nor do they completely absorb the yolk.. I don't know what is going on.. I am so frustrated! I keep researching possible things on the Internet, but i have the right temp and humidity (which have been constant throughout my whole incubation process)
Also, some babies look like they are almost fully developed but may need a couple of weeks in the egg before it's time to hatch, but again, they have died.
The only thing I have done differently is my 2 chicks that did hatch were from my homemade incubator with me turning them everyday. Immediately after they hatched I bought myself a LG incubator w/ turner to put my new eggs in, and another one for a hatcher.. but how would my new eggs know any different lol. so now I am at a stand still.

Any thoughts?? I am getting to the point that I am not excited to put my eggs on lockdown and I'm also losing hope that I am not going to get any more babies

 

[ozexpat]

I used to work for a large mail order company, and worked directly for the manager of distribution for a number of years. He told me horror stories he got from the post master. And I know how p ackages were handled in our facility. Packages must be packed to handle rough handling. When I pack eggs for shipping, I do not mark the box other than "this end up" to avoid targeting. My favorite PO is very good to my eggs, so I know they start off in good hands.

please see my open letter to egg shippers. I send this before I buy. feel free to copy and paste all or any parts of it

 

[Arielle]

Alright, I need some help..

I have been (attempting to) hatch pheasant eggs for about a month now and out of all my many eggs, only 2 chicks have hatched. The rest have developed to full term but never hatch, nor do they completely absorb the yolk.. I don't know what is going on.. I am so frustrated! I keep researching possible things on the Internet, but i have the right temp and humidity (which have been constant throughout my whole incubation process)
Also, some babies look like they are almost fully developed but may need a couple of weeks in the egg before it's time to hatch, but again, they have died.
The only thing I have done differently is my 2 chicks that did hatch were from my homemade incubator with me turning them everyday. Immediately after they hatched I bought myself a LG incubator w/ turner to put my new eggs in, and another one for a hatcher.. but how would my new eggs know any different lol. so now I am at a stand still.

Any thoughts?? I am getting to the point that I am not excited to put my eggs on lockdown and I'm also losing hope that I am not going to get any more babies

First off I apologize that I have no experience with quail. BUt I have hatches a few chickens and turkey.

Yolk not absorbed sounds like the temp is a hair too low.
Eggs need to be turned regularly to develop properly. The more the better. A skipped day is less important.
Humidity-- the eggs tell you if the humidity is correct. Have you candled the eggs or use a weight to calc moisture loss to verify the humidity is correct thru out the incubation period?

I've been having a tough year too. I need to buy more thermometers. In the end I let the eggs tell me if the temp is correct and if the humidity is correct. THey are the judge.