Incubators Anonymous

[andieschicks]

At least your 5 year old is being positive about it! My first hatch 10/10 didn't hatch, turned out none were fertile but I didn't have good candling guidelines yet so I didn't know. I was no where NEAR as positive. I sort of just holed away for a few days because I was so sad and almost didn't try again, but videos of chicks hatching made me try again.

Keep with it! I've been trying with a LOT more eggs than I am willing to admit... we have some rubbish roosters and are now trying to isolate the one good rooster with some ladies to guarantee fertile eggs, but since you are so close the next one should be amazing!

From what I was told if there are still veins the chicks should still be alive. I was informed that the veins are the first thing to deteriorate, so if they are still there there might still be a chance! I've read a lot about people assisting when it gets this late in the game.... but I'm not going to recommend anything since I am still just a noob to incubating as well. Keep me posted and good luck!

 

[Cluckincanadian]

so I have decided I will do a controlled hatch. pick 1 rooster & 2 hens, put in large dog crate in kitchen for maybe 5 days. grab those eggs & put in incubator & mark rooster & hens. see how that hatch does then see how next hatch goes. my friend here says my shells to hard. ozexpat says I need dryhatch, so going to try see what should work best for me and the s.w manitoba climate. I hate losing baby animals. any comments or concerns?

 

[Runawaylobster]

Just set my next batch woohoo....

 

[Penny Hen]

so I have decided I will do a controlled hatch. pick 1 rooster & 2 hens, put in large dog crate in kitchen for maybe 5 days. grab those eggs & put in incubator & mark rooster & hens. see how that hatch does then see how next hatch goes. my friend here says my shells to hard. ozexpat says I need dryhatch, so going to try see what should work best for me and the s.w manitoba climate. I hate losing baby animals. any comments or concerns?

If your shells are too hard you can try dipping them in vinegar for 30 seconds before setting them in the incubator. You can also on the hatch day put a small hole in the shell at the air pocket so that when they pip internally they can get enough air if it takes them extra time to get through the hard shell. But you must really boost the humidity when you start putting holes in the eggs so they don't shrink wrap.

 

[sillycmoy]

Okay! After having a no hatching experience the first go at it, I'm going to try again. This time with some really good fertile eggs from a few friends on here. The first hatch we set 14 eggs, only 4 developed at 7 days, and then 2 quit around 14 days, and then the last 2, well just never hatched.

Now its probably my stupid incubator or I just really suck at this. So I have the cheap o Little Giant, 1st off its the only one you can really buy local, and we are not really planning on incubating eggs all the time, just maybe once or twice as a fun project for my 5 year old, so that is why we have the cheap O LG, if it fails again, I will be forking out the money for a good one!

With that said, I got curious and opened up the 2 chicks that was alive, and moving with good air sacks at 18 days. I never had any issues with the Temp. the entire hatch. Yes, I calibrated the thermometer twice. The humidity was a digital one, and I'm thinking here is my issue. First I had and extremely hard time just getting the humidity up to 60%, so this next time around I'm going to have to try to put more little containers or something under the wire to have more water surface area for humidity, I had 4 large sponges in there right under the vent holes and I would have to put water on them several times a day to even keep it up. So I have ordered a new reptile humidity gauge, at has tons of awesome reviews for hatching.

But this is what I found when I opened up the 2 chicks. The first one actually broke out into the air sack, but never finished coming out. Is this dude to humidity? The other I don't think would have made it anyways. The stomach was totally exposed, and other then that it was fully developed around it.

Any idea's for the 2nd hatch. We are getting some eggs on Sunday and then some more on Monday, and we are going to probably set the new eggs on Monday night.

Thanks!

 

[DMRippy]

I have hatched chicks in the incubator with NO WATER.... not intentionally I just forgot a tray LOL. Your humidity at lockdown was not the problem. Do try the dry incubation method for the first 18 day.

How many thermometers do you have in there? I don't think you can calibrate a dig thermometer CAN YOU? You can figure out how off the hygometer is. I usually use a digital thermostat and another thermometer too.... I have one that give me 2 readings. If those are about the same reading I would think you are safe temp wise. Having too high a humidity for the first 18 days is a killer......

MAKE SURE your incubator is CLEAN! Bleach water or oxine would work best to clean it.

 

[sillycmoy]

I will spray it out with Oxine today. Just regular like you would with a coop? I have a gallon sprayer that I keep to spray out the coop with. Or I can use bleach. I'm not sure on the digital one, but I did but the bulb type of thermometer in the crush ice with water test 2 separate time, and it did read 2 degrees off so I did mark it where it should read. I was told to have the top of my eggs at or around 101-101.5 and then the bottom would be around 99-100 since it was a still incubator.

Now is this temp. wrong? I'm going to clean it out right now as recommend, and then turn it back on so it stays at that steady temp till I put eggs in there again tomorrow afternoon. If the Temp was wrong, then I will need to adjust it..

Thanks!

 

[DMRippy]

is it still air? I would still think that is too high. 99.5-100.5 is what I would keep it at.

 

[Hangtown Farms]

Anyone ever use a farm innovation 4200 with turner and fan I'm looking for a cheaper back up

 

[ozexpat]

I will spray it out with Oxine today. Just regular like you would with a coop? I have a gallon sprayer that I keep to spray out the coop with. Or I can use bleach. I'm not sure on the digital one, but I did but the bulb type of thermometer in the crush ice with water test 2 separate time, and it did read 2 degrees off so I did mark it where it should read. I was told to have the top of my eggs at or around 101-101.5 and then the bottom would be around 99-100 since it was a still incubator.

Now is this temp. wrong? I'm going to clean it out right now as recommend, and then turn it back on so it stays at that steady temp till I put eggs in there again tomorrow afternoon. If the Temp was wrong, then I will need to adjust it..

Thanks!

is it still air? I would still think that is too high. 99.5-100.5 is what I would keep it at.

your 101-101.5 is correct but try and get a computer fan and upgrade it.

here is a 110v version that is cheap. http://www.ebay.com/itm/YS-Tech-110...?pt=US_Computer_Case_Fans&hash=item2c7b78f112