Incubators Anonymous

[ozexpat]

Dimethox (Sulfadimethoxine) is gentler on the chook. It is also effective for all strains of Coccidiasis versus Sulmet which only has the 2 main bugs covered.

Dimethox is my go to emergency poop medication.

Tetrox I use for resp stuff first

 

[ozexpat]

if you have the saner thermostats I do you can adjust that drift. mine varies only. .3 down and no more than what I set it to.

my thermostats kick in at o.3 but there is always a little extra drift up and down as the heater elemets warm and cool.

 

[ocap]

my thermostats kick in at o.3 but there is always a little extra drift up and down as the heater elemets warm and cool.

That is exactly what I have been getting 0.3 drift above and below 99.5

 

[ozexpat]

That is exactly what I have been getting 0.3 drift above and below 99.5

its the inside the egg temp that is most important.

A water wiggler with a temp probe inside is invaluable when you start secon guessing.

Correcly calibrated thermometers are a must - or you will be looking at your dead eggs on day 23 wondering what you did wrong

 

[Penny Hen]

Hi hatchaholics! I am hoping you can help me figure out what I am doing wrong, so I can join your ranks. I am feeling like the chick Angle of Death right now.

I have just started hatching and have had two hatches. I tried to buy a good incubator (Brinsea mini advance) and followed the instructions. Each time I set 7 eggs. I have ended up with only one chick hatching each time, and the chick that hatched in the second hatch just never kicked it into gear. It did not thrive, and died at a week of age, too small and too thin despite every effort I made to get it to eat. It would only drink when it stumbled into the waterer. Fortunately, the chick that hatched with the first batch is thriving. I really hope it's a pullet.

I did eggtopsies on the unhatched eggs from the second hatch and found fully formed chicks that seemed to have absorbed their yolks, but they never externally pipped. It's like they suffocated before they could get out of the shell, or they just couldn't break the shells. The shells did seem very hard.

Yes, they were shipped eggs, but packed very well, fat end up, and the ones I could see into the airc ells weren't detached. I was hoping for a 50% hatch rate, not a 1 in 14.
They were marans eggs, and most of them were too dark to see into. I used a very powerful flashlight, but I couldn't see into them well enough to trace air cells.
I live in the high desert, so the air here is thin and very dry.
Other people with eggs from the same seller had a better hatch rate.

Any ideas? Someone suggested dry incubation, but the climate here is very, very dry desert, and my understanding is that can lead to skull deformities. I was planning on raising my own chicks for my flock, but I can't do that if the hatch rate is, at best, one chick per hatch. They need a little chick buddy and I can't stomach all those eggs full of fully-formed dead chicks. I am trying to work my courage up to try it again, with some local eggs, but I want to know what I did wrong, or at least have a reasonable working theory.

You need to read the article on incubating at high altitudes. There are things you have to change because the air is thinner and dryer. Now this is part of the problem you had. If you ordered the eggs from a low altitude the porosity of the eggs will be adjusted to the air pressure of the elevation they were laid in. You chick that survived however could be a gem in the gene department because it did make it through under adverse conditions. The article that I will give the link to will explain more.

Now there is something I need clarification on before giving you advice. When you broke open the eggs and found that they were internally pipped, was the membrane wrapped tightly around the chicks? That is called shrink wrapping and is caused by a sudden drop in humidity. If you hatch them in a small room and run a humidifier in the room this will help alleviate this problem. It is usually caused because you open the bator to help another chick. If you have to open the bator during the last 3 days you can spray the eggs with WARM water to keep them from shrink wrapping. Spray first then rescue chick. The humidifier in the room will help alleviate both this problem and help you maintain you humidity levels which is challenging in desert areas.

The other problem that can be happening because of your elevation is that the air is so thin that they didn't have enough oxygen to have the energy to break out. Someone just posted last week describing using a push pin tack to put a tiny hole in the shell at the air pocket so that when the chick pips internally it will have enough air to breath to get out. You only do this when putting them into lockdown that last 3 days.

Now to your difficulty in candling and even knowing where the air pockets are (sometimes shipment can make them shift). I was experimenting with dipping the eggs in 5% vinegar my last hatch. I have Olive Eggers who are half Marans so my eggs are pretty dark. I dipped them for 30 seconds each and it removed about 1/2 of the brown coating. If you don't want to dip the whole egg, then take a Q-tip and swab a window on the egg so that you can see into it when candling.

This is the link to the article on incubating at high altitude: http://en.aviagen.com/assets/Tech_C...les/RossTechNote_HatchingAltitudes2013_EN.pdf

 

[gimmie birdies]

I just met a lady that just fired up her incubator 2 weeks ago and she said her temp was 97.5 I told her that was low- she has forced air, she looked it up and said I was right- can her chicks be saved? it is 2 weeks in. I may go bring her one of my home made incubators tomorrow.

 

[Hangtown Farms]

I try not to give my chickens anything really.
If you vaccinate for Mareks you will never be free of it. I am trying to build a resistant flock.
From what I have heard Penedesenca seem to be a little resistant to it.
I am not sure if this is completely true, but they are the hardiest breed I have had and
its not even close.

They just don't hatch all that well lol.

 

[ChristyinGA]

I try not to give my chickens anything really.
If you vaccinate for Mareks you will never be free of it. I am trying to build a resistant flock.
From what I have heard Penedesenca seem to be a little resistant to it.
I am not sure if this is completely true, but they are the hardiest breed I have had and
its not even close.

They just don't hatch all that well lol.

What do you mean, if you vaccinate for Merek's, you'll never be free of it?

I'm getting a shipment from McMurray in three weeks and I currently have vaccinations included, but I'm really on the fence about them and am wondering if I shouldn't change the order and remove them.

Also, completely unrelated. I am going to be setting my first eggs next week. I have my Hova-Bator dialed in at 100 degrees currently, but I cannot get my hygrometer calibrated. Well, I am trying to calibrate it and it says 68% humidity - and I'm wondering if it can really be off by 7%? It's digital. I bought an old fashioned dial one today and have stuck it in the bag with the digital one and the wet salt. I originally put 1/2 c. salt and 1/4 c. water, but my salt was only halfway up the water for some reason (used table salt?) and my humidity was only at 55% after 12 hours, so I drained off some water and mixed the salt up. It is definitely the consistency of wet sand now. Humidity came up to 68% - but I can't get it higher. Thoughts, anyone?

 

[Hangtown Farms]

What do you mean, if you vaccinate for Merek's, you'll never be free of it?

I'm getting a shipment from McMurray in three weeks and I currently have vaccinations included, but I'm really on the fence about them and am wondering if I shouldn't change the order and remove them.

Also, completely unrelated. I am going to be setting my first eggs next week. I have my Hova-Bator dialed in at 100 degrees currently, but I cannot get my hygrometer calibrated. Well, I am trying to calibrate it and it says 68% humidity - and I'm wondering if it can really be off by 7%? It's digital. I bought an old fashioned dial one today and have stuck it in the bag with the digital one and the wet salt. I originally put 1/2 c. salt and 1/4 c. water, but my salt was only halfway up the water for some reason (used table salt?) and my humidity was only at 55% after 12 hours, so I drained off some water and mixed the salt up. It is definitely the consistency of wet sand now. Humidity came up to 68% - but I can't get it higher. Thoughts, anyone?

basically if you do not vaccinate . you may loose some. by continuing to hatch the offspring will become resistant.
if you vaccinate the Mareks Virus will be there.
I would not mix vaccinated and un vaccinated chicks.

 

[ozexpat]

basically if you do not vaccinate . you may loose some. by continuing to hatch the offspring will become resistant.
if you vaccinate the Mareks Virus will be there.
I would not mix vaccinated and un vaccinated chicks.

I implore people to look up and learn about vaccines and make decisions.

Making decision based on my or other opinions on this website is foolish.

You need to understand the disease and the mechanism of the vaccines to make an educated decision.