• giveaway ENDS SOON! Cutest Baby Fowl Photo Contest: Win a Brinsea Maxi 24 EX Connect CLICK HERE!

Incubators Anonymous

I opened them. All dead looks like they quit about the time I put in lockdown. 2 skulls were extremely pointy(vaulted skulls??) I did good with the last batch of shipped swedish flowers 50% hatch with one wry neck and crooked feet and another with crooked toes. So I have a solid 5 at almost 6 weeks of age. But those eggs came from Texas and the others I tried have been Florida and Georgia. I guess I should just find more in Texas that way the post office doesn't rattle them.
PM Bulldogma. she's my friend locally (well she was till she moved over an hour further away!). she's had excellent hatch results with her shipped eggs so far. she can give you the names of people who've hatched them (besides me LOL) that she's shipped to. I'll be seeing her here, hopefully, in a couple more weeks at the Roanoke swap, to give her the SFH that are due the 18th.

she's been 'practicing' with her incubator and broody-bators, but when she REALLY wants them to hatch they go to me. LOL i'm flattered.

then again i've gotten better than 50% over the last 2 years for (mostly) shipped eggs (including a re-learning curve after not incubating for close to 20 years!), about 90% for local. averaged out to 72% hatch rate over 1100 eggs set, give or take.

and yes, i keep detailed records. LOL including where they came from, breeds, days in the care of usps, condition of package, # set, # fertile, # lockdown, # hatched, average humidity, weather conditions, etc. (i use Excel spreadsheets to keep it all organized)
 
Quote:
ep.gif
 
Hey who needs a bator? I was throwing treats today and one of my GLW hens waddled up with 6 tiny fuzzies! Record cold and wet all last week. I have no idea where she came from. Wish it were always so easy
 
Incubators anonymous! lol

I've put my incubator away. My incubator has been running non stop since December! I just got a broody hen, so I put some eggs under her. That way my husband will not see that I am hatching more eggs...

I have no idea where those chicks came from...
hu.gif
Tee He He! That sounds like something I would have done! Can't wait until I have a broody hen..... although I guess it would help to have a rooster old enough to do any good. Mine is only 2 months old! hahahahhah
 
I personally will NOT try SFH again. First I had a great hatch but lost some during and stortly after. From 16 chicks to 5 juvies. Next hatch most died soon after. 3rd hatch same thing they died. I could not give them away..... nobody wanted them either. Just not hearty birds.
What are SFH?
 
How do I join? We started with 17 chicks last year and have some how wound up with 20 more babes in the brooder last week with plans for building a second coop...Now I find myself looking at incubators. I always thought I would be the crazy old cat lady or crazy dog lady, but this chicken business is like crack.

Anyone want to help a newbie out? I am hoping someone with a lot of experience will help guide me. I do not have an incubator yet and am currently trying to decide which way to go. I also have two broody EE hens that I'd like to hatch. Unfortunately or Roo Fred, started trying to attack my 7 yr old daughter....bad. It got to be too scary, so I fed him to dane(she eats raw). I was really sad about it and put it off for weeks..I just didn't want to take a chance on rehoming him and worrying about if he would be cared for like we cared for him, plus who wants a mean Roo ?

So I am looking at ordering hatching eggs and getting another Roo. For the record, we did not intentionally get Fred....he came from the pullet batch with his sister...he was a Partridge rock, which I am told is one of the meaner Roo's. I am thinking maybe a EE roo? My EE hens are so sweet...they are from Cackle and all of them are beautiful.
 
How do I join? We started with 17 chicks last year and have some how wound up with 20 more babes in the brooder last week with plans for building a second coop...Now I find myself looking at incubators. I always thought I would be the crazy old cat lady or crazy dog lady, but this chicken business is like crack.

Anyone want to help a newbie out? I am hoping someone with a lot of experience will help guide me. I do not have an incubator yet and am currently trying to decide which way to go. I also have two broody EE hens that I'd like to hatch. Unfortunately or Roo Fred, started trying to attack my 7 yr old daughter....bad. It got to be too scary, so I fed him to dane(she eats raw). I was really sad about it and put it off for weeks..I just didn't want to take a chance on rehoming him and worrying about if he would be cared for like we cared for him, plus who wants a mean Roo ?

So I am looking at ordering hatching eggs and getting another Roo. For the record, we did not intentionally get Fred....he came from the pullet batch with his sister...he was a Partridge rock, which I am told is one of the meaner Roo's. I am thinking maybe a EE roo? My EE hens are so sweet...they are from Cackle and all of them are beautiful.
read all you can first

the hatching 101 article in my signature by sally sunshine is a good place to start
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom