Incubators Anonymous

[ChickNmamma]

Quote:
I don't know how I missed this - but I have been doing staggered incubations.

However, I am doing it in a cabinet incubator - which is designed for this.

I have mixed feelings on how well it works, I really don't like upping the humidity to 60 percent for 4 to 6 days when other embroyos are forming.. and I wonder if it may have caused some of the deformities/Dead In Shell chicks at the last hatchings. I had an "emergency" hatch in the middle, a broody abandoned a nest with fully formed and un-hatched eggs and I tried to save them. I saved one - but it was within the first 7 days of another set of eggs - so that worries me.

I have heard of setting eggs every 7 days - and old timers used to use one cabinet, so I think it can be done. Most of the really important development is in the first 10 days - if they are messed up then, they are REALLY messed up!

Personally I would NOT try this in a Styrofoam incubator though... just too easy to get the forming eggs chilled off or too humid at just the wrong time... of course I can't get anything to hatch in an Styrofoam incubator at my house anyway - so maybe I am prejudiced

 

[ChickNmamma]

Quote:
Well, there are a few more good things about doing fermented feed I have found:

1. chick poop doesn't stink! It is also firmer, smaller, easier to clean up...
2. they waste less food, and actually EAT less too They don't throw the wet stuff out of the feeder looking for something.. although they do shake their heads and wipe their beaks off to get off the stuck stuff, but somebody comes along and eats that flung food too..
3. they don't drink water as fast either - their food contains moisture
4. no "food stuck in the throat" scary gasps in the really little littles, and no having to crush it to avoid this
5. so far I have not had any signs of cocci in any of the chicks I started on fermented feed. I use the non-medicated flock starter - so there is no protection. I expose them really young to the grass from where my chickens poop. I know I have cocci - the batch I got in last year I had a really bad case and lost 2 or 3 chicks, all from cocci (and they WERE on dry medicated starter).

ONLY DRAWBACK I have seen so far - they WEAR their food... silly chicks... at least until somebody else helps them clean the tops of their heads off...

I do a very small separate batch for the chicks (I also ferment for the grown ones). I put it in a clear large tupperware bowl that I keep on my kitchen windowsill. I fill the tupperware bowl half full of water and put in one glug of un-pasturized ACV, stir the water and then pour in the dry food in small batches until it starts to get thick, add more water, more food - until the bowl is full of sloppy watery goop. I let it set until the water is absorbed, then pull about half (or more) of the firm food out and add more water until it is over the top of the food, stir well and let it set. It is very similar to sourdough starter in some ways. When it is warm it ferments really quickly - I started it the day the chicks hatched and it was bubbling the next day... I fed the first "pull" to the chicks, it took almost two days for them to eat it so I removed the un-fermented food when the fermented was done, just in case.

To use it I add more water to the watery bubbling stuff (about half bowl), add more food and water until it looks like wet concrete (wet sloppy mud) and the bowl is almost full and let it set. It will rise up and soak up almost all the water. I stir it down again, take the moist food off the top and put in the food bowls (and yes, it always makes me want fresh baked bread ) and then add water to what is left, put it back to ferment until the next day. I use only plastic bowls. I suspect the vinegar might cause a reaction with any metal bowls - even though it is used to ferment the food. Every once in awhile I will add more vinegar, just if it seems I took too much out and it isn't fermenting properly. This is not rocket science, but if you add too much vinegar the chicks won't want to eat it... then back off a bit, water it down with water and food.. and off you go again.

If it smells sour, do not use it. If it gets mold of any color (except there is a white "mother" that grows on the top of the water sometimes, that is not mold) do not use it. It is very easy to start a new batch to be on the safe side - and I want no chance of poisoning my chicks.

That's my method.. has worked great since the beginning of this year, I started with my Ameraucana chicks and am now feeding all the chicks...

 

[Zootopia]

I haven't figured out how to start my own post, so please forgive me for cutting it. U gave a question. I am on day 15 of my first incubation, and they are jersey giants. The shells are very dark and I unable to see much if anything. I thought they were all duds until today when I dropped one while candling. I see that it had a baby inside . Has anyone been able to start two different batches of eggs at different times in one bator? Does the lockdown period prohibit this?

It really isn't a good idea at least until you have some experience. You also should have separate incubators/hatcher to avoid bacteria building up and killing the next hatch. Slow down and give yourself time to figure things out. Otherwise you could very well end up killing chicks out of in-experience..

 

[Zootopia]

sorry, that's not what we're here for... 

what breeds do you have and what are you looking to hatch?  i'm sure someone on here has something available to help you out.

You are Bad,Bad !! >;-}

 

[Runawaylobster]

I don't know how I missed this - but I have been doing staggered incubations.

However, I am doing it in a cabinet incubator - which is designed for this.

I have mixed feelings on how well it works, I really don't like upping the humidity to 60 percent for 4 to 6 days when other embroyos are forming.. and I wonder if it may have caused some of the deformities/Dead In Shell chicks at the last hatchings. I had an "emergency" hatch in the middle, a broody abandoned a nest with fully formed and un-hatched eggs and I tried to save them. I saved one - but it was within the first 7 days of another set of eggs - so that worries me.

I have heard of setting eggs every 7 days - and old timers used to use one cabinet, so I think it can be done. Most of the really important development is in the first 10 days - if they are messed up then, they are REALLY messed up!

Personally I would NOT try this in a Styrofoam incubator though... just too easy to get the forming eggs chilled off or too humid at just the wrong time... of course I can't get anything to hatch in an Styrofoam incubator at my house anyway - so maybe I am prejudiced

I just did three back to back batches 7 days apart in my GQF. I was concerned also about the lockdown RH happening in the middle of the incubation but there is really not much choice so i went ahead and did it. Actually it was worse for me because the turner has some kind of problem where it catches on the hatching tray in the bottom so i had to turn off the turner as well. However of the eggs that made it to lockdown (which in my case is anybody that is not clear, because i'm hatching marans or blue eggs) i got a 90% hatch rate. I was amazed but i found that just those few days in the middle didn't seem to hurt the other eggs.

Also, I find that I generally only have problems if i open the incubator, so all my chicks stay in there for 2 days or so until everyone is hatched or the loose chicks really have to come out. Since i have been doing this policy i've had way better hatches.... I hate to see them rolling the other eggs around like footballs but it has not seemed to affect their hatching. I don't hatch all that many at a time so each chick has alot of real estate to occupy. I have had some get trampled if the hatcher tray is very full...

hope this helps.

L


I'm psyched.... btw just getting ready to hatch some extra legbars and a batch of lavender orpingtons Can't wait ......

 

[Tammy N]

SOMEONE PLEASE MAKE ME STOP!...i am finding myself sneaking eggs into the incubator when my fiancé isn't around

Are you gonna let the fiance Control you now ? WOW Wait till your Sneaking them in and he is then your hubby LMAO Have fun OH i think you have room for 6 more eggs

 

[ChickNmamma]

when it was in its egg it already made a huge hole but one of the already hatched chicks made the hole face the wire and i guess it got scratched. Poor thing what should i use and were may i find it.also one was dead in its shell its its 3 2 days past hatch date how many more may hatch.I see no movement should i leave them. I also need to sterilize their are duck eggs in there. The hatch date was mamorial day may anymore hatch?

There is something called BluKote available at the feedstores that you can use to stop the other chicks from pecking at the scratched one.

I am sorry about the Dead in Shell one, those are always the saddest.

I would take each egg out quickly and listen very carefully for any peeps, candle it with a bright flashlight and see if you see any movement. Any peeps or movement go back in the incubator.

You can also do the "float test". Take very warm water (tap water that feels warm but not hot i.e. approx 100 deg) and fill a bowl. Check the egg to make sure there are no pips/holes in the shell. Put the egg in the warm water. If it wiggles in the water its still alive (wait about a minute). Take it out and wipe it off and put it back in the incubator if it wiggles. If it floats, it may still be alive,check it. If it sinks.. toss it.

On the questionable ones - you can make a teeny hole at the top of the shell. Peek inside to see if you see anything. Make the hold larger very slowly.. if you see bleeding stop immediately and put it back in the incubator. Slowly take away the outer shell until you can see what you have inside.

3 days after hatch is probably the latest I would leave them in - although somebody said they had one hatch on day 27. If you check them all and determine if they are alive or not you can put the ones that just need more time back in.

Good luck, I hope you find more wigglers!

 

[ki4got]

Quote: LOL isn't that the purpose of bringing people here? to enable more hatching?

 

[serama hen]

There is something called BluKote available at the feedstores that you can use to stop the other chicks from pecking at the scratched one.

I am sorry about the Dead in Shell one, those are always the saddest.

I would take each egg out quickly and listen very carefully for any peeps, candle it with a bright flashlight and see if you see any movement. Any peeps or movement go back in the incubator.

You can also do the "float test". Take very warm water (tap water that feels warm but not hot i.e. approx 100 deg) and fill a bowl. Check the egg to make sure there are no pips/holes in the shell. Put the egg in the warm water. If it wiggles in the water its still alive (wait about a minute). Take it out and wipe it off and put it back in the incubator if it wiggles. If it floats, it may still be alive,check it. If it sinks.. toss it.

On the questionable ones - you can make a teeny hole at the top of the shell. Peek inside to see if you see anything. Make the hold larger very slowly.. if you see bleeding stop immediately and put it back in the incubator. Slowly take away the outer shell until you can see what you have inside.

3 days after hatch is probably the latest I would leave them in - although somebody said they had one hatch on day 27. If you check them all and determine if they are alive or not you can put the ones that just need more time back in.

Good luck, I hope you find more wigglers!

thanks Ill try the water trick hope it works and get the medicine I have noticed one of the babies toes are curved not like its a fist but when it stands the middle toe is a but curved its running and walking fine though should I worry

like this but the middle one!

 

[serama hen]

but its one foot and one toe!