Incubators Anonymous

[ozexpat]

most ups will run a 300W computer so they will handle a incubator - you just need a big enough battery. 200 watts will suck the life out of a moderate marine battery pretty quickly. My 2 mega batteries will run my incubator 8 hours

 

[jbravo54]

I lost power once and was plugged into an older ups. By the time I got to it, it was about 90 degrees. I then used an extension cord and plugged into my car. I still had enough battery to start the car in the morning and recharged. The power came back that following night.

 

[maryjrain]

New babies!!!! Excitement!

 

[maryjrain]

Auracana-Silver wyandotte mix. Look at those colors!!! I have a problem lol.

 

[maryjrain]

Well I think my first time incubating is a bust.  I have no idea what I could have done wrong. I had 4 develop, 2 I'm sure quit around 12-14 days, but the other 2 was extremely full on day 18, locked down, I did fight with the humidity, but it was still in the lows 60%.  No movement, no peeps, no cracks or pips, and its going on day 23.  I guess we will be starting all over.  Not sure what I did wrong other then a crappy incubator. The only one I could find around here.  

LG Still Air, I did the ice in the water test on the thermometer 2 times, it was off by 2 degrees both times, so I put a line at where it needs to be.  I also had a digital one in there. Top of the eggs was always around 101.2-101.5 like suggested for still air, bottom was always at 99-99.5.  I hand rotated them extremely slowly 3 times a day, and I even marked which way I turned them so they went a different direction every time.  

Still hoping they hatch, but not looking very hopeful.  Any ideas on what to do for the next try or should I just give up.  

I just had one hatch on day 23. There is hope. Listen for chirping, if there are pips, even better, but if the membrane is too hard they will need help out. I extracted my day 23 baby and found thst it was small and lively with a big ole membrane!

Here it is:

 

[gladahmae]

It was not a lack of electricity the switch was accidentally turned off. It is in the wrong place.... near a walkway and can be brushed with a coat and turned off.

low-tech fix! put a piece of tape over the switch

cheaper than messing with wiring, or at least a hold-over until you have TIME to mess with the wiring.


I have a brooder question. I'm considering making brooders out of orchard crates (roughly 4ft x 4ft). I hatch mostly LF. How many chicks would you put in one of those, if you wanted to keep them in that brooder for up to 4 weeks?

 

[DMRippy]

Quote:
GOOD IDEA!!!!

 

[sillycmoy]

So I think I screwed up somewhere and I feel awful. Day 24 on my 2 bantam eggs, no pips, noise, movement, nothing, so I decided to take a look. I didn't fell any movement, hear any peeps, and they look completely different from day 18. They were active on day 18, you could see them in there moving all over the place. Even the air sacks look different today. I had my 5 year old take some photos.

These are bantam eggs so they are tiny, the air sake is at an angle and is a little more the 1/4 of the eggs at the top, since you can't see the whole egg.

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[andieschicks]

So I think I screwed up somewhere and I feel awful. Day 24 on my 2 bantam eggs, no pips, noise, movement, nothing, so I decided to take a look. I didn't fell any movement, hear any peeps, and they look completely different from day 18. They were active on day 18, you could see them in there moving all over the place. Even the air sacks look different today. I had my 5 year old take some photos.

These are bantam eggs so they are tiny, the air sake is at an angle and is a little more the 1/4 of the eggs at the top, since you can't see the whole egg.

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I have 3 that are supposed to be hatching today where 2 looked like that the last time I candled 0.o like exactly what they looked like. (I candled right before lockdown).... I am def going to be keeping an eye on answers to your post! When I asked in my thread someone said that it was unlikely they would hatch especially if they veins are no longer visible and there is no movement, but I can't tell you for sure, I'm still waiting to see on mine. Hopefully everything goes well for your hatch!

 

[sillycmoy]

Well I can still see veins in my 2 eggs, but the movement has stopped. I don't know what I could have done wrong. I feel so sad for the 2 chicks. Its my first hatch, and I had the temp steady the whole hatch, never missed a turning. Locked them down, raised the humidity and just waited.

Well my 5 year old daughter is so sad about it, but she said, "Now can we try some Silkies" So I guess we are going to attempt again with some local Silkie eggs. I'm just nervous to try again, since I didn't get anything to hatch this first time.