Incubators Anonymous

[Pooman]

How many people candle their eggs?

Virtually everyone?

Seems silly not to really, risking the whole batch if you dont.

Just started 12 Orp x Indian game and 2 plymouth x indian game.... The Orps were hatched here last year, just started laying, and the rock (my only girl) just started laying again after raising a brood. She (Wilma) will be going with Stripey soon, a young Plymouth Rock roo hatched from imported eggs hes a lovely boy

Ooo first candle in 3 says, another at 10, last at 17-18 before lockdown

 

[Lizz9311]

How many people candle their eggs?

Like Pooman said, you risk the other eggs if you don't candle at least once during incubation. I candled this batch for the first time on day 14. I had one with a blood ring (bacteria got into the egg, can be very bad), so I removed it from the incubator. It's not common, but eggs with blood rings can explode from the pressure thus making your entire batch of eggs useless.

You also don't want to run the incubator if all the eggs inside are infertile. Candling allows you to check for development.

 

[sonderah]

My incy goes into lockdown today. Last candle a few days ago shows I have 24 going in. There are 5 different kinds in those 24! I use a Hovabator genesis as my hatcher and still have NO idea how I'm going to separate these eggs! I sure didn't have good planning skills with this hatch! I have 2 "boxes" that will fit, that I have used b4 to separate, and of course can put 1 kind outside of those, but that 2 more!
So I'm thinking a feather footed breed & a non feather footed breed together in each box. So, I'm curious, do red dorkings have feathered feet?? Then I have some "Frizzled sultan", Sizzles, Millie Fluer D'celle (sp), and EE. I'm not sure what my EE is bred with back then though. Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!! Too many feathery feet!

 

[shewatson]

I do not candle and have 85 to 90 % hatch rate

 

[TherryChicken]

I do not candle and have 85 to 90 % hatch rate

if I did that id have eggs explode hah

 

[misbhaven]

My incy goes into lockdown today. Last candle a few days ago shows I have 24 going in. There are 5 different kinds in those 24! I use a Hovabator genesis as my hatcher and still have NO idea how I'm going to separate these eggs! I sure didn't have good planning skills with this hatch! I have 2 "boxes" that will fit, that I have used b4 to separate, and of course can put 1 kind outside of those, but that 2 more!
So I'm thinking a feather footed breed & a non feather footed breed together in each box. So, I'm curious, do red dorkings have feathered feet?? Then I have some "Frizzled sultan", Sizzles, Millie Fluer D'celle (sp), and EE. I'm not sure what my EE is bred with back then though. Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!! Too many feathery feet!

no feathered feet , the red dorking has 5 toes like a silkie does but with light legs, so easy to spot they are kind of chipmunk looking when first hatched ..i don't have any pics of newly hatched ones or i would take a picture for you and mine like to hatch early..not all breeds just seems the Dorkings like to be the first out but they are usually in with shipped eggs..

 

[misbhaven]

How many people candle their eggs?

i candle at least once around day 12 or so..even if i am being lazy... but i keep a section of maybe's all together the ones that aren't clear but may have quit and recheck in a couple of days...nobody likes stinky eggs

....I will candle more if I smell that off smell before anything bad happens

 

[sonderah]

no  feathered feet , the red dorking has 5 toes like a silkie does but with light legs, so easy to spot they are kind of chipmunk looking when first hatched ..i don't have any pics of newly hatched ones or i would take a picture for you and mine like to hatch early..not all breeds just seems the Dorkings like to be the first out but they are usually in with shipped eggs..

Ok. Thanks! Maybe I'll put them in with the D'Culle since their toes will be different. Then the EE's with Frizzled sultans, and the sizzles on the outside. Lol Something like at least. I'm loving the excitement of all these different breeds HOPEFULLY hatching soon!!! Fingers crossed! SOOOO many shipped eggs this hatch! Makes me nervous!

 

[Faraday40]

Wow was it hot today here 112 F by 10 AM on the front porch and the temp did pick up later in the day but not chicks or chickens were lost do to the heat but my incubator did get up to 103 F degrees before noon and the fan quit working on day 18 so I had to find a cooler room for the incubator and the fan started working again in the cooler closet with wet blankets hanging around it now just waiting to see if I need to toss the lot as at candling time some still had vanes showing so I jus re set every thing and I was very worried so I called G.Q.F. to see if I could get a replacement fan before I got it working again and the people at G.Q.F. told me the new fans would not work as my incubator was close to 20 years old and I surprises me that it is still working as the least amount of hatches was 3 one year when I was really sick with the intestinal cancer but I am much better now and saving up for a new and better incubator that will hopefully out last me or last as long as this one did ..............

Sorry as I really had a rotten day as you can tell .........

If you go to youtube, there's an easy way to add an old computer fan to any Styrofoam incubator. (My hubby works with computer networks, so we always have old broken computers around. I'm sure someone you know could get you a fan for free & the power converters are only a few dollars. After that it's just a few screws & nuts which you may already have.) That's what I did to fix my sister's incubator, anyway. Hers was a still air model that I modified.

Sorry, I can't help with the hot weather or illness. Wish I could.

 

[Tuhmu]

Well, this is what I do when i can't decide....Do BOTH! I have Texas a&m coturnix, superb layers, great hatch rates when I've set eggs, just set some more last night...I've been tempted by the snowflake bobwhites. So many choices! Isn't it GREAT????

So I actually ended up doing exactly this....lol. I had bought some A & M cotournix a few days ago thinking I would give them a try. Well then today I (mysteriously blacked out, no recall at all) bid on some snowflake bobwhites today (thinking I will never get them because last time I had to fight tooth and nail in a fierce bidding war)......ended up winning it with just a random 1 bid.... LOL. So now I have cotornix and bobwhite coming plus some buff leghorns. Going to be a busy lockdown week, but I think it should all come out ok on timing. Will never learn I guess lol.