January 2017 Hatch-a-long

[EggSighted4Life]

Thanks @EggSighted4Life !
Yes! It's home made. We made it out of a meat box. The 40W incandescent bulb is behind the cardboard partition with a PC fan blowing air from under it onto a thermostat. Only one bulb so no power cuts please!

First one zipping now!

We have power failure all the time. Getting a generator installed eventually... but I forgot about it and sat eggs anyways.

But when I tried using incandescent bulbs during brooder transition to no heat from the 250 watt bulb.... they kept burning out rapidly like they weren't meant to be on 24 hours a day or something.

How cool that you got it to work with even just a 40 watt bulb.

Since this is my first time... I am not marking air sacs or weighing.... Just trying t keep it simple with temp and humidity and see what happens. A practice run to get familiar with the process. I have to say, it's hard to remember which side I started from in the morning and how many times have I already turned them today. And one time I got half way through turning and distracted by my daughter almost couldn't figure out which way I was currently turning them!

I am a very seriously detail oriented person. Used to weigh every single egg I got. Plus each gets the date and name of hen if known, even with a flock of around 40... So I'm sure I will be weighing them and all that stuff within a hatch or two.

And I realized just now the reason it's OK to use styrofoam is because the chicks won't be in the bator long enough to discover how much they LOVE eating styrofoam.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

We have power failure all the time. Getting a generator installed eventually... but I forgot about it and sat eggs anyways. :/

But when I tried using incandescent bulbs during brooder transition to no heat from the 250 watt bulb.... they kept burning out rapidly like they weren't meant to be on 24 hours a day or something.

How cool that you got it to work with even just a 40 watt bulb.

Since this is my first time... I am not marking air sacs or weighing.... Just trying t keep it simple with temp and humidity and see what happens. A practice run to get familiar with the process. I have to say, it's hard to remember which side I started from in the morning and how many times have I already turned them today. And one time I got half way through turning and distracted by my daughter almost couldn't figure out which way I was currently turning them!   I am a very seriously detail oriented person. Used to weigh every single egg I got. Plus each gets the date and name of hen if known, even with a flock of around 40... So I'm sure I will be weighing them and all that stuff within a hatch or two.

And I realized just now the reason it's OK to use styrofoam is because the chicks won't be in the bator long enough to discover how much they LOVE eating styrofoam.

Some people just put an "x" on one side and an "o" on the other. Then you just need to remember if you're doing to the x side or o side. A chart could help you remember (ex. @ 3 pm flip to o side)

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Some people just put an "x" on one side and an "o" on the other. Then you just need to remember if you're doing to the x side or o side. A chart could help you remember (ex. @ 3 pm flip to o side)

Thank you. I wrote down on the calender the X's and O's and noted that that is what I am supposed to end on the day so I don't start over thinking and confuse that to.

Do you have a certain amount of hours you shoot for between turns?

But ya, I can see what you mean about knowing which hour correlates as well would be helpful....

I just better break down and check out that spreadsheet I saw on the learning forum. Odd how the human factor plays in....

But as I was thinking about how hard we work to hatch eggs while hens just do it. I realized a hen wouldn't be any better at birthing and raising a human baby.... not that it has any bearing.

 

[orrpeople]

Huge wind storm picking up outisde... so I put a good sized rock in the bator for a little extra heat absorption just in case we lose power!

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Huge wind storm picking up outisde... so I put a good sized rock in the bator for a little extra heat absorption just in case we lose power!

That's a very smart idea, putting a heat sink in there just in case.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Huge wind storm picking up outisde... so I put a good sized rock in the bator for a little extra heat absorption just in case we lose power!

I love that idea!

I wonder about keeping small water bottles in there in my future.... Might do it from the beginning if there's room instead of trying to worry about it in that instant. Do you think one would work better than the other? Rock verses water bottle?

And then would you just cover it with more blankets as well, until the power came back on? I can't believe what a difference they made in getting my bator to the right temp! Although, it does make total sense.

Hubby said they lost power at work last night and he had to take the long way home due to a downed tree. And I was like oh no, did we... but realized my stove clock would be blinking. So we were safe this time.

And getting any contractor to show up and do a good job installing our generator in our area is why I haven't had it done yet.

Hopefully before the next years storm season.

BYC and the community here is a huge blessing in my life and that of my flock as well!

 

[melaniekemp]

Lockdown today at 3:30pm!!! 26 silkie eggs. I saw a couple of them moving this morning! I hope that all hatch!!!

 

[feedman77]

Lockdown today at 3:30pm!!! 26 silkie eggs. I saw a couple of them moving this morning! I hope that all hatch!!!

Good luck

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Lockdown today at 3:30pm!!! 26 silkie eggs. I saw a couple of them moving this morning! I hope that all hatch!!!

So you lock down to the same hour that you set your eggs?

 

[melaniekemp]

So you lock down to the same hour that you set your eggs?

Yes. I set them at 3:30 on day 1 which means Day 2 started at 3:30 the following day and so on.