January 2021 Hatch-A-Long

[Willow2253]

broody is gone
feathers, no body
eggs inside in an incubator now but not sure how long they sat without her
it was cold last night
and I'm having issues with incubator temp so they may have been at 101.5 for a bit
what temp is absolutely death?

Im so sorry about your hen. I wonder what happened to her?
Ive heard that 98-102 is safe for eggs.

 

[Willow2253]

That's a bummer. How long has she been setting? Would day old chicks be better for her?

She’s been sitting about a week, the eggs are on day 4 I believe. Usually with our eggs I can see development by then. I’m not really surprised though, it’s winter and my banty roo sometimes has a hard time mounting the full sized hens, so fertility has been low. Day old chicks would be great if there were any to be had around here, but there are none. I’ll give her one more clutch and if they don’t develop then oh well.

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

broody is gone
feathers, no body
eggs inside in an incubator now but not sure how long they sat without her
it was cold last night
and I'm having issues with incubator temp so they may have been at 101.5 for a bit
what temp is absolutely death?

Is it still air or circulated? 101.5 is fine. Assuming that is an accurate. You might notice some slightly ahead hatching if they were kept there for any length of time. Short term not a big deal.

I notice mass casualties if temps are consistently over 102.5 for extended periods (circulated). Or spikes over 104 (still air). I've had spikes as high as 114 before! Total loss.

In a still air incubator the margin of error is greater. Because it takes longer for the temps to reach terminal highs. This just means longer to catch, and fix, mistakes without casualties.

 

[ackie]

Im so sorry about your hen. I wonder what happened to her?
Ive heard that 98-102 is safe for eggs.

two neighborhood dogs were on our property last night, so I assume a dog

Is it still air or circulated? 101.5 is fine.

circulated. I honestly dont know about the thermometers. except that all of them suck. right now the best I have is an oral thermometer and I cant really calibrate that. I guess I should calibrate the one I know is incorrect? but it used to be correct so I assume it's just failing.

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

two neighborhood dogs were on our property last night, so I assume a dog

circulated. I honestly dont know about the thermometers. except that all of them suck. right now the best I have is an oral thermometer and I cant really calibrate that. I guess I should calibrate the one I know is incorrect? but it used to be correct so I assume it's just failing.

Oh no! We had some loose dogs a couple years ago. Heartbreaking results.

If you've used the incubator before you probably have an idea if it run hot or cold. Don't write these eggs off yet. What day are they on?

A reliable thermometer is worth it's weight in gold for incubating. One of my good ones is a meat thermometer I drop down through the air holes. Some (most?) meat thermometers have a nut on the bottom which makes them easy to adjust their accuracy. Just an idea for you if you're limited on options.

 

[ackie]

Oh no! We had some loose dogs a couple years ago. Heartbreaking results.

If you've used the incubator before you probably have an idea if it run hot or cold. Don't write these eggs off yet. What day are they on?

A reliable thermometer is worth it's weight in gold for incubating. One of my good ones is a meat thermometer I drop down through the air holes. Some (most?) meat thermometers have a nut on the bottom which makes them easy to adjust their accuracy. Just an idea for you if you're limited on options.

so we calibrated our thermometers
ice water reads 32F
boiling water (actively on the stove) reads 210
the internet says that our height above sea level means boiling is 210
so I have 2 thermometers that are accurate give or take
one worked at freezing but not at boiling and isnt being used anymore
so I'm trying to calibrate the incubator to the thermometers
I just have both of them sticking through the hole for adding water
except it's super confusing because my incubator will run cold so I'll adjust it and then itll seem to run hot
so yknow just spending NYE fussing with temps

I dont know what day they're on. early. week 1. but i dont know when she went broody.

 

[ackie]

of course my incubator is celcius, the thermometer that reads to tenths of a degree is farenheit and the one that can do F or C is only accurate to the degree

on the other hand heres a pic of my surprise chicks

as they say, 10 chicks in a box is worth 20 eggs in a 'bater.

 

[ackie]

maybe I'm just expecting it to change too quickly and need to give it time to equilibrate

 

[ackie]

 

[Willow2253]

of course my incubator is celcius, the thermometer that reads to tenths of a degree is farenheit and the one that can do F or C is only accurate to the degree

on the other hand heres a pic of my surprise chicks
View attachment 2470579
as they say, 10 chicks in a box is worth 20 eggs in a 'bater.

They’re so cute! How did they surprise you? Did you have a broody you didn’t know about or something?