january hatch-a-long

[BReeder!]

They might work fine, but I would be a bit concerned about air flow, depending on the type of basket. Pay attention to the height of the basket and the heating element on the incubator. Don’t want it melting, or a chick trying to climb over and getting burned.

In the Article section here, someone made some neat dividers from the plastic crafting grid stuff. I can’t remember the name of it.
Others have used mesh laundry bags successfully.

Somebody suggested strawberry containers to me when I was wondering this. I haven't tried it yet, but it should work. The strawberry baskets in particular are open aired. If you use the clear plastic type of containers, I would remove the tops to ensure proper airflow and humidity.

 

[Tatuana]

I just lost three eggs overnight. It wasn't the cotton balls - it was too much effort to find them so I switched to a shallow dish. Temp has been steady, I've been turning 4-6 times a day plus again at bedtime. The only thing I can think of is that the humidity is a bit low in the mornings, and a bit high when I refill it. (Still getting it stable. It's hard since my room itself changes humidity so often due to a shower)

I only have two or three left that are still any good. Booger Brain is the strongest survivor so far. I'm very sad now. I wanted baby chickens, and with my cat dying I was hoping they'd cheer me up. Booger Brain had better make it. The little snot gives me nothing but trouble. (Small egg, dark egg, likes to roll around because he's tiny so he now has padding)

 

[WVduckchick]

I did a quick candle last night also, and lost 3 call duck eggs. They were smaller eggs, I'm thinking they were from a newer layer and just quit. So I think I have 8 due this Saturday.

Plus I had set 14 more two weeks after the first set, and 12 of those developed. Haven't lost any of them yet.

 

[mitziworm]

I just lost three eggs overnight. It wasn't the cotton balls - it was too much effort to find them so I switched to a shallow dish. Temp has been steady, I've been turning 4-6 times a day plus again at bedtime. The only thing I can think of is that the humidity is a bit low in the mornings, and a bit high when I refill it. (Still getting it stable. It's hard since my room itself changes humidity so often due to a shower)

I only have two or three left that are still any good. Booger Brain is the strongest survivor so far. I'm very sad now. I wanted baby chickens, and with my cat dying I was hoping they'd cheer me up. Booger Brain had better make it. The little snot gives me nothing but trouble. (Small egg, dark egg, likes to roll around because he's tiny so he now has padding)

Sorry to hear you aren't having much luck.

 

[Tatuana]

Out of the 17 eggs I started with, 3 are viable. How the heck do you guys get such high hatch rates? I'm now very, very sad. I wanted lots of babies, as did my kids! I still have hope for the last 3 as they're 100 percent alive right now. (Veins, movement, giant dark blob)

The plus side is I've learned candling, how to (mostly) use my incubator (how the HECK do you use the egg turner?!) the humidity is ... a work in progress, and I get to see how eggs form. So not all a bad thing, just a bummer. Especially after my favorite egg quit on me today.

If I get some extra money someday I'll start again (Thank you, shutdown, for bringing my income down) I want babies!

 

[BReeder!]

Out of the 17 eggs I started with, 3 are viable. How the heck do you guys get such high hatch rates? I'm now very, very sad. I wanted lots of babies, as did my kids! I still have hope for the last 3 as they're 100 percent alive right now. (Veins, movement, giant dark blob)

The plus side is I've learned candling, how to (mostly) use my incubator (how the HECK do you use the egg turner?!) the humidity is ... a work in progress, and I get to see how eggs form. So not all a bad thing, just a bummer. Especially after my favorite egg quit on me today.

If I get some extra money someday I'll start again (Thank you, shutdown, for bringing my income down) I want babies!

Sorry to hear about the struggles.
You ask about how to use egg turners. That's easy. You place the turner in the incubator, put the eggs in the turner trays, and plug it in. At least that's how mine works. I have a Harris Farms incubator. It's a styrofoam type. I'd you have a smaller incubator le some of the dome shaped ones the turner is built in and you just need to ensure it is operating I believe.

 

[Tatuana]

Sorry to hear about the struggles.
You ask about how to use egg turners. That's easy. You place the turner in the incubator, put the eggs in the turner trays, and plug it in. At least that's how mine works. I have a Harris Farms incubator. It's a styrofoam type. I'd you have a smaller incubator le some of the dome shaped ones the turner is built in and you just need to ensure it is operating I believe.

I have the Janoel 12 incubator. It comes with a black tray and inserts you can set in to size it. I don't get how to put the eggs in (Sideways?) and how the heck it would turn. My batch was too big to use it anyway so I've been hand turning.

We're officially on day 19! I'm cheering SO HARD for these guys. I literally have ten pages of notes I've taken during the hatching process. It was supposed to be fun for the kids, but I've gone a bit overboard....

Booger Brain, Scream, and Contented Sigh had better hatch okay. (Booger brain comes from the first few days. I wasn't very serious about the eggs and teased them. Scream is the middle of the hatching, which is how I felt most of the time. Contented Sigh is the ending of the hatch, when I can relax for a minute) More formally known as Thing One, Thing Two and Thing Three. Hatched or not, they have names.

 

[Kiki]

Out of the 17 eggs I started with, 3 are viable. How the heck do you guys get such high hatch rates? I'm now very, very sad. I wanted lots of babies, as did my kids! I still have hope for the last 3 as they're 100 percent alive right now. (Veins, movement, giant dark blob)

The plus side is I've learned candling, how to (mostly) use my incubator (how the HECK do you use the egg turner?!) the humidity is ... a work in progress, and I get to see how eggs form. So not all a bad thing, just a bummer. Especially after my favorite egg quit on me today.

If I get some extra money someday I'll start again (Thank you, shutdown, for bringing my income down) I want babies!

 

[Kiki]

I have the Janoel 12 incubator. It comes with a black tray and inserts you can set in to size it. I don't get how to put the eggs in (Sideways?) and how the heck it would turn. My batch was too big to use it anyway so I've been hand turning.

We're officially on day 19! I'm cheering SO HARD for these guys. I literally have ten pages of notes I've taken during the hatching process. It was supposed to be fun for the kids, but I've gone a bit overboard....

Booger Brain, Scream, and Contented Sigh had better hatch okay. (Booger brain comes from the first few days. I wasn't very serious about the eggs and teased them. Scream is the middle of the hatching, which is how I felt most of the time. Contented Sigh is the ending of the hatch, when I can relax for a minute) More formally known as Thing One, Thing Two and Thing Three. Hatched or not, they have names.

Read all (at least ten or twenty) threads that come up in the search...if you search here on byc for that specific bator. Did I mention vthis already? . It really helps to see what problems others had with it and how they fixed it.

 

[WVduckchick]

Locked down my call duck eggs this morning. Due Saturday. Only 7 made lockdown but I knew those eggs were a gamble anyway.

Already one internal pip, but a couple have small air cells and a couple look a little delayed. This could turn out to be an interesting hatch.