JUNE - JULY HATCH-ALONG!!!!!!!

[EliseTheFarmKid]

8/10 chicks hatched! These two barnyard cuties are the stars of the show. Top one is a Buff Orp x EE and the bottom one is my first black BCM mix (either mixed with Brahma or Orp; we’ll see)
The quail eggs are a day or two from their hatch date but there’s not even a pip from them
After the chicks were done hatching the ducks pipped internally so to avoid any issues with humidity and whatnot I moved them to another bator. No signs of pips yet but they were active last night. I gotta remember it takes them longer to hatch than the chicks do. I’m impatient for a pip lol.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

View attachment 1829532 View attachment 1829533
8/10 chicks hatched! These two barnyard cuties are the stars of the show. Top one is a Buff Orp x EE and the bottom one is my first black BCM mix (either mixed with Brahma or Orp; we’ll see)
The quail eggs are a day or two from their hatch date but there’s not even a pip from them
After the chicks were done hatching the ducks pipped internally so to avoid any issues with humidity and whatnot I moved them to another bator. No signs of pips yet but they were active last night. I gotta remember it takes them longer to hatch than the chicks do. I’m impatient for a pip lol.

You sound like me hatching so many different eggs at once, lol! Congrats on your peeps! I can't wait to see the rest!

And yes, ducks take forever!

 

[CluckNDoodle]

View attachment 1829534
54 eggs, 12 need to be turned by hand the first 10 days then I weed out the infertile ones and the ones that died prematurely. 21 eggs are from a flock with fertility issues so there is a good chance I will down to 42 total eggs after 10 days. Set June 29th at midnight, hatch day July 19-20.. hatching are Dorking x (Dorking x Red Ranger), (Dorking x Red Ranger) x Dorking, Ayam Cemani x Red Ranger, and Ayam Cemani (the 12 on the side that will fill in for the infertile ones).

That's great! I mean, obviously that's why they left space on the sides of the egg turner, for egg stacks!! Lol

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

I use granite eggs in my nest boxes that I was considering getting more to use as fillers in the turner as well. I'm going to get some for the reservoir to start because I'm using the Little Giant as my lockdown Incubator on a couple staggered hatches. I need to set it up over the next couple days so it's ready. I've been procrastinating. Lol
Let me know what you find with whatever you decide to try!

Granite eggs huh! I thought about stones in the empty slots for eggs but am afraid that all of that weight would stress the turner... I even thought of buying a couple dozen table eggs, but I guess I’d have to replace them every week for fear they’d go bad...

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Are you using a egg turner?

I had problems with using the turner because the turner I had in my incubator was putting off a little heat, and causing the temp to go up. Not sure if that could be part of your problem, but just thought I would let you know.

Hi, yes, I’m using the Hova-Bator turner, and I like how gentle it is. I tested temps with turner on and off, and having it on actually seemed to help my hot spots vs cold spots be more similar!

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

View attachment 1829534
54 eggs, 12 need to be turned by hand the first 10 days then I weed out the infertile ones and the ones that died prematurely. 21 eggs are from a flock with fertility issues so there is a good chance I will down to 42 total eggs after 10 days. Set June 29th at midnight, hatch day July 19-20.. hatching are Dorking x (Dorking x Red Ranger), (Dorking x Red Ranger) x Dorking, Ayam Cemani x Red Ranger, and Ayam Cemani (the 12 on the side that will fill in for the infertile ones).

Too funny!!! This is the turner that I use! Is this a Hovobator forced air? Do you have hot and cold spots? Maybe those hot and cold spots go away when you have the thing loaded to capacity!!!

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

View attachment 1829532 View attachment 1829533
8/10 chicks hatched! These two barnyard cuties are the stars of the show. Top one is a Buff Orp x EE and the bottom one is my first black BCM mix (either mixed with Brahma or Orp; we’ll see)
The quail eggs are a day or two from their hatch date but there’s not even a pip from them
After the chicks were done hatching the ducks pipped internally so to avoid any issues with humidity and whatnot I moved them to another bator. No signs of pips yet but they were active last night. I gotta remember it takes them longer to hatch than the chicks do. I’m impatient for a pip lol.

Wonderful! Congratulations on your new cuties!!!

 

[Compost King]

Too funny!!! This is the turner that I use! Is this a Hovobator forced air? Do you have hot and cold spots? Maybe those hot and cold spots go away when you have the thing loaded to capacity!!!

I actually do not know if I have warm and cold spots I never tested it in a way to figure it out. I know it did before I added the Fan Kit. Took me a long time to figure out how to use it correctly, my first hatch... 1 cockerel, 2nd hatch half hatched all cockerels, maybe I found that one temperature where only males hatch lol. After 14 months I am where I am today where the last hatch 19 of 20 pipped 18 hatched... Technically I started out with 42 but I have infertility issues in the one flock I hatched eggs from. Too many girls and only one male, that and they just started laying. I have 21 from that flock in this hatch so I figure having 12 extra stacked on the side will just fill up the empty spots after the 10 day candle/Rejection point.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

I actually do not know if I have warm and cold spots I never tested it in a way to figure it out. I know it did before I added the Fan Kit. Took me a long time to figure out how to use it correctly, my first hatch... 1 cockerel, 2nd hatch half hatched all cockerels, maybe I found that one temperature where only males hatch lol. After 14 months I am where I am today where the last hatch 19 of 20 pipped 18 hatched... Technically I started out with 42 but I have infertility issues in the one flock I hatched eggs from. Too many girls and only one male, that and they just started laying. I have 21 from that flock in this hatch so I figure having 12 extra stacked on the side will just fill up the empty spots after the 10 day candle/Rejection point.

I’m trying to troubleshoot my Hova-Bator with fan. What did you do that so greatly improved your hatch rate???

 

[Compost King]

Lowered the temperature 1 degree. I ran it at 98 instead of 99... likely a calibration issue. I also stopped making mistakes like opening to remove a few chicks to stop them from kicking around hatching eggs. Turns out they do fine rolling around but they do not do so fine when they are shrink wrapped. I also kept the humidity very low before lockdown, let it run dry the first 3 days, put in a little water , let it run dry and wait 3 days before filling it. Then when they hatch I add a soaking wet sponge as well as filling all water chambers. That may or may not work for you. I hear other people doing completely different things with their hovabator and having more success than I do.