Some Old Guy
Chirping
So, my 7 month old duck hens and I are all learning about hatching eggs. All five hens have laid eggs, and four are setting. That fifth one has probably laid eggs among the four nests available, but she also lays eggs in random spots around the yard. I really need to give her a brooder box of her own.
This morning, I angered those broody duck hens by inspecting their nests. I tossed a couple dozen obviously bad eggs, and distributed what was left, 20 per nest. The girls have all settled back in, after repairing any perceived damage I caused to their nests.
Meanwhile, I took 24 of their earlier eggs, and put in a free incubator from Amazon Vine. (Vine is a whole 'nother story) I set that thing up according to directions, filled the one reservoir with water, left the other reservoir empty, and started it. Candling revealed that peeps were developing, but, humidity was much too high! I opened vents, and fooled around with fans, but the humidity stayed high. After 34 days of incubation, I candled one more time, to find that everyone was dead. sigh
I cleaned the incubator, took it apart, put it together, took it apart again, and really examined it. Well, there's the problem - the wall separating the two water reservoirs is lower than the walls of the fill spouts. Filling one reservoir "full" meant that I had filled both reservoirs. What a waste of good eggs!
Well, I'm convinced that I can make that incubator work, if I'm careful not to fill that first reservoir so full. I'll try again when my chickens begin to lay eggs. I also have my old incubator, which worked great for the 7 mallards I already have. There's a lot of potential here!!
This morning, I angered those broody duck hens by inspecting their nests. I tossed a couple dozen obviously bad eggs, and distributed what was left, 20 per nest. The girls have all settled back in, after repairing any perceived damage I caused to their nests.
Meanwhile, I took 24 of their earlier eggs, and put in a free incubator from Amazon Vine. (Vine is a whole 'nother story) I set that thing up according to directions, filled the one reservoir with water, left the other reservoir empty, and started it. Candling revealed that peeps were developing, but, humidity was much too high! I opened vents, and fooled around with fans, but the humidity stayed high. After 34 days of incubation, I candled one more time, to find that everyone was dead. sigh
I cleaned the incubator, took it apart, put it together, took it apart again, and really examined it. Well, there's the problem - the wall separating the two water reservoirs is lower than the walls of the fill spouts. Filling one reservoir "full" meant that I had filled both reservoirs. What a waste of good eggs!
Well, I'm convinced that I can make that incubator work, if I'm careful not to fill that first reservoir so full. I'll try again when my chickens begin to lay eggs. I also have my old incubator, which worked great for the 7 mallards I already have. There's a lot of potential here!!
