Learning center - shipped eggs and hand carried eggs incubation

[ilovechickens]

Thank you so much for this, I have the same bator, used it for the first time Feb 7th, had 9 out of 14 of my Maran's hatch. So I am getting ready to run my bator again really soon, the eggs arrived in the mail today and are sitting in egg cartons (I had them in the bator in the egg turner, but after reading your post, I removed them with a napkin and put the water in the pan, and put the turner back) good thing because I did not have the egg turner in the right corner or the water tray where I could add the water without disturbing the eggs ) Now I am running the bator with the thermometer in the bator. Last time I did not do any of this, just put the eggs in and turned it on. This page is very helpful!! Thank you

I have 24 Blue Ameracauna's from My Pet Chicken, and 13 Buckeye's. I will start the Bator tonight, the Buckeye's were collected Wednesday so, I don't want to take a chance. I will also remove the eggs from the last row next to the motor except for two that will go on the other end.

 

[tnchickenut]

You are definately welcome. Your story is exactly why I wanted to do it this way, this time.


I cracked open the clear eggs last night (sorry for the lack of pics - I started back at my old job and had to get up @ 4am... it was 11 when I checked the bullseyes). I'm about to upload the photos (they aren't very good) of the eggs. I cracked open a silver sebright egg (not one from the incubator) to try to show a positive bulleye... we'll see if the picture is a good one.

BRB.

 

[tnchickenut]

Ok. Here is one of the Delaware eggs that candled clear. They all looked the same, so no need for 5 pictures.

See the spot is just that... a spot. This is a clear indicator of a infertile egg. It could be because of the cold winter... extreme hot and extreme cold will bring fertility in a flock way down. So, I'm not giving up on them just yet. Spring is just now starting to come about.


Now, this is a picure of one of my sebright's eggs. It is a fertile egg... there is a bulleye that is hard to see. The bullseye doesn't have to be prominant to be positive for fertility, so I'm kind of glad that this one isn't. This way you can see that it can be very faint, but it is still there!

The way you check is simply break the egg open... very carefully. Keep in mind, the bullseye may be on the bottom of the yolk when you open the egg... simply, gently pour the yolk into the other half of the eggshell. If you already dumped it in a bowl, if you are really careful, you can "roll" the yolk over.
If you do this with eggs right out of the yard, it is easier. Eggs that have been in the 'bator have way more fragile yolks. I chill these eggs under cold water for 1-2 minutes. This firms up the yolk a bit, making it easier to work with.


I'll be candling again on the 13th (next Saturday). I'll try to get good pictures for everyone. The sebrights take the best photos since their eggs are white, so look for that!

 

[tnchickenut]

Quote:
If I suspect infertility (like right now with these Delawares) I stop selling until I can figure it out. I always add extra eggs to orders, and I have been known to send replacements. It really depends on the situation. If a person is rude, obviously no. If person makes a statement something to the effect of "I did this wrong and that wrong" then no to that too.
I do have a policy of 25% or more of the eggs arrive broken, I send replacements for free and shipping out of my pocket. This, of course, after they send me pictures to proove it within the time frame alloted. Sad, but you know if I didn't put those stipulations, some people would abuse it.

Yes, sending extra seems fair. Very fair. It is always good practice if you are selling hatching eggs.

 

[tnchickenut]

Quote:
The old "wick in the water". lol. You can find one (I suspect you need it fast) at your local co-op or feed store... or online. Almost all hatcheries and poultry supply sites have them.

Another good one to use is just as easy... at petsmart... petco - those places. Look in the reptile department. Frogs and some lizards need high humidity, so there should be more than one model to choose from. My best advice, stay away from digital anything. If it is wrong, you don't know any better. Some people like to have a digital and a "analog" type hydrometer and thermometer. That is exactly how I discovered the digital being wrong by 12F. I have respectable "poultry friends" who won't use anything digital because of the batteries in the devices. Makes some sense. Extreme heat could rupture the batteries and the battery acid just can't be good for hatching.

I just stopped because the cheaper "analog" types do the job for a fraction of the cost, and the digital one was so far off I lost all confidence.

 

[tnchickenut]

I meant to post this....

The tempature spiked a bit yesterday (104F). If this happens to you... don't freak out. I just take the lid off (DID NOT adjust the thermostat), give them about a minute or two with the lid off. I took that time to check the water. When the water evaporates out, the humidity will plummit... this causes the tempature to jump up. This said, my water was fine. I topped it off anyways, since I was already in there. The tempature spike probrably was due to the warm spring day we had.
After a minute or two with the lid off, I just put it back on. Just to be safe, I double checked after about 45 minutes and it was right on again like nothing ever happened.

That is one of the biggest no-no's that people often make. The tempature goes up or down and they jump to turning up or down the heat. Don't. Just take the lid off like I metioned and follow all those steps. It will be fine.

Like I mentioned before... I'll be candling again on Saturday. (YAY pics!)

 

[kyrose]

Quote:
The old "wick in the water". lol. You can find one (I suspect you need it fast) at your local co-op or feed store... or online. Almost all hatcheries and poultry supply sites have them.

Another good one to use is just as easy... at petsmart... petco - those places. Look in the reptile department. Frogs and some lizards need high humidity, so there should be more than one model to choose from. My best advice, stay away from digital anything. If it is wrong, you don't know any better. Some people like to have a digital and a "analog" type hydrometer and thermometer. That is exactly how I discovered the digital being wrong by 12F. I have respectable "poultry friends" who won't use anything digital because of the batteries in the devices. Makes some sense. Extreme heat could rupture the batteries and the battery acid just can't be good for hatching.

I just stopped because the cheaper "analog" types do the job for a fraction of the cost, and the digital one was so far off I lost all confidence.

dont mean to ask a stupid question,but im not clear on the wick in the water method...

 

[tnchickenut]

Quote:
The old "wick in the water". lol. You can find one (I suspect you need it fast) at your local co-op or feed store... or online. Almost all hatcheries and poultry supply sites have them.

Another good one to use is just as easy... at petsmart... petco - those places. Look in the reptile department. Frogs and some lizards need high humidity, so there should be more than one model to choose from. My best advice, stay away from digital anything. If it is wrong, you don't know any better. Some people like to have a digital and a "analog" type hydrometer and thermometer. That is exactly how I discovered the digital being wrong by 12F. I have respectable "poultry friends" who won't use anything digital because of the batteries in the devices. Makes some sense. Extreme heat could rupture the batteries and the battery acid just can't be good for hatching.

I just stopped because the cheaper "analog" types do the job for a fraction of the cost, and the digital one was so far off I lost all confidence.

dont mean to ask a stupid question,but im not clear on the wick in the water method...

It's ok. I'm sorry. Here is a link to what I'm talking about... I tend to be unclear sometimes.

http://www.meyerhatchery.com/get_item_3018_thermometer-hygrometer.htm


By far, though... this one is the easiest to use. And as you see.... alot cheaper. The wicks for the one above need to be replaced. I prefer this one below.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752691

 

[kyrose]

so you just stick the stem into 1 of the oxygen holes?

 

[tnchickenut]

yup the one from meyers... you just put it one of the holes.

petsmart has 3-5 models... those you just lay in there like you would a thermometer. Much more user friendly.