Little Giant Still-Air Incubator-HELP Troubleshooting please

[rodriguezpoultry]

I had the thermometer where this little punk hatched from. It was a perfect pip and zip method...



There has to be a method to the madness. It's not like chicks just spontaneously hatch...

 

[aprophet]

Quote:
I had almost the same thing happen but with quail I have been checking to see if my eggs are fertile this is my first time using a hova bator temps perfect humidity perfect the whole hatch 55-60% I bumped it day 14 to 72-74% day 16 10 eggs out of 18 hatch the next morning 6 more chicks so I got 16 out of 18 I used an auto turner this time day 16 was barely day 16 most of my hatches have been day 17-19

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

K! They are officially on lockdown.

The chick that's been here for a few days has now become my new baby. I had intended to integrate her into the "chick" flock of 1-2 day olds. She was not welcomed. She had to run for it and as I tried to grab her, my rooster (the one that had attempted to attack me before) saw her and grabbed her by the head. Poor darling hit the ground hard, seized and stopped moving. I was so mad...

All of a sudden, she starts chirping, but her neck is limp. I was thinking her neck was broke, and it would be kindest to put her out of her misery. I'm working up the courage to do it, when her neck isn't so limp anymore, and her legs are moving. So, I put her in the dark and warmth of the shed. She picks herself right back up and is now running, eating and being licked to pieces by the Shih Tzu everytime she chirps. Her new name is "Bonkers". She was the first to hatch, 3 days early and got "bonked" on her head. Poor thing. Ah well.

I don't get why he did it...but, that rooster is dead. I'm done with him. NO rooster should ever do that, EVER. His father didn't do it, why should he? STUPID bird. He'll make a good meal.

None of the other eggs have moved, but I "thought" I heard some light chirping. I'm not opening the incubator to find out. I opened it to add more sponges, but that was all. Humidity is at 75%, with the temp being around 101.7. So far, so good.

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Com' on little eggs, we want you to pip and zip!



That Roo - he must really, really not like life

What is up with them when they pick on chicks like that? Grrrr I am glad she is doing better and has found a friend with the S' Tzu.


My Orp Versace is so very good and gentle with the babies, even new hatches he will stand still - not move - and the chicks climb all over his big feet. He will even feed them.

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

OK. Saturday was supposed to be day 18. I set the eggs LATE on June 1. (As in 11:30PM.)

1. I had one chick hatch 3 days early. How?

2. The incubator ranged from 99*F to 101.8*F

3. I candled eggs at the end of the first week and had 5 quitters. 4 good eggs left. On day 18, the day the one hatched, I took the turner out, fiddled with the temp to get it back up to the proper heat (taking out the turner ruined the temperature), and added humidity. Today I should have heard something. Instead, nothing.

I candled and there's nothing. I opened them up, all the eggs are dead.


What could have happened? The only thing I can think of is that I took the turner out and laid the eggs on their sides. From now on, the turner will stay inside and on since I'm not dealing with the thing anymore.

 

[SportChick]

I think everyone takes the turner out? Wouldn't the newly hatched chicks get caught under it? Seems like something else much have gone wrong. I don't know much about this hatching business (I didn't have a great hatch rate either) but it seems like your temps were high. You had the one chick hatch pretty early and all the others died. How do you know your thermometer is 1 degree off??

I ran my temps higher and all of my BCM eggs died, likely in the last few days by the size of them. When I hatch next go round, I will stick closer to the 99.5 and not aim for the 100.5 for my still air.

I used 3 thermometers and none of them matched. I would have one read 104, another read 97 and the one that came with my LG would read 99.5. I decided to take all but the one that came with the incubator out so as not to frustrate myself. I just ordered a fancy, Brinsea thermometer so we will see if that helps next time.

Sorry about your rooster. Looks like I have a few extra (at least 4 of my 6 barred rocks are roos) if you need an extra (or 4).

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

I synched my thermometer with the house temperature. My thermostat said 76* and my incubator thermometer (the digital one) would read 75.5* or 75* even. Then, some days it would be "spot on" with the thermostat. That's why I used a second one with the old "mercury" thermometers.

 

[SportChick]

I think mercury is the gold standard, so if you were using a mercury thermometer it wouldn't have been off at all. All 3 of my thermometers matched the house thermometer but when I put them in the bator, even when I moved them around thinking I had hot-spots, the always disagreed. It was always the same ones that read really high temps and really low temps too.

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

I am mapping out my entire incubator. Including making labels where the probe is for the thermometer in 1" places in the incubator.

Already found a VERY hot spot and a kinda cold spot.

 

[SportChick]

Quote:
That is pretty industrious!