~Looks like it's not meant for me to hatch quail~

[_Randall_]

You may remember.........had 120 (expensive) GG's in the bator, and 3 weeks today (April 3rd..........which was day 15), a massive thunderstorm came through at 4 a.m., and took out the power for 12 hours. Long story short, the eggs got super cold, and I trashed them. The bad part about it, 95% of them were fertile, and well on their way to being my new buddies.

Well, I tried once again........this time 50 (expensive) GG's and 59 Northerns off of my birds. Today is day 6. Guess what came through late yesterday, last night, and most of today?

The power blinked off a couple of times last night, but didn't go out. Got up and went in to work today, and wife and kids had ball games all evening, and we're just getting in......and I look at the clock on the oven, and it's blinking..........and I go to the clock on the night stand by my bed, and it's blinking

........... Best I can tell, the power was off about 6 - 7 hours

..............

I'm not tossing these, but I don't feel real good about it .........

Folks, I'm 'bout ready to GIVE UP........

But, I've got to admit, my problem is not that bad. There's a bunch of folks just south of me that lost loved ones this afternoon in several tornados, and MANY, MANY that had homes leveled. Also, many are in critical condition tonight. My inconvenience is really nothing compared to their tragedies!!

 

[tony30536]

good luck you never know they may hatch i had the power go off 2 times on one hatch the 2nd time it went off all day i put a candle in with them and they hatched (candle will warp wafer) i have eggs hatching now and the storms are heading my way

 

[_Randall_]

Quote:
Thanks. I hope those storms have weakened some. Maybe you can get prepared, cause I sure wasn't expecting this.......twice in 3 weeks! Good luck!

 

[kenazzo2000]

Quote:
Thanks. I hope those storms have weakened some. Maybe you can get prepared, cause I sure wasn't expecting this.......twice in 3 weeks! Good luck!

you should get a 12v incubator like mine when there s no electric i attach them to a car battrey and that way you save the eggs

 

[katiebob]

Some incubator manufacturers offer an accessorie that allows you to use power from a large battery. Perhaps you can look into that.
Sorry to hear about the unfortunate people who lost their lives and those who lost homes- puts things into perspective though. Good luck

 

[SilverPhoenix]

Yeah, I think you have a few options here:

1. Even if the power goes out and is out for a while, that doesn't always mean the eggs are doomed. Depending on when in the incubation you are (the earlier the better), if the power goes out you can take them out, let them reach room temperature, and when the power goes out put them back in. My broody hen decided to abandon her eggs for over twelve hours because she gave up being broody, and by the time I got to the eggs they were quite cold. I decided to stick the eggs in the incubator and see what happened, and a few days later I candled and--voila! Movement. I now have a duckling from one of those eggs who just turned one day old and he's fine.

The eggs go into dormancy when they get cold, and then resume growing once they get warm again.

2. Get a back-up power source for when the power goes out. You could look into small generators, battery back-ups, even solar power!

I'm sorry you're having bad luck with your eggs! I know the feeling, I had two hatches that were doomed because the power went out when I wasn't home, and these power outages happened DURING HATCHING. Which means I had dead full-term chicks.

It was really sad and frustrating.

Good luck--don't give up! I got two chicks out of the first maybe forty eggs I set at different times, and then finally this hatch went smoothly and now I have nineteen chicks and a duckling!

 

[kingmt]

I know the felling. Last year it was the post office that keep messing mine up. The eggs weren't expensive but shipping + the price of the eggs just to through away was starting to suck. It got so bad that I did give up. I spent a lot of money this year also & my first batch was a flop but the second order was already in the bator which turned out good.

 

[jenjscott]

We lost power yesterday too, but not for so long. We have a generator we started up after they were out for a bout an hour and the temp in the bator really started dropping. I've been thinking about trying to figure out how to make a kerosene back up system.. That's what they used to use in incubators a long time ago. Mulia in indonesia had a lot of power problems and finally managed to hatch some that way. Of course, if you're not home when it goes out, there is not much that you can do.

 

[Bettacreek]

Never give up on those eggs. Most of the time, they can go dormant if the power goes out, and they can survive. What do you have to lose by letting them incubate? Give it awhile, see if there's any development.

 

[_Randall_]

Quote:
Thanks. I hope those storms have weakened some. Maybe you can get prepared, cause I sure wasn't expecting this.......twice in 3 weeks! Good luck!

you should get a 12v incubator like mine when there s no electric i attach them to a car battrey and that way you save the eggs

Well, the 'ol "Quail Egg Hatchin' Savings Account" doesn't have very many more George Washingtons left in it for much more overhead .......... but, all donations will be appreciated though

!!!