Mahonri's 2nd Annual NYDHatch, watching them grow...

[ChooksChick]

Quote:
Here I is LOL
Tweeked the bator all day yesterday , trying to bring it down to correct temps . Finally ran at 99.1 to 100.3 for 2 hrs [ middle of the egg ] , so I went grocery shopping . Got home in under 2 hrs [ got chicken feed too ] ; bator running at 97 to 98

. I fell asleep last night between tweeks , but was close , and woke up at three a.m. to find it back down to 98 again . Its getting close again now , but figure it will mess up a little as soon as I take out that turner LOL . I hope these unborn chicks are tough little buggers .

Taking out the turner will knock it down at least one or two degrees- why don't you just unplug it and leave them in it?

 

[ChooksChick]

Quote:
I hadn't thought about that...I'm soooo unlikely to be awake after midnight. Those little Cochins need to time it right if I'm to win anything.

 

[SteveH]

Quote:
Here I is LOL
Tweeked the bator all day yesterday , trying to bring it down to correct temps . Finally ran at 99.1 to 100.3 for 2 hrs [ middle of the egg ] , so I went grocery shopping . Got home in under 2 hrs [ got chicken feed too ] ; bator running at 97 to 98

. I fell asleep last night between tweeks , but was close , and woke up at three a.m. to find it back down to 98 again . Its getting close again now , but figure it will mess up a little as soon as I take out that turner LOL . I hope these unborn chicks are tough little buggers .

Taking out the turner will knock it down at least one or two degrees- why don't you just unplug it and leave them in it?

Thank you for the suggestion , but I can't hit the outer channels with my water tube to raise humidity with the turner there . It looks possible , but the tube just does not take the proper bends to get to where it needs to go .

 

[jenjscott]

My official guess for posts is 5280.

So I am down to 17 and a maybe on the eggs out of 61 started. Most were clears with a few quitters. Not too surprising though, with the weather and notorious Japanese infertility.

I am nervous about using the new old incubator as a hatcher, but you gotta start sometime. It seems to hold temperature and humidity well. I just can't stand not having a window to plaster my nose against. That will change after this hatch, I can assure you.

I gotta get my Hovabator out and ready to go, I really should be using it for these small hatches. Anyway, I may not have a New Year's Day hatch. All mine look way underdeveloped at least a day or two. I think my temps must be running low, perhaps more variable through the incubator than I thought. But, then maybe my quail will wait and hatch late and will come on NYD. I now have two more trays in the incubator, two different dates, so I will have a busy January, if the hatch rate gets better, that is.

 

[daisychick]

Quote:
Steve, I saw that someone stuck a piece of coat hanger or other wire into their tube so they could control where it went better. I thought that was a great idea. You can make more straight shots that way and actually control that floppy tubing that decides to pour water right where you didn't want it to go ! Might be worth a try.

 

[Mahonri]

Getting in the shower

good morning, again...

And Renee where to I order 5FTP or whatever it is?

and it's raining, and cold outside

 

[LarryPQ]

GOOD MORNING!

So chittychittychatchat last night, huh?

What do we need a spreadsheet for? I can do it at lunch.

 

[LarryPQ]

BTW: I have an anecdote for you all.

Remember a couple of weeks ago, I asked for advice about a little silkie/cochin roo with swollen eyes?

Well, I quarantined him & medicated his water. The swelling disapeared in 3 days, with no goo and no smell. No sneezing and no rattling. BUT--just to be safe, I moved him into a longer-term cage away from the coop. He only got perkier, so Monday I let him out with the other chickens during free-range time. That night when the chooks went to bed, I looked for him by the quarantine cage, but didn't see him. I THOUGHT I spotted him by his siblings (distinctive shape), but I guess not.

When I collected the eggs last night, I found him sleeping by the quarantine cage, on a low-to-the-ground shelf! Somehow he had survived a whole day free in the backyard with my three dogs. He is really smart, or really lucky, or REALLY hard-core. So, I guess he stays...for now.

 

[SteveH]

Quote:
Steve, I saw that someone stuck a piece of coat hanger or other wire into their tube so they could control where it went better. I thought that was a great idea. You can make more straight shots that way and actually control that floppy tubing that decides to pour water right where you didn't want it to go ! Might be worth a try.

That's a really good idea . I tried those flex drinking straws , and could not get them together nor on the tube .

This time I'm going with the egg cartons though . They will allow me to place my thermometer/hygometer where I like it . I'm staying home till 6;30 tonight anyway , will be back by 8:30 , so I have plenty time to play with the wafer LOL .

 

[ChooksChick]

Quote:
Taking out the turner will knock it down at least one or two degrees- why don't you just unplug it and leave them in it?

Thank you for the suggestion , but I can't hit the outer channels with my water tube to raise humidity with the turner there . It looks possible , but the tube just does not take the proper bends to get to where it needs to go .

Why don't you use a folded paper towel (or washcloth or maxipad) on the turner to take the tube's water? That will wick and release moisture better than still water in a channel. I often ignore the channels altogether and use paper towels as wicking instead.

My feeling is that dropping to lower than 99.5 during the last few days is FAR worse than having a low humidity. JMHO, though.

ETA: The cartons make up for that height/temp loss, so fabulous idea. I am lazy and hate to jar the eggs (klutzy, too!) so if I don't move them to a hatcher or don't have room in one, I just toss something like a washcloth on the turner and our water through the vents (we don't need no stinkin' tubing!).