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

[PepsNick]

Quote:
Mahonri needs help staying sane during his hatching escapades, so there is a special sanity patrol to help keep him in line!

LOL! Got it. Linda, I would love to see the pics!

 

[IdealisticRoo]

How fun! I want in! I have 56 in the bator for a Christmas Day hatch, but I just bought a Hovabator with fan and turner that I will test until the 11th and then pop some eggs from my 6 E.E. girls in.

I have banned myself from buying eggs on ebay - I spent almost $100 buying hatching eggs on there this month, and got some of the nastiest looking eggs! I guess I am too worried about dirt and poo, but my nest boxes are perfectly clean with fresh shavings in and I NEVER have a dirty egg!

I made the best of the eggs I got - hopefully some will hatch - I have 14 white leghorn eggs, 5 Sultan eggs, 9 barred rock eggs, 9 of my E.E. eggs and 6 E.E. eggs from another source and the rest are "barnyard mix" eggs. This is just a test run for the bator I built out of a 1950's TV.

My New Years Day hatch will consist of 41 eggs (turner capacity) in my new Hovabator. All 41 will have to come from my 6 girls or LOCAL eggs (maybe "fresh eggs direct from the henhouse" that I see on Craigslist locally).

Total chicken addict here, I spend most of my time on the "Chicken Addicts Anonymous" thread!

 

[SteveH]

I've been collecting since the 1st and only needed 6 more eggs to fill the 42 egg turner , so I made lunch of two marked as being too cold and one I knew was a double yolker . All looked fertile .

Two more marked as too cold that I hope to replace , so hopefully I can get 11 more before the girls get tired of me bothering them and go on strike . I've got some trying to go broody , so I keep lifting them out of the boxes to look under them . All three that I rousted out today were just in there to lay , and one dropped her egg out on the floor as I put her down

It was wet , warm , and unbroken .

 

[SteveH]

This is just a test run for the bator I built out of a 1950's TV.

How cool ! Can you change channels and see a different breed hatch ?​

 

[Rathbone]

Quote:
Gorgeous!!!

 

[Rathbone]

Quote:
Can you contact your local 4H chapter and see if they have loaner incubators? They do that here...

 

[CorgiHouse]

OK, all you experts here........I have a total newbie question.

So, I've never incubated/hatched before. I bought a used LG styrofoam incubator a few days ago, and now have it set up and running to figure out how to keep temps and humidity stable.

If all goes well and things look stable in the next couple of days, I was thinking I would turn it off and then put my eggs in the turner, without the bator on, to keep them turned until time to start the NYD incubating. So when I'm ready to start incubating them, I was figuring that I turn it on empty, get it up to the correct temp and RH, then add room temp eggs. From my reading so far, it sounds like that's what you all do. BUT - if the eggs are in the egg turner already, is there any reason I can't just put that all in the incubator BEFORE turning it on, and then let the incubator and eggs get up to temp together? Or does that do something horrible to the eggs?

Thanks for any insight / advice!

 

[vebyrd36]

Good question, I too have wondered this. My concern would be uneven temp, while it is trying to reach proper temp. I don't know if it matters though. I know what you mean about the bator. I have been raising chicks for years, but this is the first time I have used a bator.

 

[wthchristi]

Mahonri- Can I join in too!! Pretty please???? Will have blrw and oe cooking.

 

[newlyweds]

After much debate (with myself) I am in for the hatch. I will set some of my own eggs, EE's, NN's and OE's so excited, I have a young rooster, who is "hopefully" taking his job very seriously. So fun!! Glad some many people our joining in. Excellent Idea Mahonri!