Mahonri's 3rd Annual, BYC Easter Hatch-a-long!

[craz e laid e]

Michelle, I have a cabinet incubator I built last Spring out of a mini office fridge.. It has 4 trays and holds 120 chicken eggs (without putting any eggs where there aren't cups LOL) I think I have 21 one icelandics already in there but since I have to add the eggs from Renee (hopefully tomorrow) I'm thinking I better add at least all the Icelandics laid Sat, Sun & Mon as well... so I guess I'll be stacking... Just a side note.. I've learned that the icelandic eggs work great along the edges of my trays since they are smaller than the other eggs.. After I candle, I'll move stuff around... Hopefully we'll have a good hatch.. This is my first hatch this year... I'll post the final count of eggs and pictures after I get the ones in from Renee...

You were talking about building a bator Michelle.. I say go for it.... I used Flexwatt tape and a lightbulb.. most important thing though.. I have a digital thermostat.. it has a 0.3 degrees celsius window so I set it for 37.4 degrees... It turns on at 37.4 and off at 37.7.. set it and forget it!! One thing I don't have to worry about.... I use a water weasel with the thermostat probe inside. I want to build another bigger one this year but haven't had the time.. I'm still working on finishing the inside of the barn.. If you are interested, let me know and I'll send you the info on my thermostat.. You can get them on eBay.

I would also like info (and pictures). My DH just started talking about, and looking up "how to build incubator", so any help you can offer will be greatly appreciated.

 

[craz e laid e]

Alittle advice please....my LG (w/fan) is at 20% humidity. I have all 3 wells filleds with water. I have added a wet paper towel off to the side on top of the wire screen. That will get it up to 25% and then it just drops back down. What percent humidity whould I be aiming for? Anyone with experience with LG's? I'd like to know if you fill all 3 wells at the start how often do you need to refill them. Right now I can't see what is going on with the water in the wells because the eggs obstruct the view. So what percent humidity and how ofter do you have to refill your wells on your forced air LG???

I hate the wells in the bottom of my LG. This time I put plastic Easter Egg halves in empty turner cups and it is working wonderfully. Water in just 3 brought humidity up from 10% to 43% quite quickly, although I am going to lower it to 30%-35%. You can also put damp sponge(s) in along the side. Good luck.

 

[AK Michelle]

Quote:

There ya go........ messin' around already.
Do as the instructions say, and reset it to the original factory setting. And then, leave it alone for 24 hours.

Anyway, that's what I would do.

Quote:

1. Go to "My profile"
2. Click, "edit account details."
3. Look under "site preference," and remove the check mark from, "Remove nested quotes in replies."

It's like hanging out with the smart kid at school.

Thanks!

Michelle, I have a cabinet incubator I built last Spring out of a mini office fridge.. It has 4 trays and holds 120 chicken eggs (without putting any eggs where there aren't cups LOL) I think I have 21 one icelandics already in there but since I have to add the eggs from Renee (hopefully tomorrow) I'm thinking I better add at least all the Icelandics laid Sat, Sun & Mon as well... so I guess I'll be stacking... Just a side note.. I've learned that the icelandic eggs work great along the edges of my trays since they are smaller than the other eggs.. After I candle, I'll move stuff around... Hopefully we'll have a good hatch.. This is my first hatch this year... I'll post the final count of eggs and pictures after I get the ones in from Renee...

You were talking about building a bator Michelle.. I say go for it.... I used Flexwatt tape and a lightbulb.. most important thing though.. I have a digital thermostat.. it has a 0.3 degrees celsius window so I set it for 37.4 degrees... It turns on at 37.4 and off at 37.7.. set it and forget it!! One thing I don't have to worry about.... I use a water weasel with the thermostat probe inside. I want to build another bigger one this year but haven't had the time.. I'm still working on finishing the inside of the barn.. If you are interested, let me know and I'll send you the info on my thermostat.. You can get them on eBay.

Yes please.

 

[Spangled]

Still up. Changed the setting on the LG and don'e dare go to bed yet. Need to check it one more time.

Ok, now it's my turn to panic. Temp was holding great but now I just noticed that it's at 102. Could this be because I turned the turner on this afternoon? Should I turn it down? Ahhhhhhhh hate to make changes this late at night.

I sometimes set my alarm for one hour and sleep on the couch, then check on the incubator and if it's good, go to bed. But I have also had to do that all night long. I feel your pain.

I don't ever want to see ANYONE go through what I've been through this past week.

Again, thanks for the kind thoughts, well wishes and prayers. They are greatly appreciated.

Awww. We love you, Mahonri.

My heart goes pitty pat when I look at him. Then I catch my breath and nearly start hyperventilating. South America is a little bit huge. Where in South America? Please. I think my roosters would be upset if they knew that I'm casting my glance longingly at another fine specimen of poultry pulchritude.

Here is a chic pic of some of Debs beauteous Golden Campines that just hatched yesterday for me

They are so cute. I like Campines. From the moment I saw them, I knew I had to have a couple.

Today is the day that construction begins on my breeding pens!

Yay!

Who among us couldn't use more "chicken storage."

This is my "chicken chores" table.

Here it is messy, and in use:

Very fine chicken chores table. Not messy! The galvanized garbage can up on blocks is a familiar sight.

Okay, here is my entry for ChestnutRidge's Most Ingenious Chicken Design - First some background. I experienced a "guinea population explosion" summer-before-last. I built a 12 x 16 open air, covered run to house the guineas and whatever chickens wanted to stay there. The roof is over 12 feet high at the peak and the birds like to sleep in the rafters. All the birds. Even the old, fat, laying hens will make their way all the way to the highest rafters to roost. Within a week of finishing the coop, I needed a way to get then out of the rafters so I found a scrap of wood about 30 inches long and a smaller scrap to nail on top. I called it my "Chicken Gitter." I have used it nearly every day since and have several times intended to make a more presentable version, but this one is functional and always handy. I had a neighbor come over to care for my birds while we were away on vacation and I labled it for her. I wrote "Chicken Getter" on it so she could differentiate it from other scrap wood laying around and because I was afraid she would think I didn't know that "Chicken Gitter" was incorrect! I now have three old hens that will stay in the rafters until I help them down. They stand on the rafter until they see the "Chicken Gitter" in my hand, then they squat and I touch the back of their legs with it. They step back onto the cross piece and I lower them to the ground. Spoiled girls!

I can't believe it. I had a "chicken gitter," too! Mine was just a broken piece of lath. I have a rooster and when he was a youngster, he would roost on the door to the chicken house (which I secured daily so that the wind didn't catch it and slam shut). Of course, I needed to shut the door at night, but he was in the way. I couldn't reach him and handle him without a ruckus by using my hands, so I started putting a broken piece of lath in front of him at sundown+. He would step onto it and then I would carry him precariously in to one of the roosts and he would step off. After a week or two, he talked a friend into roosting up on the top of the open door with him. The friend knew what to do immediately and stepped onto the piece of lath the first time I offered it. Anyway, after a few weeks of that, I moved everybody to a new coop so I didn't have to do that anymore. I thought I had the strangest chickens, but I guess this is moderately normal behavior. Wow. Who knew?

Anyway, I'm going to add you to my follow list! And I should go back and give your post a thumbs up ... if I can find it again. I thought your idea about raising the humidity near the end of the hatch by placing the whole incubator (probably the styrofoam-style) on a raised platform which is located in a tray of water was good. Ingenious even. It could keep me from having to add water every couple of hours to the interior of the incubator during the hatching period. Of course, as you made clear, I thought, the evaporating water from the tray would rise a quarter of an inch or so and make its way through the holes on the bottom of the incubator, raising the humidity inside the incubator. It might not make a difference in everyone's house since our homes or hatching areas are all so different, but it's a real possibility. I suspect, though, that I wouldn't have tried it on my first hatch because I would want to see if incubation could occur as described in many instructions indicate--I mean, why go to all the trouble of putting the incubator on an island if I don't have to. But now that I've hatched a few times, I can see that it's an idea that has potential and is worth a try in my incubating/hatching situation. I don't think I'd try it with my Brinsea, though. But definitely with my styrobator.

 

[Mahonri]

Shaun, you are right... 1+1+1+1 does equal 4, but one is the spot check, and it goes back and forth between the 1588 and the Eco 20.

At present in the 1588 the temps read: 99.9, 99.9, 99.9 & 100! How's that? How did my thermometers all get calibrated? It worries me of course now that the Spot Check is off! Whatever... now that they are stable, I'm NOT touching anything until the 24th/25th when I candle!

Daron, I'm praying for you!

 

[AK Michelle]

I candled my 8 turkey eggs tonight and 7 are dancing away!!! the last one had a blood ring... I'm excited since these are from my birds and are my first eggs...

Woo Hoo

Alrighty then. I've really learned alot about my Genesis 1588.

How did I finally get it to stablize?

I took it back to where it was.

While the incubator was plugged in, I

1. Turned all switches off
2. Turned on 2, 4,6 & 8 switches.
Let it blink 3 times... 3 times.
3. Turned off the 2, 4, 6 & 8 switches.
4. Turned on the "6" switch.
5. It's been stable at 99.8 degrees now for over two hours. (this is with the Brinsea Spot check)
I have 3 other thermometers in there. one says 99. 4, one says 99.2. one says 100.1 and another says 100.
I'd guess I've arrived. I'm not opening that bator again until the 25th now when I do my first candle.
I'll just add warm water through the tube whenever the humidity gauges say it's less than 30.

WAHOO!

Wouldn't it be cool if I hatched over 30???

If you had to have issues at least you had them before the eggs really started developing. Here's hoping for a really great hatch

That is a perfect picture. And the most sane I have seen in a while.

Hey! I resemble that remark

Ok, I finally caught up again!

I had set 66 eggs this afternoon.
14 frizzle Turkens! Shipped from Dipsy Doodle Doo
12 Buff Orpingtons! Shipped from Hikjic
13 Light Brahmas! Shipped from Turrbrahma
3 Cochins! Also shipped from Turrbrahma
15 Tomaru Longcrowers! Home laid
9 Icelandics! Home laid
ETA- 2 Emu eggs!!! Shipped from New Mexico!
I have a prayer request if you all don't mind- I am experimenting a way to get rid of Mycoplasma gallisepticum in my flocks, one of the ways to do it is dip the eggs in a bowl of antibiotic water, and hope that the antibiotics destroys the disease before it infect the embryos. That way I can rebuild my farm with MG clean chicks from the infected stock. Please pray that God will allow the experiment to work. I have dipped all the eggs that I have set, to be on the safe side. I will have the chicks swab tested as soon they hatch.
Many thanks!

I'm so impressed by the effort you are putting into this and so thankful that you are sharing your journey with us so we may all learn a thing or two.

Good luck.

I would also like info (and pictures). My DH just started talking about, and looking up "how to build incubator", so any help you can offer will be greatly appreciated.

X2, Thanks!

 

[AK Michelle]

Shaun, you are right... 1+1+1+1 does equal 4, but one is the spot check, and it goes back and forth between the 1588 and the Eco 20.

At present in the 1588 the temps read: 99.9, 99.9, 99.9 & 100! How's that? How did my thermometers all get calibrated? It worries me of course now that the Spot Check is off! Whatever... now that they are stable, I'm NOT touching anything until the 24th/25th when I candle!

Daron, I'm praying for you!

There are witnesses to this statement you know.

And with that I'm all caught up. Now to start reading how to care for the sheep I may be getting...

 

[Mahonri]

And with that I'm all caught up. Now to start reading how to care for the sheep I may be getting...

I have heard one thing about sheep.

Do you know how you get virgin wool?

ugly sheep.

 

[Pinx]

Well I think my last post was over looked. I candled my eggs yesterday but I'm not confident enough in my candeling skills to decide just yet what stays and what goes. How long can eggs stay in an incubator if they aren't good. I don't want any exploding eggs... but I don't want to throw out good eggs...

 

[Lotsapaints]

Well I think my last post was over looked. I candled my eggs yesterday but I'm not confident enough in my candeling skills to decide just yet what stays and what goes. How long can eggs stay in an incubator if they aren't good. I don't want any exploding eggs... but I don't want to throw out good eggs...

I never toss until day 10 or the eggs weep now weeping eggs are not a good thing though common with shipped eggs...looks like amber drops stuck on your egg I get rid of those ASAP and sniff if it doesn't smell good you need to find the bad egg . Since I do many dark eggs I've been known to leave them until lock down once I tossed perfectly fine eggs on day 10 because I didn't see anything

I thought.

My part had be be at my house tomorrow

I'm calling @ 7 to find out what covered wagon they put it on to get here I have so many eggs I know they will not all fit and stacking in a sportsman well I just don't think that will work

Good night it took me all day to get caught up I might not catch up again until the weekend.....