May 2020 Hatch-A-Long

[kelseyk]

Just wondering.. the temp in my incubator is 100.3 and the humidity is 55-57, is the humidity too high? I see that some people have their humidity set somewhere in the 40s? Idk I’ve never done this before

I try to keep mine between 50-55% humidity and have had pretty good hatches so far. I would think you would be okay.

 

[kelseyk]

Where does everyone buy fertile eggs? Here on BYC or ebay? Any other places I should check?

I have bought all of mine on ebay. Just make sure to read seller feedback and ask questions. Is there a certain breed you are looking for? Some on here might be able to recommend sellers on ebay.

 

[BertyRoux]

I wanted miniature horses or miniature donkey until I realized that there's a lot of work in them. I would love to learn how to do their hooves myself because I'm sure I would be able to handle it, but I honestly don't know if in the future we will have the space for them. If I get enough land I so would get a donkey I love them.

I want miniature donkeys just for the entertainment factor but DH says no useless animals and I can't disagree. I have had miniature horses, my last one was a terrible escape artist (which is why I ended up selling her, she kept escaping and visiting the neighbors). As it is I'm down to one large pony, who can't be on the grass except in late winter or he gets too fat - I don't need more animals I have to dry lot, and miniatures (donkey or horse) are notoriously prone to obesity and laminitis on pasture. Horses are g-d expensive creatures and so high maintenance!

I'm working DH over into letting me get a small flock of sheep to graze the pasture we can't use and raise lambs for the freezer. He's almost on board.

 

[kelseyk]

@Lillies

The Janoel 12's can be tricky to monitor humidity in. I have one. The humidity spikes pretty good when you first put water in but does not take it long to evaporate. I use a cattle syringe without a needle to put about 12 cc water under the grate - once in the morning and once in the evening. There is another person on here who drilled a hole in the side under the level of the grate so that they could use an eye dropper to put water in instead of having to open it up to put water in. My humidity will be 60%+ right after I put water in but down to around 20% before the next fill. (That is filling every 12 hours.)

 

[FortCluck]

I want miniature donkeys just for the entertainment factor but DH says no useless animals and I can't disagree. I have had miniature horses, my last one was a terrible escape artist (which is why I ended up selling her, she kept escaping and visiting the neighbors). As it is I'm down to one large pony, who can't be on the grass except in late winter or he gets too fat - I don't need more animals I have to dry lot, and miniatures (donkey or horse) are notoriously prone to obesity and laminitis on pasture. Horses are g-d expensive creatures and so high maintenance!

I'm working DH over into letting me get a small flock of sheep to graze the pasture we can't use and raise lambs for the freezer. He's almost on board.

Lamb sounds good for the freezer. We are planning on getting pigs, goats, and rabbits for meat. Right now I am working on turkeys, chickens, and quail for meat. I'm trying to get my butchering down then I'll move onto another animal besides birds.

 

[FortCluck]

The Janoel 12's can be tricky to monitor humidity in. I have one. The humidity spikes pretty good when you first put water in but does not take it long to evaporate. I use a cattle syringe without a needle to put about 12 cc water under the grate - once in the morning and once in the evening. There is another person on here who drilled a hole in the side under the level of the grate so that they could use an eye dropper to put water in instead of having to open it up to put water in. My humidity will be 60%+ right after I put water in but down to around 20% before the next fill. (That is filling every 12 hours.)

Wow that's quite the humidity change. I guess it's probably because it's plastic and not styrofoam. My Styrofoam incubator stays at the same humidity the whole entire hatch without adding any water.

I would like to get a plastic incubator just to see what the difference is. I don't want to get one that is super expensive if I'm just using it for an experiment.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

This is what the eggs look like

View attachment 2115792

Nice! I ran over and took a pic of ours! They are next to blue Ameraucana eggs (the hen of our olive egger cross). We wanted darker eggs than ours produce so ordered some last year that were quite dark. Unfortunately, that hatch failed, probably due to shipped eggs plus temperatures that were too high. So, for this year, we are hatching eggs from our own birds. They have been very healthy and our hen is an excellent layer.

 

[FortCluck]

Nice! I ran over and took a pic of ours! They are next to blue Ameraucana eggs (the hen of our olive egger cross). We wanted darker eggs than ours produce so ordered some last year that were quite dark. Unfortunately, that hatch failed, probably due to shipped eggs plus temperatures that were too high. So, for this year, we are hatching eggs from our own birds. They have been very healthy and our hen is an excellent layer.

If I crossed a Maran with a Deathlayer... What color would the eggs be?

I really want to get colored egg layers, but I am having such a hard time finding them. I need to find someone who sells them and is reliable and good with shipping.

 

[BertyRoux]

Lamb sounds good for the freezer. We are planning on getting pigs, goats, and rabbits for meat. Right now I am working on turkeys, chickens, and quail for meat. I'm trying to get my butchering down then I'll move onto another animal besides birds.

That makes sense! I have a friend who raises meat rabbits, she says it's pretty economical and learning to butcher them wasn't difficult.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

If I crossed a Maran with a Deathlayer... What color would the eggs be?

I really want to get colored egg layers, but I am having such a hard time finding them. I need to find someone who sells them and is reliable and good with shipping.

Does a death layer lay white eggs? If so, you’d get various shades of tan, possibly with a pinkish tint, from BCMxdeathlayer.