May Hatch Thread--Fill up those bators n' broodies!

[MadamContrary]

Yes Did that before lockdown. The one egg I did candle looked like there was a chick inside as half was dark the other half though I couldn;t make out veins at that stage but my candling effort was not that great! It is hard to hold an egg a torch and pull a coat over your head inside a dark small closet! Lol!

Anyhow last time last month it was the same. Half the egg dark and "moving!" but when eggtopsied it was just slow cooked scrambled egg

That is a real bummer :c The post is fantastic at destroying eggs!

 

[Friar_Tuck]

Yes Did that before lockdown. The one egg I did candle looked like there was a chick inside as half was dark the other half though I couldn;t make out veins at that stage but my candling effort was not that great! It is hard to hold an egg a torch and pull a coat over your head inside a dark small closet! Lol!

Anyhow last time last month it was the same. Half the egg dark and "moving!" but when eggtopsied it was just slow cooked scrambled egg.

Oes

So sorry to hear that OES,
I am by NO MEANS an expert, but if it were me I would try a couple things:
1. Try to find some local white eggs from a farmer that has a good many roosters running with the hens. With white eggs to start with, then get a good bright torch and get a candler made. With a good candler made, and white eggs, you can start to watch the egg develop, veins and all, and get an idea what is going on inside the eggs.

2. . Try a dry run of your bator for a few days, with a couple quarts jars of water it there as heat sinks, to see if that levels out your temps, Don't try chasing the temps around with your wafer, just leave it in one spot and see if it levels off and stays one temp for a few days. Place your bator in a room where the temp stays as constant as possible.

3. If you find that it stays the same temp for a couple days, then you can start adjusting wafer. Give it a few hours after each adjustment to see what happens.

4. Once you get the bator set to a good temp, and holding there, put in your eggs, take out the thermometer, and do not touch the wafer again. I am always tempted to start chasing the mercury with the wafer if I leave the thermometer in.

5. Leave the bator dry for the first 18 days, then add some water in the trays, or a wet sponge (Warm water) lock the thing shut, and go on a three day trip somewhere!

Many of these suggestions may seem crazy, and your results may vary, they are just what have worked for me.

Most of all, Hang in there, keep trying!
Jim

 

[Friar_Tuck]

I think I am at 32 cortinux quail now. They move a bit too fast for me to count well. I should be able to get my 12 hens and 3 cocks now!
They remind me of popcorn, once they fly out of the shell, they start runnin.
I will see if this video works,,,,

 

[Keggen]

Just showing off my breeding rooster for this season. He's so good looking, and almost completely following the breeding standard. This one isn't going in the soup stock anytime soon He has given a 100% development rate, and about 90% of everything I have stuffed in the bator so far has hatched into healthy fluffy gorgeous chicks. Makes hatching so much fun! In the background is my silkie bantam hen. And alot of horse manure being composted - the manure pile is definitely the chickens fav place on the property. Great setting for my photos - or not Congrats on all the new babies out there. I have quite a few due for the next couple of days, will keep you posted!

Too funny, the manure pile is a favorite hang out spot here too!

 

[dolfi]

I think I am at 32 cortinux quail now. They move a bit too fast for me to count well. I should be able to get my 12 hens and 3 cocks now!
They remind me of popcorn, once they fly out of the shell, they start runnin.
I will see if this video works,,,,

omg that is so cool, lol

 

[BuckNBark Farm]

My chicks started hatching Thursday at 4:00-6:00, and are sill hatching. We had a power outage, and they probably got a little cold, is the reason why. But,,,I still have 13 to hatch!

Pam

White Crested Black Polish

 

[oesdog]

So sorry to hear that OES,
I am by NO MEANS an expert, but if it were me I would try a couple things:
1. Try to find some local white eggs from a farmer that has a good many roosters running with the hens. With white eggs to start with, then get a good bright torch and get a candler made. With a good candler made, and white eggs, you can start to watch the egg develop, veins and all, and get an idea what is going on inside the eggs.

2. . Try a dry run of your bator for a few days, with a couple quarts jars of water it there as heat sinks, to see if that levels out your temps, Don't try chasing the temps around with your wafer, just leave it in one spot and see if it levels off and stays one temp for a few days. Place your bator in a room where the temp stays as constant as possible.

3. If you find that it stays the same temp for a couple days, then you can start adjusting wafer. Give it a few hours after each adjustment to see what happens.

4. Once you get the bator set to a good temp, and holding there, put in your eggs, take out the thermometer, and do not touch the wafer again. I am always tempted to start chasing the mercury with the wafer if I leave the thermometer in.

5. Leave the bator dry for the first 18 days, then add some water in the trays, or a wet sponge (Warm water) lock the thing shut, and go on a three day trip somewhere!

Many of these suggestions may seem crazy, and your results may vary, they are just what have worked for me.

Most of all, Hang in there, keep trying!
Jim

Thanks for this - Some of it we already did though. Like making sure the Bator is in a room where the room temp stays relitively even. We also did a dry run before we started with water in the bottom of the thing. The temp stayed even throughout. When the eggs were put inside we did have to lower the temp but after that it stayed between 99.5-100 however a few days in it spiked to 110!!!!!! This of course is a disaster! We coudln;t understand it because the thing had remained steady fro days actually I think we were well into the second week when it happend and it has not happend since. Though the temp has remained 99.5- 102 now. since ths spike. We did turn it down again but it didn;t "do much!"

I have been spraying the thing to get the humidity up but it wont go above 55 - I got it up to over 60 once but it quickly dropped again once the temp came up. This I think is a dud run again. DH wants to crack them already. He is upset and I can;t blame him for that. Of course we could float test??? Maybe if nothing happens by tomorrow night we should concider that???

Oes - I am thinking we will just sell this bator and give up for a while. I think this year is a lost cause and to be honest I really can;t be bothered with the stress and egg turning and temp monitoring for yet another 21 days. I am too tired to re-try at this stage. Though mybe in the future next year???

 

[el pollo rey]

Just showing off my breeding rooster for this season. He's so good looking, and almost completely following the breeding standard. This one isn't going in the soup stock anytime soon He has given a 100% development rate, and about 90% of everything I have stuffed in the bator so far has hatched into healthy fluffy gorgeous chicks. Makes hatching so much fun! In the background is my silkie bantam hen. And alot of horse manure being composted - the manure pile is definitely the chickens fav place on the property. Great setting for my photos - or not Congrats on all the new babies out there. I have quite a few due for the next couple of days, will keep you posted!

he is nice perfect shape BO roo ?

 

[Jordi15]

Jordi15,
Thank you for sharing that picture, it is amazing the positions some of them find to sleep in.
Then when you wake them they can pop right up and run around.
If I slept in some of those positions, it would be a half a day before I could walk right
Jim

ha ha me too!

 

[pickitfarm]

They are adorable!