- Aug 17, 2016
- 7
- 2
- 52
ok, I built an incubator and used a 200 watt incandescant on a dimmer with a water heater thermostat, played with thermostat placing and dimmer settings for a while. I had 2 accurite digital thermometers that show humidity as well as temp and a high and low for both. I had it to where the lower reading one would be between 99/100 and the higher one would be 100/102 for the hi/lo (I usually read 99.5 but some places have called for 99-102).
a couple times the highs did show 102/104 and once the low numbers were 93/95. no idea how long it stayed at those temps those days though, I actually kept them in a closed bathroom downstairs with a dehumidifer set @ 65 (usually showed about 50-55, our downstairs has no problem staying humid, usually have the dehu set lower) so the whole bathroom was a warm humid environment. also had 4 tupperware bottoms full of water, one quite large with a bunch of sponges sitting lengthwise out of the water wicking it up.
I got 10 eggs from a friends farm, 3 of them I ended up tossing somewhere in the middle of the hatch because development stopped real early (evident when I cracked them that they had began, but none got bigger then a pencil eraser). one was brown and I couldnt see in it with my brightest led flashlight so I let it go (ended up being a dud)
around day 19 I put a humidifer in the bathroom on high and had the dehumidifer still on 65, would kick on and off so the whole bathroom was basically a tropic zone, hot and humid and miserable to be in for me anyways.
day 21 I come home around 9pm, one eggs pipped, I hear nothing, check around 10:30 before bed, no sound/nothing new.
day 22 I wake up at 5am, another chick has pipped and I hear chirping. around 8am wife texts me a pic of a chick (the 2nd to pip). this chick is now in the brooder still doing well. I get home around 6pm, still nothing new with the pipped egg, candling showed no movement, so I took a tiny chunk from the pip mark to look in, still no movement so I busted it open manually since Ive read of membranes sticking, etc... chick is dead.
day 23(today) I see one egg is internally pipped but no movement, do some googling, try tapping on the egg to get some movement, nothing. I crack it open and theres a dead chick, yolk basically gone/absorbed. now I have 4 more eggs, one was the brown one I couldnt see through that was a dud, other 3 were dead chicks, one the yolk was gone, other 2 still had sacks. all 3 still lifeless in the membrane with their beak pointing at it(but not really at the air sack I don't think) membranes still very slimy and easily removed.
so out of 10 eggs I only had one successfully hatch, and FIVE make it all the way to being a chick and not making it out of the egg... how depressing... the one that lived is a turkin, are they "heartier" than other chickens?
I want to go get a dozen off him and try again but would like some insight on where I could've went wrong, I know this was alot to read but I wanted to explain my situation as best I could.
thanks in advance.
a couple times the highs did show 102/104 and once the low numbers were 93/95. no idea how long it stayed at those temps those days though, I actually kept them in a closed bathroom downstairs with a dehumidifer set @ 65 (usually showed about 50-55, our downstairs has no problem staying humid, usually have the dehu set lower) so the whole bathroom was a warm humid environment. also had 4 tupperware bottoms full of water, one quite large with a bunch of sponges sitting lengthwise out of the water wicking it up.
I got 10 eggs from a friends farm, 3 of them I ended up tossing somewhere in the middle of the hatch because development stopped real early (evident when I cracked them that they had began, but none got bigger then a pencil eraser). one was brown and I couldnt see in it with my brightest led flashlight so I let it go (ended up being a dud)
around day 19 I put a humidifer in the bathroom on high and had the dehumidifer still on 65, would kick on and off so the whole bathroom was basically a tropic zone, hot and humid and miserable to be in for me anyways.
day 21 I come home around 9pm, one eggs pipped, I hear nothing, check around 10:30 before bed, no sound/nothing new.
day 22 I wake up at 5am, another chick has pipped and I hear chirping. around 8am wife texts me a pic of a chick (the 2nd to pip). this chick is now in the brooder still doing well. I get home around 6pm, still nothing new with the pipped egg, candling showed no movement, so I took a tiny chunk from the pip mark to look in, still no movement so I busted it open manually since Ive read of membranes sticking, etc... chick is dead.
day 23(today) I see one egg is internally pipped but no movement, do some googling, try tapping on the egg to get some movement, nothing. I crack it open and theres a dead chick, yolk basically gone/absorbed. now I have 4 more eggs, one was the brown one I couldnt see through that was a dud, other 3 were dead chicks, one the yolk was gone, other 2 still had sacks. all 3 still lifeless in the membrane with their beak pointing at it(but not really at the air sack I don't think) membranes still very slimy and easily removed.
so out of 10 eggs I only had one successfully hatch, and FIVE make it all the way to being a chick and not making it out of the egg... how depressing... the one that lived is a turkin, are they "heartier" than other chickens?
I want to go get a dozen off him and try again but would like some insight on where I could've went wrong, I know this was alot to read but I wanted to explain my situation as best I could.
thanks in advance.
