November Hatch -- Who's going to have late fall babies?

[Rozzie]

Yep! If I figure one isn't going to make it, I'm going to intervene. If I hadn't, I would have lost some of those babies from that awful stench. Without helping, I'd have had a hard time figuring out which it was that was rotten, too, since they all looked pipped.

I figured with the quail eggs after more than a full day after a pip it was time to do something. I have a couple with minor toe problems, but one of those hatched first on its own. Then there is the one with severe foot problems, but he'd have died without help. That one is gorgeous and I'm hoping I can fix his problems. I'm worried he'll splay from the bandaids, though.

 

[jnkir7]

i have three broody hens, i got tired of trying to break them ,so i let them have four eggs each i may have to take them and brood them we shall see, they should hatch within a few days of each other, janie

 

[emvickrey]

Quote:
What I do is I put that rubber like shelf liner on the floor of the brooder so they can get a grip and I also use the paper first aid tape and I spread their toes out like they would be if they where standing and tape them in place tip and bottom and I trip the tape so they aren't stepping on themselves. The regular band aids are slippery and they need to be able to grip so they can walk. If they can't they will never get better. That rubber like shelving liner is cheap and it's at just about any department store and the Dollar store it's $1 and $2 bucks. It's washable too. I've reused mine for a year now,.

 

[Rozzie]

Quote:
What I do is I put that rubber like shelf liner on the floor of the brooder so they can get a grip and I also use the paper first aid tape and I spread their toes out like they would be if they where standing and tape them in place tip and bottom and I trip the tape so they aren't stepping on themselves. The regular band aids are slippery and they need to be able to grip so they can walk. If they can't they will never get better. That rubber like shelving liner is cheap and it's at just about any department store and the Dollar store it's $1 and $2 bucks. It's washable too. I've reused mine for a year now,.

That's what I have on the bottom of the brooder. It's great stuff! You're right - the bandaids were pretty slick. I actually just finished taking them off. The goal was just to help him get his feet under him. I'll watch and if they start to go back I'll treat for a longer period. He just couldn't stand up at all for the first few hours. Had to try...

His feet will probably never be perfect, but the goal is a decent life, not show quality.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

I hatch all year around.
I have 28 eggs due to hatch tomorrow, 60 more developing and I set another 18 or 19 last night. Thank goodness the hens have forced me to slow down since they have about stopped laying.
I love hatching them and watching some grow up and selling chicks to people that want to start or add to their flocks but 7 days a week can be a bit much for this old lady.

Who am I kidding? I love this stuff!

 

[emvickrey]

Quote:
What I do is I put that rubber like shelf liner on the floor of the brooder so they can get a grip and I also use the paper first aid tape and I spread their toes out like they would be if they where standing and tape them in place tip and bottom and I trip the tape so they aren't stepping on themselves. The regular band aids are slippery and they need to be able to grip so they can walk. If they can't they will never get better. That rubber like shelving liner is cheap and it's at just about any department store and the Dollar store it's $1 and $2 bucks. It's washable too. I've reused mine for a year now,.

That's what I have on the bottom of the brooder. It's great stuff! You're right - the bandaids were pretty slick. I actually just finished taking them off. The goal was just to help him get his feet under him. I'll watch and if they start to go back I'll treat for a longer period. He just couldn't stand up at all for the first few hours. Had to try...

His feet will probably never be perfect, but the goal is a decent life, not show quality.

My goal with quail are to get them big enough to process. The lame or weaker ones will get killed by the stronger ones so I try to do what I have to to keep them going. I've put boots on and i've had many that have had sever pecking done to them. I get them well and put them back. If the pecking keeps up they come in the house in a cage alone till they get big enough to process. I have 3 in here now. Next week they go to freezer camp along with about 30 of their former buddies.

I'm not hatching out anymore quail till spring. So I have plenty of eggs if anybody wants any. I keep a light on my breeders and they are in the shed in a cage. I cover the cages at night. When the weather gets colder they will only get uncovered long enough to do the daily tending to so they stay warm. I'm working on making them some aprons because they have bare backs. Poor girls. This weekend i'll put some hay in the back of the cage so they can get up in there to stay warm.

 

[emvickrey]

Quote:
I wanted to stop hatching thru the winter but my silkies started to lay. I just can't throw that opportunity down the drain. So i'm putting all the eggs I get in the incubator. I"ve only gotten 1 fertile egg so far but they are just "practicing" I'm sure when the roo gets the hang of it they will all be fertile. I have 4 silkie hens and a frizzle, sizzle and a polish/silkie hen that are laying too but they are in with the same roo. Except for the sizzle hen. She is in a cage in the house throwing a fit right now because I won't let her out to roam the house and pick fleas from the dogs.

Yep, she's the house chicken and a spoiled one at that.

 

[Tanichca]

Quote:
I'm surprised nobody has helped you out. I'll give it a shot.

1: will i need a thermometer or something to check the temp at?
2: what is the "ideal" temperature?
3: Humidity? How much? how to make it humid?
4: Will i need something to keep the eggs propped up?
5: How often do i turn the eggs?
6: How many eggs do you think this incubator will hold?

You will need a thermomet and a hydrometer and Walmart sells one that I use. It's small and white and digital and does both. I just lay it in the bators under a window. They cost about $7 at Walmart.

Chickens should be 99.5 degrees but myself and others keep it at different temperatures. What works best for you. I like mine between 100.2 and 100.6. Some times it climbs or falls but I just make adjustments like i'll cover it with a towel or two or i'll turn on the very small fan that's in the room but not pointing at the bator. Just to circulate the air. I also have my bator sitting up off the table a tad bit for better circulation. I have a domino under each corner. I adjust the humidity by either closing off the the big vent holes or opening them up. If it gets too high i'll open a window briefly to let some out. If the temps hit 102 i'll open the top for about 5 seconds to let some of the heat out and shut it back. Different things to avoid touching the thermostat control. The humidity should stay around 50% for chickens and raise it to 60% during hatch. I don't. I leave mine around 45% to 55%. If it goes below that i'll close up the vent holes or add water, higher and i open the vent holes or open the window for a few seconds to let some out. When they pip, zip and hatch the humidity will go up anyway. If it's too high the chick will drown in the shell before it ever hatches. I would rather have to help out out if it gets stuck than have it drown.
You don't need to keep the eggs propped up, you can lay them on their side. just give them a little roll about 3 times a day. It would be good to put an X on one side and an O on the other so you know they have all been turned right. You can put them in an egg carton with the bottom of the cups cut out for air circulation and prop one side up then the other instead of thurning them. I did that last year and it worked out just fine. You can leave the egg in the carton dring the last 3 days and just don't prop it up anymore or take them out and lay them on the floor. They don't need to be turned at all the last 3 days. I've read the last week is save to stop turning. To get the humidity in the bator you want to use a low dish and put a sponge or a wash cloth in it and fill it with water. You want to get the right temps and humidity before you put in your eggs. You can use a wider dish and/or more sponges. What ever works to get the humidity right. I have a LG and it has water wells and I cut sponges and lay them in each well and a whole sponge outside the well in case I need to get it raised more. I also found that using one of those large syringes for putting juices inside of meat works very well for adding water. You can get the water where you need it without having to move any eggs.

I have no idea how many eggs will fit in your bator. But I suggest that you don't do staggard hatches unless you make another bator to use as a hatcher so you can take the eggs out that are to go in lock down. You want to leave room so you can turn them quickly which if you lined them up so you could just give them a roll the whole row will get turned. The less you have your bator open the better.

When you first put your eggs in the bator after you have stabilized it, the temp and humidity will change. You want to give them time to warm up. Usually 14 hours but not always. The temp may spike after the eggs have warmed up and you will want to get that down to a safe temp. The humidity may also drop so having an extra sponge in there will benefit you then. Just add water to the sponge. I have charts I used to keep track of the temps and humidity everyday and when they got turned, etc. If you pm me with your email address i'll send you a copy. I make a chart for every hatch but I have a turner now and more of a set up than when I first started. I mostly worry about lock down dates and of course i'm a slave to the temps and humidity.

We're working on collecting the parts to make a cabinet incubator and hopefully we will have that for the spring hatches. There are always lots of chicks then and i'll get the quail going again by then also.

I hope I helped. And always keep in mind what works for somebody else doesn't necessarily mean it will work for you. Give advice a shot. IF it don't work don't stick with it. Adjust and combine other opinions to fit your needs.

Good luck

what is the thermometer/hydrometer at walmart called? where would i find it?

 

[emvickrey]

Quote:
I'm surprised nobody has helped you out. I'll give it a shot.

1: will i need a thermometer or something to check the temp at?
2: what is the "ideal" temperature?
3: Humidity? How much? how to make it humid?
4: Will i need something to keep the eggs propped up?
5: How often do i turn the eggs?
6: How many eggs do you think this incubator will hold?

You will need a thermomet and a hydrometer and Walmart sells one that I use. It's small and white and digital and does both. I just lay it in the bators under a window. They cost about $7 at Walmart.

Chickens should be 99.5 degrees but myself and others keep it at different temperatures. What works best for you. I like mine between 100.2 and 100.6. Some times it climbs or falls but I just make adjustments like i'll cover it with a towel or two or i'll turn on the very small fan that's in the room but not pointing at the bator. Just to circulate the air. I also have my bator sitting up off the table a tad bit for better circulation. I have a domino under each corner. I adjust the humidity by either closing off the the big vent holes or opening them up. If it gets too high i'll open a window briefly to let some out. If the temps hit 102 i'll open the top for about 5 seconds to let some of the heat out and shut it back. Different things to avoid touching the thermostat control. The humidity should stay around 50% for chickens and raise it to 60% during hatch. I don't. I leave mine around 45% to 55%. If it goes below that i'll close up the vent holes or add water, higher and i open the vent holes or open the window for a few seconds to let some out. When they pip, zip and hatch the humidity will go up anyway. If it's too high the chick will drown in the shell before it ever hatches. I would rather have to help out out if it gets stuck than have it drown.
You don't need to keep the eggs propped up, you can lay them on their side. just give them a little roll about 3 times a day. It would be good to put an X on one side and an O on the other so you know they have all been turned right. You can put them in an egg carton with the bottom of the cups cut out for air circulation and prop one side up then the other instead of thurning them. I did that last year and it worked out just fine. You can leave the egg in the carton dring the last 3 days and just don't prop it up anymore or take them out and lay them on the floor. They don't need to be turned at all the last 3 days. I've read the last week is save to stop turning. To get the humidity in the bator you want to use a low dish and put a sponge or a wash cloth in it and fill it with water. You want to get the right temps and humidity before you put in your eggs. You can use a wider dish and/or more sponges. What ever works to get the humidity right. I have a LG and it has water wells and I cut sponges and lay them in each well and a whole sponge outside the well in case I need to get it raised more. I also found that using one of those large syringes for putting juices inside of meat works very well for adding water. You can get the water where you need it without having to move any eggs.

I have no idea how many eggs will fit in your bator. But I suggest that you don't do staggard hatches unless you make another bator to use as a hatcher so you can take the eggs out that are to go in lock down. You want to leave room so you can turn them quickly which if you lined them up so you could just give them a roll the whole row will get turned. The less you have your bator open the better.

When you first put your eggs in the bator after you have stabilized it, the temp and humidity will change. You want to give them time to warm up. Usually 14 hours but not always. The temp may spike after the eggs have warmed up and you will want to get that down to a safe temp. The humidity may also drop so having an extra sponge in there will benefit you then. Just add water to the sponge. I have charts I used to keep track of the temps and humidity everyday and when they got turned, etc. If you pm me with your email address i'll send you a copy. I make a chart for every hatch but I have a turner now and more of a set up than when I first started. I mostly worry about lock down dates and of course i'm a slave to the temps and humidity.

We're working on collecting the parts to make a cabinet incubator and hopefully we will have that for the spring hatches. There are always lots of chicks then and i'll get the quail going again by then also.

I hope I helped. And always keep in mind what works for somebody else doesn't necessarily mean it will work for you. Give advice a shot. IF it don't work don't stick with it. Adjust and combine other opinions to fit your needs.

Good luck

what is the thermometer/hydrometer at walmart called? where would i find it?

It's called just that Thermometer/Hydrometer. I dont know the name brand. At our Walmart they where across the isle from the expandable screens. The ones you put in a window that don't have a screen. Maybe around the area that has weather stripping and the plastic sheeting for windows and doors. I first looked in the area for the outdoor stuff but it wasn't with those thermometers. It was with the ones that are used inside the house. Hardware section or around there someplace. They take AAA batteries too so you'll want to get s small package of those too. I'll get a pic of mine and put it on here so you know what it looks like. I have one in each bator. If I can't get the temp right I first take out the battery then put it back. If that don't work change the battery. I only have to change it about every 6 months. Very cheap to use.

 

[Rozzie]

For measuring humidity, you want a Hygrometer, not a hydrometer. They are two completely different instruments.

A Hygrometer measures relative humidity. (whoops - edited to add the missing word - sorry about that!)
A Hydrometer measures the density of a liquid and is used in things like making wine.

You can get a hygrometer at a pet store, too. Check the reptile section.