- Sep 12, 2012
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I've noticed everyone on these forums will gather (or purchase) several eggs, and put them all in the incubator at once.
But for the past month or so, I've been putting eggs in as I find them. Does anyone else do this?
With only four hens (two of which I can't find their eggs anymore, and they are absolutely free-roam making it very difficult) I only get about two eggs per day. But I put them in the incubator immediately, and then take them out once they hatch. I've only had three bad eggs - one that was underneath a shed long enough to get caked with mud before I even found it, one that was a double-yoke, and a third that simply wasn't fertilized. All of the others have hatched just fine.
I've just began my third week of the chicks actually hatching. I've had some pip while others were zipping, and others zipping while I removed the dry ones. But it doesn't actually seem to affect them to open it and remove one if I need to. I use a Little Giant incubator with an egg turner, but two trays have been removed for the non-turning days (last three days of incubation). As I gather eggs, I use a mechanical pencil to write the hatch date on them, so I know when to take them out of the turner and put them on the wire. And yes, it is a constant rotation. I'm always adding new eggs, I'm always removing eggs from the turner, and removing chicks from the incubator.
Once the chicks are completely dry, I put them in an old rabbit cage with wire sides and a plastic bottom, filled with recycled paper bedding. There they have a heat lamp, a food dish, and a water dish. Once they are about 4-5 days old, they are moved to a very large outdoor hutch with another (stronger) heat lamp, food dish, water dish, and perches. There they can meet the free-range flock who come around there every morning for their feed.
Although we stopped a few days ago until we can allow the current group to finish hatching and find out how many are hens (we plan to sell most of the roosters). I'll also use that time to give the entire incubator a scrub-down. But aside from those three above (which were not going to make it anyway), I've had a 100% hatch-rate with no problems at all.
I'm also hoping this is a good way to ADD them to my current flock. Since they have absolutely no fences or pens to contain them at all, I don't want an entire set of newly-released chicks running in a different direction with it's own dominate rooster, and creating a second flock. I figure this way I can add them one at a time - as they become old enough to join the others - and yet learn to also be submissive to my current top rooster.
But mostly, I'm just curious to know if anyone else does this. What was good or bad about it for you? And if you don't do this, why not?
But for the past month or so, I've been putting eggs in as I find them. Does anyone else do this?
With only four hens (two of which I can't find their eggs anymore, and they are absolutely free-roam making it very difficult) I only get about two eggs per day. But I put them in the incubator immediately, and then take them out once they hatch. I've only had three bad eggs - one that was underneath a shed long enough to get caked with mud before I even found it, one that was a double-yoke, and a third that simply wasn't fertilized. All of the others have hatched just fine.
I've just began my third week of the chicks actually hatching. I've had some pip while others were zipping, and others zipping while I removed the dry ones. But it doesn't actually seem to affect them to open it and remove one if I need to. I use a Little Giant incubator with an egg turner, but two trays have been removed for the non-turning days (last three days of incubation). As I gather eggs, I use a mechanical pencil to write the hatch date on them, so I know when to take them out of the turner and put them on the wire. And yes, it is a constant rotation. I'm always adding new eggs, I'm always removing eggs from the turner, and removing chicks from the incubator.
Once the chicks are completely dry, I put them in an old rabbit cage with wire sides and a plastic bottom, filled with recycled paper bedding. There they have a heat lamp, a food dish, and a water dish. Once they are about 4-5 days old, they are moved to a very large outdoor hutch with another (stronger) heat lamp, food dish, water dish, and perches. There they can meet the free-range flock who come around there every morning for their feed.
Although we stopped a few days ago until we can allow the current group to finish hatching and find out how many are hens (we plan to sell most of the roosters). I'll also use that time to give the entire incubator a scrub-down. But aside from those three above (which were not going to make it anyway), I've had a 100% hatch-rate with no problems at all.
I'm also hoping this is a good way to ADD them to my current flock. Since they have absolutely no fences or pens to contain them at all, I don't want an entire set of newly-released chicks running in a different direction with it's own dominate rooster, and creating a second flock. I figure this way I can add them one at a time - as they become old enough to join the others - and yet learn to also be submissive to my current top rooster.
But mostly, I'm just curious to know if anyone else does this. What was good or bad about it for you? And if you don't do this, why not?
