Had a three hour power outage last night. Not only do I have an incubator full of eggs but two week old chicks in the brooder in the garage.
I immediately covered the incubator with a down jacket to retain the heat. Then I started trying to figure out what else I could do. I am in Arkansas and have been worrying about this happening for the last week and a half.
I bought the large handwarmers. Took forever to finally get some heat out of them....actually thought they were not going to work. I think they are old. Filled empty (emptied some) two liter bottles with hot water and put them in the brooder in the corner where the chicks were laying. Put one under the jacket on the incubator also.
Started watching the temp on the incubator......after three hours it only got down to 88 degrees and that was in the last fifteen minutes and then the lights came back on! I had a power outage on the last hatch at 14 days and still had a good hatch. I am at day 9 today. So, the hot water bottle helped and the coat helped. After an hour I put a blanket on top of the coat.
I started worrying about the chicks. The lights were out and it was dark so they all went to sleep in a ball in the corner of the brooder. They were not cheeping but they were 'trilling'...it was sweet but I was worried. I finally found a basket big enough and gathered them up....still sleeping....and brought them into the house to the brooder in the bathroom set up for the next hatch. By then the hand warmers were getting hotter...not very but some heat! I put them down and a towel over them and the chicks on top of that. Still sleeping. Then a couple more hot water bottles. I also made a wrap around the chicks with another towel to keep the heat in. No lights still, just a flash light, and they slept through it.
Once the lights came back on I gathered everyone up...still sleeping...watching the incubator slowly rise in temp. All chicks are well and running around the big brooder. Temp is back to normal on the incubator. I candled a few in place this morning and saw movement in all I looked at. I think with the LG styrofoam incubators it is important to wrap them up to prevent as much heat loss as possible.
I was really scared and concerned but pleased to have made it through the outage.
Although the temp when incubating is very important.....and we all worry, worry about a degree or two difference....I believe they are more resiliant that we think. Someone pointed out on another thread that the hens get up and leave the nest at least once a day. The eggs will cool quickly. In this case the eggs did not cool quickly....they cooled slowly and it was not a long drawn out thing to bring them back up to temp....I kept them covered through most of it. I am hoping I will still have a good hatch and I did all I could do to keep them warm. My advice here for everyone who tries to use the handwarmers, and I do think they help, is to open one and see how it heats up so you will know when to get them ready. I was worried with mine because it took so long for them to heat....but in the end it worked nicely to keep the little chickies warm.....
I immediately covered the incubator with a down jacket to retain the heat. Then I started trying to figure out what else I could do. I am in Arkansas and have been worrying about this happening for the last week and a half.
I bought the large handwarmers. Took forever to finally get some heat out of them....actually thought they were not going to work. I think they are old. Filled empty (emptied some) two liter bottles with hot water and put them in the brooder in the corner where the chicks were laying. Put one under the jacket on the incubator also.
Started watching the temp on the incubator......after three hours it only got down to 88 degrees and that was in the last fifteen minutes and then the lights came back on! I had a power outage on the last hatch at 14 days and still had a good hatch. I am at day 9 today. So, the hot water bottle helped and the coat helped. After an hour I put a blanket on top of the coat.
I started worrying about the chicks. The lights were out and it was dark so they all went to sleep in a ball in the corner of the brooder. They were not cheeping but they were 'trilling'...it was sweet but I was worried. I finally found a basket big enough and gathered them up....still sleeping....and brought them into the house to the brooder in the bathroom set up for the next hatch. By then the hand warmers were getting hotter...not very but some heat! I put them down and a towel over them and the chicks on top of that. Still sleeping. Then a couple more hot water bottles. I also made a wrap around the chicks with another towel to keep the heat in. No lights still, just a flash light, and they slept through it.
Once the lights came back on I gathered everyone up...still sleeping...watching the incubator slowly rise in temp. All chicks are well and running around the big brooder. Temp is back to normal on the incubator. I candled a few in place this morning and saw movement in all I looked at. I think with the LG styrofoam incubators it is important to wrap them up to prevent as much heat loss as possible.
I was really scared and concerned but pleased to have made it through the outage.
Although the temp when incubating is very important.....and we all worry, worry about a degree or two difference....I believe they are more resiliant that we think. Someone pointed out on another thread that the hens get up and leave the nest at least once a day. The eggs will cool quickly. In this case the eggs did not cool quickly....they cooled slowly and it was not a long drawn out thing to bring them back up to temp....I kept them covered through most of it. I am hoping I will still have a good hatch and I did all I could do to keep them warm. My advice here for everyone who tries to use the handwarmers, and I do think they help, is to open one and see how it heats up so you will know when to get them ready. I was worried with mine because it took so long for them to heat....but in the end it worked nicely to keep the little chickies warm.....
