power outages and incubating...

[oldchickenlady]

I have never set eggs in an incubator, so my knowledge is pretty thin in this area. However, I keep reading about people who lose their power and their temps go down before the power goes back on. I just had a thought...could you use those hand warmer things to keep it warm in the incubator while waiting on the power? I have seen them in a larger size that you could put next to your body inside your shirt, these would put out more heat than the smaller hand size...could that possibly work? There are also those heat pad things you can buy in the Pharmacy that is for your back or shoulders that work on the same principle. You could buy some of those before you start incubation...just in case. Any opinions? Has anyone ever tried it?

 

[FuzzyButtsFarm]

I would suggest getting a battery back up like you have on a computer. Depending on how long the battery time is it could buy you some time.

 

[oldchickenlady]

I would think a battery backup would be fairly pricey...maybe not, though, I never priced one. I just thought these handwarmer things would be a cheap alternative that you could have on hand just in case you needed them. This time of year especially, there are lots of storms that cause people to lose their power for a while.

 

[debilorrah]

Yes you can use the hand thingys, however, having a power pack that can plug into your car is better. I have only had one outage during incubating and it was brief. Thank GOD!!!

 

[RedReiner]

Hova bator has a plug in adaptor to use a car battery. I am going to get one...

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

I had a outage yesterday for about 10 hours yesterday. Tornado hit the property. It took 7 hours to get around to firing up a generator an I plugged the incubator in to it too. I did lose one chick that was hatching that day but I am not worried about the eggs that hatch in the next few weeks. I have had outage before for 24 hours an still had good hatches.

If you want to have backup power though Power inverters for your car are very cheep. One big enough to run my sportsman clone is about $30. A uninterrupted power supply that would last long enough to be useful would cost several hundred dollars.

 

[Judy]

Mama hens do sometimes let their eggs cool a fair amount and the chicks still hatch -- it has happened to me.

There are lots of threads on here on this subject, and lots of approaches. A search should bring up a bunch of ideas.

Good luck!

 

[oldchickenlady]

Well I am not planning on hatching any in an incubator, but...ya never know. I haven't been bitten by the incubating bug yet, but it might happen. Hopefully, if I ever want to hatch my own I will have a broody to use.

 

[bluere11e]

Quote:
It's REALLY not THAT pricey.. Do the chicken math.. It's a bargain when you look at it...

 

[alexline]

I had a outage yesterday for about 10 hours yesterday. Tornado hit the property. It took 7 hours to get around to firing up a generator an I plugged the incubator in to it too. I did lose one chick that was hatching that day but I am not worried about the eggs that hatch in the next few weeks. I have had outage before for 24 hours an still had good hatches.

If you want to have backup power though Power inverters for your car are very cheep. One big enough to run my sportsman clone is about $30. A uninterrupted power supply that would last long enough to be useful would cost several hundred dollars.

Wow that's amazing!! How low did the temperature get, and what day of incubation was it when the power went out?