Pyxis' Emu Chat Thread

[Redhead Rae]

The Brinsea lost its emu egg privileges today. I watched the temperature keep creeping up even though I kept turning the temperature knob down. Finally when I caught the thermometer reading 98.8 I was done fooling around with it and all the eggs are now in the Emubator.

I think the Brinsea is old and dying. It is six years old now and has seen a lot of hatches, so it's a distinct possibility that it's just giving up the ghost. Which is a problem because it's my hatcher.

You do staggered hatches as well? I just bought a Brinsea Ovation 28 EX as my starter incubator and I’m using a no-name cheapo incubator for hatching. The cheapo bator doesn’t handle keeping low humidity for starting, but does a great job staying at 60-70%.

 

[Pyxis]

You do staggered hatches as well? I just bought a Brinsea Ovation 28 EX as my starter incubator and I’m using a no-name cheapo incubator for hatching. The cheapo bator doesn’t handle keeping low humidity for starting, but does a great job staying at 60-70%.

Yep, I stagger hatch all year here, so a good hatcher is a must. Unfortunately the only other incubator I have on hand is a very crappy Little Giant that couldn't maintain a constant temperature to save its life. Seriously, the temperature in that thing changes along with the humidity, it's ridiculous. So I guess I'm gonna need to look into a new hatcher. Or perhaps I'll gut the LG and install the Incukit in it after the emus are done. But that doesn't help me for the next 35 days.

 

[WVduckchick]

Someone linked this one on FB the other day. I'm curious enough about it to go to the store and remove one from the box for inspection. I want to see if it feels cheapo or what. everything looks neat, and the price is nice.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/harris-farms-nurture-right-360

 

[Destornis]

Hi! This isn't actually the hatch a long thread There is a hatch a long thread though, it's here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...d-in-a-2017-18-emu-hatch-along.1212082/unread But definitely feel free to post here and follow along if you'd like!

My eggs are on day 20 and day 9. You and I are using the same incubator - well, two of mine are in a Brinsea 20. The other two are in a homemade Emubator.

Oh thanks! I'll follow that one too.
I think I'm about two weeks behind you with the incubation. I see you've been having troubles with the temperatures too! I've had my Brinsea for 4 years now, but last used it for chicks in 2016. For the first week I've had it creep up to some high temps (98+) and then drop.. I think now it's pretty solid at around 96.5-97.2. I've got 3 thermometers in there now which are reading the same. Weight loss was an issue too, they were losing around 1.5 more grams than they should, and I've taped them now which helped A LOT.

 

[Pyxis]

Oh thanks! I'll follow that one too.
I think I'm about two weeks behind you with the incubation. I see you've been having troubles with the temperatures too! I've had my Brinsea for 4 years now, but last used it for chicks in 2016. For the first week I've had it creep up to some high temps (98+) and then drop.. I think now it's pretty solid at around 96.5-97.2. I've got 3 thermometers in there now which are reading the same. Weight loss was an issue too, they were losing around 1.5 more grams than they should, and I've taped them now which helped A LOT.

Oh yeah, the Brinsea doesn't have eggs in it as of this morning. Moved them right to my Emubator because the temps kept trying to creep up on me. I kept turning it down and it just kept going up.

 

[Destornis]

My only concern with tape is the hatching part and oxygen. Since there's 4 in there, I hope there's enough oxygen with the vent open and a running fan in the same room.

 

[Pyxis]

My only concern with tape is the hatching part and oxygen. Since there's 4 in there, I hope there's enough oxygen with the vent open and a running fan in the same room.

Were they all losing too much weight or just one or two?

 

[Destornis]

Were they all losing too much weight or just one or two?

I had two in there at the time and they both were losing too much. I have them labeled as X-1 and X-3, and X-1 for example, was supposed to lose 1.53 grams, but lost 2.5 -3 grams. They both were like that, so I added water to the incubator and taped stripes on the eggs so it's not completely covered on one side. They are losing 1.4 grams to 1.6 grams daily now, which is much better.

 

[Pyxis]

I had two in there at the time and they both were losing too much. I have them labeled as X-1 and X-3, and X-1 for example, was supposed to lose 1.53 grams, but lost 2.5 -3 grams. They both were like that, so I added water to the incubator and taped stripes on the eggs so it's not completely covered on one side. They are losing 1.4 grams to 1.6 grams daily now, which is much better.

Sounds good! I personally would have tried just upping the humidity first to see if that fixed it before taping - you might want to take the tape off and try it just with higher humidity and see how that goes, since it was a case of both of them losing too much weight.

 

[Destornis]

Sounds good! I personally would have tried just upping the humidity first to see if that fixed it before taping - you might want to take the tape off and try it just with higher humidity and see how that goes, since it was a case of both of them losing too much weight.

I worry some about adding lots of water, or a damp cloth because of bacteria. I might just get a humidifier for the room they're in entirely, as I don't have to mess with the incubator to get more water in, haha! Once I got the humidity stable, I'll take the tape off. Does it really matter how much weight the eggs lose daily, or does it only matter until a week or so due to hatching? I understand it helps so the chick isn't bloated or dehydrated, but it's not the same case with chicken eggs right?