Re "What can I do"... conclusion!

[Wine-dotte]

I've just a couple of days ago set eggs in my bator,now the <9 pages of expletives> council are shutting off our power for "maintenance" 10 hours a day, 7 days out of the next 13... am I destined to loose all my precious eggs??

Any suggestions??

 

[A.J.'s]

put the eggs in a metal bucket, line it with coarse sand and place candles under it.
arrange the buckets height as you watch the thermometer. YOu will find they will get very hot if care is not taken, they will be ok easier than you think.

 

[Wine-dotte]

Thank you so much! Does the bucket need a lid? You've just saved me from a very sleepless night and my husband from a prod in the ribs and a "what if...?" question every 20 minutes through it!!

 

[gypsy2621]

If you can get a generator that will save all the eggs and your sanity.
why a total shut down ? I guess I dont understand?

 

[PortageGirl]

Heh, I was going to say "What kind of idiot power company would shut off power in the middle of winter???" Then I saw you were a Kiwi. (here in the northern hemisphere, even in the warm states it gets pretty cool this time of year)

Here is a link to an Amish incubator that uses a kerosene lantern, now, I KNOW that you are NOT going to order this, OR build it, OR anything like that, it's just an example of how people without electricity have worked around such things. (Amish are a religious sect here in the US that eschew 'modern' things like electricity) http://www.lehmans.com/shopping/pro...CT&iMainCat=1002&iSubCat=1002&iProductID=5325 Like I said, I know it’s not an option for you, it’s just for interest.

I think the sand in the bucket idea sounds GREAT, Turtles do it right? I'd start experimenting now though to get the temp close to right... 10 hours a day though, for a week at least??? Wow!! A small generator sounds like a decent investment.

Since it's summer there, is it sunny enough to try black plastic over a tray of sand? Though one rainy day would be disastrous too. I'm just trying to brainstorm. Also, do you have a gas stove? If you do, you can warm a large pot of sand on the stove too, don't believe I'd use the oven, temperatures in my oven aren't that steady plus the gas comes on a few seconds before the flame kicks in and the shells 'breath' a little.

 

[shelleyd2008]

I know hovabator makes an adaptor that plugs the bator into your car's cigarette lighter. That might be an option. There are also instructions online for a homemade bator that uses a cigarette lighter...just google 'Matilda'

 

[Wine-dotte]

Thank you all. Will have a go with the sand thing! We are in a very old, very rural area, all our power poles are very old wooden ones and as we are in wine country, and the area is developing quickly they are replacing all the poles with the heavy duty cement ones! I am very impressed with the Amish take on incubation, but you are quite right, I won't be making that! I had originally thought of getting the kitchen coal range going, but being midsummer, it is probably out of the question, having two babies(the youngest is only a couple of months old) and no wood! Anyway, thanks once againg for all the suggestions, and will go buy the big church pillar candles and get them in the freezer tomorow!!

 

[ItsSuzzie]

Wow, Thanks everyone for all the neat ideas.

An Amish incubator. Ok, after the hatch you will still need to keep the little one's warm for at least 30 days. I found that they have feathers by then.

Oh, you are not alone out there. I live in a rual part of California, in the desert. No electric, No water, No septic....Land only.

We have a gas powered generator, on the blink at this time however.
Propane powered heat.

I have started up the hoovabator using electric in town, off our feed store. No eggs in the bator yet, setting the temp for now.

Have read that you can seal in the heat if the power goes out and you should be ok. Also, a hen does get off her eggs at times.

Keep us posted.

 

[Irajoe]

Great ideas - sorry to hear that you're having to deal with that...multiple times worse that a bad storm. On the bright side, I'm thankful that you have time to plan for the outage.

I like the power inverter idea. It's cheap ($25 or so) and reliable. We use ours all the time to power household items through the cigarette lighter on the truck.

I hope the best for you

 

[Wine-dotte]

Thank you all so much for your help. Heres how things are going at this stage:

2 days ago: Madly dash round carport adjusting height of bucket dangling over gas barbeque(!!). Frantically poke thermometers into sand, digithermometer in glad bags of water. Poke finger into sand as don't believe thermometer. Climb on car roof to readjust bucket for 476th time. Glare at DH who is watching with puzzled look on face.

1 day, 22 hours ago: wake suddenly with new thought.... humidity???

1 day, 20 hours ago: resolve to bug BYC members about humidity, go to sleep.

1 day ago: Wake, feed children and back to playing with bucket, only 2 days till D Day. DH watching with puzzled look again.

4 hours ago: play with bucket a little more, finally accept its "close enough" Re-enter house with somewhat satisfied, somewhat defeated look on face. Sink into chair with over-dramatic sigh. DH asks what sigh is in aid of. He gets the long version of the story. Funny look apears on face. This is how conversation goes.

DH "Oh so thats what the bucket was for"
Me "yep, **** power"
DH "why don't you just use the generator"
Me (in squeky yelpy voice) "what generator"
DH "the generator you insist on taking camping every summer"
Me <laughs til cries>

Oh dear