READ "DRY METHOD" AND ADAPTED IT FOR MY HUGE 300 EGG BATOR, RESULTS AMAZING !!

[Righteous Rstr]

All the info on this topic was related to small hobby bators. Read it through
a few times really helped me to understand the hatching process .My big
concern was/is that its not feasible in huge commercial rigs with eggs being
added daily. The various dates need different humidity and earlier lockdown
date. Florida outdoor humidity is 85-100% so I removed my two water dishs
2 weeks ago. In addition to the 8hr turner trays I took a 1 5/8" hole saw and
fabricated egg cradles out of a HD ABS plastic rectangular jug. At $50 a pop
it seems worth having a 300 egg unit reduced to 236. # 8 eggs on lock down
dated 6/29 nada so far, much to my surprise as I manually turn one time a
day and 2 7/2 eggs pipped ! one has already hatched I'll segregate all on
Saturday. I reintroduced the water dish today after candling and marking
location of air space, all dates 29-3 are locked down bubble up. Vents open
upped temp to 100 degrees as read at opposite ends, confused as humidity
8" from top is 75% but the bottom reads 55% ?? leaving tipper on 8hr cycle
for now(3 of 4 trays) by the way since removing water dish with 2 upright
sponges, a plant spray has been stored at top so contents are exactly the
same temp. After daily turning I mist all of them to keep some moisture in
bator ,reads about 40-45% RH .Really excited about this method air bub-
bles are good size and upright during lock down. If anyone has suggestion
I would really like to hear them .
Q. built bench top outside brooders with heavy wire cloth floors for easy
sanitation and 3 separate areas to segregate by size. 2 nights ago had
bakers dozen of vibrant healthy chicks( 3 dates) the next day 4 started
to weaken then die!! They were being fed medicated high protein feed
fresh clean water with 2 drops of vinegar and a tiny amt of b12 for NRG.
One thing I noticed were a swarm of mosquitos I cut cardboard for the
floor and cut some old vinyl window screen which dramatically helped .
Also as it has been in the mid 90s during the day so I shut off lamps till
late afternoon for fear of cooking them, now a 25 watt bulb stays on all
the time. Thoughts, ideas ??? RR

 

[piglett]

how old were the chicks when you put them into the outside brooders?
if a any time they get loud "PEEP PEEP PEEP"
they are saying "hey there is a problem here please come fix it"
could it be that they started getting cold at night?
how many in each brooder?



piglett

 

[Righteous Rstr]

Awesome brooder if anything they are too hot so I put light over
water dish?? RR

 

[piglett]

Quote:
i like to put the heatlamp on 1 end of the bator that way if they get too hot they can run to the other end to cool down some people put the heatlamp in the middle which so not the best place for it also they make 100 & 150 watt heat lamp bulbs (ebay) i cut the cord off of a brand new brooder lamp i then added a dimmer so i could ajust the temp. in the brooder better

 

[Righteous Rstr]

Just to get your opinion here is some pix of my gear. Including the predator eradication
system ,the geese alert little Bill and 9 out of 10 times he leaves our nocturnal guests
where he found them !! He is free to do as he likes from sun down til the morning. Note
the 4 in one brooder, the top three are for segregating little guys as they grow. When they
get to about 6" tall they spend two or three weeks in cage underneath and yes there is
heavy vinyl tarp between the top and bottom under the wire floors. I also used rubber
mats under all for easy cleaning, almost never needs more than 160 degree water and
a stiff brush, iffy about using caustic cleaners I just take everybody out and wash every
thing twice a week. Mosquitos are bad this year so old pool screen is laid over the top at
night. The local liquor store saves me the inserts that separate the bottles ,it is so much
easier than newspaper. Another tip learned the hard way lay a sheet of bounty paper twl
under the heat lamp and newbies fluff out in less than an hour! RR

 

[piglett]

i wish you were near by.
what i see looks good
i'm just not sure what is going on & it's tough to figure it out just from pictures
they could have gotten too hot or too cold
could have gotten wet
we keep our peeps in the bathroom brooder till they are 1 week old
that way we can keep an eye on any sticky butt & also they get a little stronger before they head out to the big 4 deck brooder
i wish i had an answer for you.
reading the book "raising chickens for dummies" helped me a bunch
i would say get a copy & start in
by the time your done you may have figured out the problem




piglett

 

[Righteous Rstr]

Piglet, I wanted to get with you,I have no less than three 36"-48" igloo coolers
for off shore fishing. I spent a good long while searching out thermo-electric cut
off switches,reading up on and pricing. Then it hit me, if a dimmer switch on a
heat lamp with two thermometers why add cut-offs? I have 12" sq. glass to see
inside, reducing the heat loss by having to open hatcher. Please respond with
your obviously tried and true design specs. RR

 

[piglett]

Piglet, I wanted to get with you,I have no less than three 36"-48" igloo coolers
for off shore fishing. I spent a good long while searching out thermo-electric cut
off switches,reading up on and pricing. Then it hit me, if a dimmer switch on a
heat lamp with two thermometers why add cut-offs? I have 12" sq. glass to see
inside, reducing the heat loss by having to open hatcher. Please respond with
your obviously tried and true design specs. RR

i bet there is some good fishing down your way
might be a little warm to head out this time of year though

so your building a cooler bator or a hatcher?
if you have 3 you can make 1 hatcher & 2 bators
just make sure there is enough air getting inside for the chicks
i'm guessing those coolers are rather long
if your thinking about having to turn the eggs why not just put a big block of wood up under 1 end
then after a few hours remove it & put it up under the other end
put the eggs in egg crates so they don't roll around inside
you should be good to go

happy hatching
piglett

 

[Righteous Rstr]

Only in the water Piglet,yuk yuk. I really feel a camaraderie with you folks ,you seem to be "birds of my feather". To set you
straight I was simply listing the coolers , that one of which will most likely become my hatcher. If you looked at my gear and
since you commented on it, I know you saw my mega- bator and the bench type brooders . I really like your dimmer switch
idea ! As the girls are on strike and haven't laid an egg for several days, I plan to redesign my brooders lids higher and make
them snake proof ! Then I intend to build a small 8'x8'x5' nesting area on the opposite end of my back porch, procured an EZ
to clean plastic bed liner for floor .As mosquitoes are awful this year I will install old window screen under wire on everything.
In the past skeeters will really wipe out some birds, not to mention west Nile Virus is spread by bites around the eyes it also
weakens peeps BIGTIME. I don't know if you saw it as you didn't reply, is a thermal regulator really needed if the heat lamp ,
can be fine tuned??? I think maybe not as the hatcher won't be out side, have a small computer fan and 12"" sq. glass for
viewing and of course two thermometers and a hydrometer .Sound about right ? By the way Large Mouth Bass and Tilapia
no jokes are huge here, a pal uses feed pellets in shallow shady areas and cast nets Tilapia that look like Ocean Flounders
I mean BIG 5lb- 8lb ! Be good and if ya can't be careful. RR

 

[piglett]

Only in the water Piglet,yuk yuk. I really feel a camaraderie with you folks ,you seem to be "birds of my feather". To set you
straight I was simply listing the coolers , that one of which will most likely become my hatcher. If you looked at my gear and
since you commented on it, I know you saw my mega- bator and the bench type brooders . I really like your dimmer switch
idea ! As the girls are on strike and haven't laid an egg for several days, I plan to redesign my brooders lids higher and make
them snake proof ! Then I intend to build a small 8'x8'x5' nesting area on the opposite end of my back porch, procured an EZ
to clean plastic bed liner for floor .As mosquitoes are awful this year I will install old window screen under wire on everything.
In the past skeeters will really wipe out some birds, not to mention west Nile Virus is spread by bites around the eyes it also
weakens peeps BIGTIME. I don't know if you saw it as you didn't reply, is a thermal regulator really needed if the heat lamp ,
can be fine tuned??? I think maybe not as the hatcher won't be out side, have a small computer fan and 12"" sq. glass for
viewing and of course two thermometers and a hydrometer .Sound about right ? By the way Large Mouth Bass and Tilapia
no jokes are huge here, a pal uses feed pellets in shallow shady areas and cast nets Tilapia that look like Ocean Flounders
I mean BIG 5lb- 8lb ! Be good and if ya can't be careful. RR

sounds like you have a good setup there Righteous
nope no thermal regulator on my heat lamp just the dimmer

i am mostly getting away from using heat lamps
i have built what is called an "Ohio brooder"
they were designed back in the 40's to be used in barns & sheds to brood chicks
i run anywhere between a pair of 15 watt bulbs to a pair of 60 watt bulbs for the coldest new hampshire nights



good luck
piglett