Setting eggs 1-18-12. I need some buddies to keep me company.

[champer]

Okay, I'm putting in more!! Just got 12 EE's from a friend. She usually gives them to me for eating eggs but we decided to see how it goes with the incubator. I know they are fertile, at least all the ones I've eaten are!

So now I have:

14 Black Cooper Marans
12 Trader Joes White Fertile
12 Whole Foods Brown Fertile
12 EE's

I'm not really expecting anything much from the store eggs, they are just a fun experiment.

You must have a pretty big incubator or more than 1!

 

[tcwiley]

We will be starting either Mon or Tues depending upon how many eggs we get over the next 3 days. Can't wait to get started

 

[SherrieT]

Nope. It is a borrowed Hovabator 1602 still air. GrannysRoost lent it to be because mine won't be delivered until next Thursday. So far it is doing incredible at keeping a constant temperature.
By the time mine is delivered I'll know which are duds and there will be room in my new 1588 with turner

You must have a pretty big incubator or more than 1!

 

[eksterhuis]

http://www.rarebreeds.co.nz/directorye.html This site gives an overview of pretty much what pure breeds there are in NZ.... We don't have anything super rare or unusual, but people are breeding bantam versions and different colours with what is avalible!

I have a right old selection though I am trying to concerntrate on Silver Campines, Salmon Faverolles (with a view to try and breed Ermine), Silver Spangled Hamburgs, Silver Sebrights and Light Sussex. Though I would like to have a few Pekins at some stage! I have a right mixture free ranging at the moment from Sebrights though to Barred Rocks a couple of anything I could get my hands on, we have a lot of space! I am in the process of planning turning a huge paddock into horse fields (I am on the look out for a Clydesdale!) and individual breed free range pens...

That seems bizarre. I guess they have their reasons though. How many breeds are available there? Congrats on the eggs veining. I'm gonna try to stay strong and wait till Wednesday to candle anymore. I just couldn't wait to check they eggs that were from my girls. I only had 2 old enough to lay and I set 11 eggs from them, and then yesterday one of them went missing. Hopefully her eggs hatch and she'll carry on that way.

Lots of newbies today, this should turn out to be a great thread.

 

[quintinp]

I just got 3 eggs. I am using the Rcom Mini. I am not using water for humidity either. It beeps if it doesn't have water, but I don't care. The beep isn't that loud. In my opinion the humidity is too high the first 18 days. I like the "Dry Hatch" method anyway.

By the way. The egg turner completely stopped working. I was really aggravated, I had to bring the other incubator out to incubate the eggs.
But, after I had taken the eggs out, and emptied out the water. I took the incubator apart. I guess that the motor for the turner had got stuck, but I started to turn the gears of the motor, and got it "unstuck." It works now!

 

[1keegan]

We have 23 Wyandotte eggs. The eggs & the incubator arrived together- about 6 hours ago. We've marked and numbered the eggs, and plugged the incubator in immediately and added the water per the instructions, but we haven't added the eggs yet. We have 3 different thermometers in there, and despite turning the temp. knob up every so often, we've yet to go over 97 degrees.
Should we just keep turning it up? once it reaches 100 degrees, how long should we give it to show a consistent temperature?
Not sure when we should add the eggs- don't want them to over or under-heat.

 

[matlock585]

I was also constricted by time on this hatch. I ran mine for about a day and a half before I added the eggs. My humidity raised about 15 percent, I also do dry hatch so I just let that go. I've been about 25-30 percent since I've placed the eggs, and that's right where I like it. I don't like to see it get less than 20. Also, I did one increase on the thermostat. I kept catching it on 97 degrees. Raised it to top out at 100 and that's working better. But even though these are all the components I had in my incubator last year, they function so different in their new "house", so I don't know when I'll trust it, maybe after I candle them all Wednesday night.

Edit to say after I adjust my thermo, it takes quite some time before it's done getting to temp. And I hand turn. For the 41 I have set this time that takes me 3-4 minutes to do and the top is off the whole time. My temp drops from 100 down to 96 and it takes it almost two full hours to rebound. After that, it doesn't move from 100 till I open it again to turn.

Edit again to clarify what I thought sounded vague! I ran the two together. When I adjust the thermo, I just slide the top over to expose the thermostat and adjust it with a screwdriver and replace the top. Then, a couple hours later, it's the warmest it's going to get. I hand turn my eggs which takes the 3-5 mins, and it takes it 2 hours to recover from that. So after any change on mine, two hours minimum before another "tweak".

 

[Stuck in the Coop]

Has anyone with a still air, no turner incubator used an egg carton or anything else to set the eggs on besides the bare wire floor?
I don't want them rolling around -
still waiting for the incubator to get up to temperature. Starting to worry a bit that it hasn't gone past 95, despite turning the adjuster knob almost one full 360 turn (by turning it an inch or so every 20-30 minutes) How long does it ordinarily take an old hovabator to get up to temperature?

I have not used this method because I have a turner, but I read up on it. Cut the bottoms out of an egg carton, really trim alot so there is good air flow and allows the heat to warm the eggs. Set them pointy end down. Instead of turning each egg by hand, wedge something under one end of the carton, then change ends when it is time to turn. You'd be moving the carton back and forth like a teeter totter. Hope that makes sense.

Try wrapping a towel or blanket around the incubator to cut heat loss. Just be sure to leave the vent holes free.

 

[LaurenV]

I set some eggs on the 16, and I candled them today and they are growing nicely. So, if they hatch,I'll be just a few days ahead of everyone. Good luck to all of you!

 

[mlm Mike]

I set some eggs on the 16, and I candled them today and they are growing nicely. So, if they hatch,I'll be just a few days ahead of everyone. Good luck to all of you!

What breed and how many did you set?