She said/He said Who's right? Who's wrong? No one!

AmyLynn2374

Humidity Queen
5 Years
Oct 11, 2014
15,028
2,754
456
Gouverneur, NY
Well, by now most anyone who has been on BYC for any amount of time has it figured out that people do things differently. People have different philosophies. And though we may disagree with someone else's methods, that does not mean their method is WRONG. If a method is working and a person is happy with their results, then that's what they should be doing. As long as it's good for the hatcher and the chicks that's what counts.

Some of us acknowledge that there are different ways to do things and we encourage others by showing BOTH sides to what we do and don't do so that the new hatcher can find their comfort zone and not be scared to experience things for THEMSELVES.

So, for a little fun and to show differences in hatch techniques, philosophies and even equiptment, @scflock and I have decided to start a thread and are in preparation in the next two - three weeks (hopefully) to have a hatching match. We are almost as different as night and day in our hatching, yet we have similar results. So we thought we'd have a little fun with it and go head to head in the thread. We'd also like to hear other's inputs on what they find works/doesn't work for them. This thread is meant to be an entertaining mesh of philosophies and practices not a place to argue and get personal, so if you can keep it light and fun, please join us for our "differences match". Now it's time to meet the oppponents:

In the "blue corner" we have sc "set em and forget em" flock. Armed with his Brinsea, SC has a conservative hatching view. No touchy after lockdown and keep that bator closed. No, he will not aid in the hatch of a chick (unless under rare circumstances) and those babies aren't getting out of there for a couple days after hatch! Sorry guys, make yourself comfortable, you're there for a while.

In the "red corner" we have Amy, "The Humidity Queen". Struggling with her ancient little giant 9200 (fan forced at least) she has a more liberal outlook on hatching. (Maybe it's because she is usually sleep deprivated during hatch from the constant monitoring of that LG incubator she is using.) Whatever the reason, lockdown is as normal a time to do "last" candle and marking eggs, take out the turner- if she is using it, lay those babies down and step back. But hands off?? Oh no, The Humidity Queen could also be called "The masked meddler". This hatcher is not hands off. Humidity is up and she is ready to remove chicks as they hatch and get them in the brooder. Grab out those shells and flip that pipper over! If there's trouble in the air, don't worry, she's there to aid the little guy that's stuck.

This should be an eventful match (once we get it off the ground.) The red contestant just needs a couple weeks to get oragnized and for her newly housed pullets to get organized and back on the laying consistantly plus a couple more weeks of size consistancy wouldn't hurt either, so meanwhile, join the discussion and tell us what you've found that works for you.
 
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Well, by now most anyone who has been on BYC for any amount of time has it figured out that people do things differently. People have different philosophies. And though we may disagree with someone else's methods, that does not mean their method is WRONG. If a method is working and a person is happy with their results, then that's what they should be doing. As long as it's good for the hatcher and the chicks that's what counts.

Some of us acknowledge that there are different ways to do things and we encourage others by showing BOTH sides to what we do and don't do so that the new hatcher can find their comfort zone and not be scared to experience things for THEMSELVES.

So, for a little fun and to show differences in hatch techniques, philosophies and even equiptment, @scflock and I have decided to start a thread and are in preparation in the next two - three weeks (hopefully) to have a hatching match. We are almost as different as night and day in our hatching, yet we have similar results. So we thought we'd have a little fun with it and go head to head in the thread. We'd also like to hear other's inputs on what they find works/doesn't work for them. This thread is meant to be an entertaining mesh of philosophies and practices not a place to argue and get personal, so if you can keep it light and fun, please join us for our "differences match". Now it's time to meet the oppponents:

In the "blue corner" we have sc "set em and forget" flock. Armed with his Brinsea, SC has a conserative hatching view. No touchy after lockdown and keep that bator closed. No, he will not aid in the hatch of a chick (unless under rare circumstances) and those babies aren't getting out of there for a couple days after hatch! Sorry guys, make yourself comfortable, you're there for a while.

In the "red corner" we have Amy, "The Humidity Queen". Struggling with her ancient little giant 9200 (fan forced at least) she has a more liberal outlook on hatching. (Maybe it's because she is usually sleep deprivated during hatch from the constant monitoring of that LG incubator she is using.) Whatever the reason, lockdown is as normal a time to do "last" candle and marking eggs, take out the turner- if she is using it, lay those babies down and step back. But hands off?? Oh no, The Humidity Queen could also be called "The masked meddler". This hatcher is not hands off. Humidity is up and she is ready to remove chicks as they hatch and get them in the brooder. Grab out those shells and flip that pipper over! If there's trouble in the air, don't worry, she's there to aid the little guy that's stuck.

This should be an eventful match (once we get it off the ground.) The red contestant just needs a couple weeks to get oragnized and for her newly housed pullets to get organized and back on the laying consistantly plus a couple more weeks of size consistancy wouldn't hurt either, so meanwhile, join the discussion and tell us what you've found that works for you.
lau.gif
 
If anyone is meeting us for the first time, don't think we are fighting. I have an abrasive sense of humor, and Amy takes it well, so I give her a lot of grief. She also knows that even though I pick on her habitual meddling and microwave of an incubator, I respect her techniques and results. I think anyone hatching in styrofoam should talk to Amy before their first hatch. Those things are very touchy, and the manuals that come with them are horrible, but Amy has come up with a lot of ways to overcome those issues.
Anyone using a Brinsea doesn't really need to talk to me because, well, it's a Brinsea. As long as you plugged it in, 90% of your eggs will hatch.
I don't really pick on Amy because of her equipment. I actually think it's more impressive to hatch 90% in an LG than it is in a Brinsea. There are also many more people using styrofoam and home made incubators than there are using the more expensive ones. I think the main reason we wanted to do this thread was to show the differences in our techniques during lockdown. There are always threads on here about "should I help", or "It pipped an hour ago and still hasn't hatched!". Amy helps, I don't, and we both have our reasons for why we do things. We wanted this thread to be a place where we could show 2 vastly different techniques that both get good results. In the end, what works for you is what works for you. If you are currently hatching, or plan on setting soon, go ahead and jump into the thread. I'm not sure when Amy will be setting again, and I'm hatching next week, so no need to wait for us.
I think this will be a fun and informative thread, full of these:
smack.gif
 
If anyone is meeting us for the first time, don't think we are fighting. I have an abrasive sense of humor, and Amy takes it well, so I give her a lot of grief. She also knows that even though I pick on her habitual meddling and microwave of an incubator, I respect her techniques and results. I think anyone hatching in styrofoam should talk to Amy before their first hatch. Those things are very touchy, and the manuals that come with them are horrible, but Amy has come up with a lot of ways to overcome those issues.
Anyone using a Brinsea doesn't really need to talk to me because, well, it's a Brinsea. As long as you plugged it in, 90% of your eggs will hatch.
I don't really pick on Amy because of her equipment. I actually think it's more impressive to hatch 90% in an LG than it is in a Brinsea. There are also many more people using styrofoam and home made incubators than there are using the more expensive ones. I think the main reason we wanted to do this thread was to show the differences in our techniques during lockdown. There are always threads on here about "should I help", or "It pipped an hour ago and still hasn't hatched!". Amy helps, I don't, and we both have our reasons for why we do things. We wanted this thread to be a place where we could show 2 vastly different techniques that both get good results. In the end, what works for you is what works for you. If you are currently hatching, or plan on setting soon, go ahead and jump into the thread. I'm not sure when Amy will be setting again, and I'm hatching next week, so no need to wait for us.
I think this will be a fun and informative thread, full of these:
smack.gif
clap.gif

I'm hoping to be able to set in a couple weeks. I just need to see what the girls do and if the consistancy of their eggs and size picks back up. They were doing good in their minicoop inside-yes, I said inside the house over the winter (and I am so sick of all the work keeping an inside pen cleaned-so glad we FINALLY have decent weather -never again will I hatch out late fall) but now they are out in their big coop and their egg laying is almost non existent. So as soon as they pick back up and are ready I can start collecting. Most of them have been a decent size I'd be comfortable incubating. I'm just hoping it doesn't end up a total fail using my pullet eggs for the first time. Time will tell.
 
You two are both awesome, I love your humorous banter, your obvious respect for each other, and your encouragement to each of us to find what works *for us* rather than just blindly follow whatever anyone else is doing.

Thanks in large part to Amy's informative posts, my first experience with my ratty old styrofoam incubator (found out back in a neglected shed) was a rousing success. Thanks to scflock's timely reminders that chicks can safely hang out in there for a while, I was able to relax enough to go to sleep with 4 pipped eggs... and wake up to three newly hatched chicks and one starting to zip the next morning.

While I can only dream of the ease and worry-free experience of hatching with a brinsea, because I know what to watch out for, I'm saving a ton of money using what I already have on hand!

Maybe if Batch 2 incubating now goes well, I can sell some and add to my "Brinsea Dream Fund."
jumpy.gif
 
You two are both awesome, I love your humorous banter, your obvious respect for each other, and your encouragement to each of us to find what works *for us* rather than just blindly follow whatever anyone else is doing.

Thanks in large part to Amy's informative posts, my first experience with my ratty old styrofoam incubator (found out back in a neglected shed) was a rousing success. Thanks to scflock's timely reminders that chicks can safely hang out in there for a while, I was able to relax enough to go to sleep with 4 pipped eggs... and wake up to three newly hatched chicks and one starting to zip the next morning.

While I can only dream of the ease and worry-free experience of hatching with a brinsea, because I know what to watch out for, I'm saving a ton of money using what I already have on hand!

Maybe if Batch 2 incubating now goes well, I can sell some and add to my "Brinsea Dream Fund."
jumpy.gif
If I had talked to Amy before my first attempt in styrofoam, I would have had a better hatch rate. Instead, I was so disgusted that I bought the Brinsea. I still miss that kidney...
She's not joking about my chicks spending days in there, though. I usually have one or two hatch on day 20, but I don't start removing chicks until late day 21, early day 22. I will only open the incubator if a shell is blocking a pip, or if a chick gets its head stuck inside a broken shell (it's happened). I very rarely assist. I have to have a strong feeling that the chick was healthy enough to hatch on its own if I hadn't done something wrong (like leaving too many chicks in the incubator
he.gif
). I also have a drop-dead shutdown time of late day 23. My view is that if they haven't hatched by then, then there is a good chance that it could hatch with issues. I would rather them die in the shell than cull later. Amy would rather know that she did everything she could to give it a chance. Neither one of us is wrong, we are just working within our own comfort level
 
I have lurked and read both of your philosophies and techniques...and I like things about both. I just finished (well almost done with bator two hatch) incubating for the first time in 25 years with one LG 9300 still air and one 9300 with a fan kit. They have been a lot of work and worry, but on our eggs, we have had 11/12 hatch in the fan kit, and on day 22, I have 4 of 18 eggs left to go with one pipped at the moment (Thank you Amy, I am also a meddler, maybe not as big as you are, but I do try to save them when I can and I hatched with a 75% humidity...without issues..per reading so much you have posted. I did incubate at about 45% though as we live in the desert and dry would not work here 12% in our air here). However, my shipped eggs were a nightmare! I did help one pheasant chick that was still not out after 27 hrs...it is doing fine. I did help to make air holes in the mebranes of two chicks's eggs that pipped on the side of the egg instead of the airsac, and helped one to start a zip after after 20hrs..I am still just getting over what happened this morning though:

Well, I literally cried this morning!!!! My lone surviving Midget White Turkey egg (out of 8 shipped) pipped about 9 am yesterday (day 28)... It made decent progress all day. I even checked it at 2 am this morning and it was starting to zip. I was sure I would wake up to my midget! NOPE! DEAD at 6 am! It was not shrink wrapped, It was about 1/2 way zipped and the membranes were moist. It did poo in it's shell?? . 3 of the chiken eggs had hatched since 2 am and 2 were zipped. However, my DANG LG 9300 had adjusted it's own temp. It was 98.5 on the bottom and about 101.5 at the top of the eggs.( I had been keeping it about 97 on the bottom and about 100 at the top of the eggs when lockdown started and I had raised the humidity) The room temp didnt change! But, the dang plastic piece the thermostat is on gets moved around by hatching chicks and then who knows where the temp will go! I am just sick about this. I really want to just smash this incubator. It was so much work the last 29 days and then I am right there and?!!! I noticed the zipping chicks were breathing faster than normal. So, I opened the incubator and then lowered the temp. That is the only thing I can think of, unless it was just a weak poult? Humidity was at 75%. Plenty of ventalation...Any other thoughts? I still feel like crying. 8 shipped eggs, this one was the only one that developed at all. I was so looking forward to this little guy or gal :(
 
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There is so much great info on BYC. I kind of just took what would work for me, sounded logical, and went with it. I take out the chicks after each is dry, maybe 4-6 hrs or so, and put them in a box that I have set up with clean shavings and then clean paper towels on top of that close to the incubator..I make the humidity in the box about half of what the incubator is and it is about 98 degrees. They stay in there for about 12 to 18 hrs, then go to the brooder (95 degrees and DRY)...I did this thinking that going from 75% to 12% humidity would be a shock. I have some a week old now from the first hatch, and I havent lost one chick yet.

I did leave the pheasants in for 24 hrs though. And, I was going to leave the turkey in longer...(pouty face)
 
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