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

[meganhundley]

X's 2 better low than high.

K, I'll leave it be for now. I don't want to fry them. This is hard, lol.

 

[chicapee]

Amy, is your's still air? If so what do you set you thermostat at? I've read varying degrees online for the still air bators anywhere between 100° and 103° so I'm not sure what the best temp is.

I believe still air is between 101 and 102. Slap me if I'm wrong.

 

[chicapee]

K, I'll leave it be for now. I don't want to fry them. This is hard, lol.

It is nerve wracking, and only gets worse. More so than having your own.

 

[meganhundley]

I believe still air is between 101 and 102. Slap me if I'm wrong.

K, that's right around what I've read. The meat thermo is reading dead on 101 so I think I'll leave it there and candle in about 7-10 days. In yalls opinion, if it's a degree or 2 under is that too too bad or is that kind of ok? Amy said if the thermo isn't off by too much that a degree or 2 won't have a terribly negative affect on the hatch.

 

[WalnutHill]

I have four incubators, and each has a different set temperature.

My Brinsea Polyhatch still air says set temp just above the eggs at 102.5, and that's where I have it. GQF 1402 circulated says 100, Brinsea Eco 20 circulated say 99.5, and I forget what the Octagon 10 said but it was a little different. And the two Little Giants were different too. So for temp, start by using the incubator manufacturer's recommendation, then use an accurate thermometer to measure the temperature halfway down the egg. That temp should be as close to 99.5 continuously as possible.

 

[meganhundley]

It is nerve wracking, and only gets worse. More so than having your own.

Tell me about it, I thought my kids were hard to take care of. I think I'd rather have newborn triplets to take care of, lol. But if I pull this off it will be well worth all the hassle. I'll actually feel like I accomplished something, lol, something to be proud of.

 

[meganhundley]

I have four incubators, and each has a different set temperature.

My Brinsea Polyhatch still air says set temp just above the eggs at 102.5, and that's where I have it.  GQF 1402 circulated says 100, Brinsea Eco 20 circulated say 99.5, and I forget what the Octagon 10 said but it was a little different.  And the two Little Giants were different too.  So for temp, start by using the incubator manufacturer's recommendation, then use an accurate thermometer to measure the temperature halfway down the egg.  That temp should be as close to 99.5 continuously as possible.

So if it reads 99.5 or close at the middle of the eggs that will be ok? I've noticed there's about a 3-4° difference between the top and the bottom of the eggs. In a still air will the temp be the same horizontally across, like will it read the same on the sides as in the middle or is there a slight difference. I put all the eggs just inside of the heating elememt and tried to avoid the middle incase that was a cold spot. I know I'm going to invest in a forced air fan kit for this if I plan on continuing to use it instead of trying to find a more expensive 1.

 

[FridayYet]

I'm back home so I looked up some photos of various ratites. They are definitely emu.

That is so cool!

Tell me about it, I thought my kids were hard to take care of. I think I'd rather have newborn triplets to take care of, lol. But if I pull this off it will be well worth all the hassle. I'll actually feel like I accomplished something, lol, something to be proud of.

But if the hatch doesn't go well, you should still feel like you accomplished something and be proud! All the expert care in the world can't undo shipping damage, which often isn't evident until chicks die at lockdown. (That's why people say a 50% hatch rate is GREAT for shipped eggs. Less is quite common.)

Think of all you are learning and don't judge your success by how many hatch.

 

[meganhundley]

That is so cool!  

But if the hatch doesn't go well, you should still feel like you accomplished something and be proud!  All the expert care in the world can't undo shipping damage, which often isn't evident until chicks die at lockdown.  (That's why people say a 50% hatch rate is GREAT for shipped eggs.  Less is quite common.)

Think of all you are learning and don't judge your success by how many hatch.

Yes it's definitely worth the learning experience. I think I'll be overly happy if 1 or 2 out of 12 hatch, lol. I'm sure I won't reach 50% but that's ok, that just means I'll try harder next time with eggs from closer to home (hopefully, eggs are very few and far between around here for some reason) and hopefully have a good hatch. I'm still hoping I have a good hatch with this set of eggs though.

 

[rossfam06]

This is a slide show building my mhp. Ugh excuse my floor, i have a pup in season.
[VIDEO]

]

I love it!!! I am doing this for my next hatch.

@RavynFallen
Here is a video of the little poorly one.

Oh no!!! Poor baby.

Got 'im...

Did you take a picture??? If so PM me if you did. I want to see it.

Did I tell you I bought some Americanas?  (LOL)

So at the poultry swap - which was huge - I finally found some chicks about 3 weeks old.  I ask the lady "what kind are they"?
Ameraucana
Really?
Yes.
They have barred wings?
Yes, they have some marins in them.
You mean Marans?
No marins, the cuckoo kind. But they are Ameraucana.
OK.

For $5 each I wasn't going to argue or attempt educating.  They still have their chipmunk stripes on their backs, willow legs and barring on the wing feathers.Pea comb, so I guess there is hope for greenish eggs.

Okay......that's terrible. I'm glad Solo has some buddies now but dang. Some people are just so stupid.

I'd get the humidity down.  Easily done by taking all the water out, and wiping it out.  Now, get it going w/o water, get it up to temp, and let those eggs set, big end up in a carton at room temp for 24 hours before putting them in the bator.  Dry incubation, which folks are finding yields a better hatch would be 30 - 40% (or there a bouts) for the first 17 days.  You can fine tune that by watching air cell development and comparing to the chart.  The biggest cause of failure in incubation is inaccuracy of thermometer.  (too low = all kinds of developmental issues.  Too high = dead chick.)  Other causes of failure include temp spikes (Why SC calls the LG a microwave) and too much humidity throughout the incubation period which results in chicks growing too big, too much moisture in the egg so you end up with a malpositioned chick or a drowned chick at pip.

  Let's just hope that he was operating alone.  
I do hope that those Americanas were not Am roo over cuckoo marins.  If so, I'm betting you were duped and are now the proud owner of a bunch of male Black sex linked Amerans.

Uhhhoh!

Wait... how am I getting the blame for a hole SC dug and FridayYet fell into???

Thanks Chicapee - I walked away and left them in the run and she didn't even notice.  They'll sleep in the brooder box in the coop tonight and I won't feel bad about moving her out there now!

I bet she loves it!

I love peppermint essential oil. It can be used for soooo many things. It will keep your house pest and insect free. Bugs and mice hate it. I don't know about y'all but I live basically in the middle of a corn feild and mice run rampant around here. My house was infested with mice and also ants, and I couldn't ever get rid of them, especially mice in winter, they just move right in and take over and don't pay rent! But a couple drops of peppermint essential oil in all the drawers and backs of the cabinets, along window sills, anywhere a mouse or ant can find a way in and i haven't had a problem since. You can actually watch the ants run away, I swear I can hear them screaming, lol. It's good for muscle and joint aches and pains also but it has to be diluted to use topically.

I lover essential oils!!! I diffuse them in the house all the time and I made balms for when the girls get sick. Wonderful stuff!!!