Show off your Old English Game Bantams!!

[jophus]

@Jophus now I know what you were talking about when you said "it's hard to hatch OEGB" so I lost one in the shell. Managed to hatch one and was dry and moving around. Came out this morning and must of fell off the nesting box and froze to death. Got some in the bator. I got all summer to hatch about 15. Better luck next time

Alex, I can't tell you how utterly heart-breaking my first year of hatching OEGB was. Didn't hatch a single one, numerous chicks dead in the shell. I didn't think I'd ever get it figured out. From that point, I've gradually gotten better results every year. One of the most important pieces of advice I would give is to spend a little money on a decent incubator. Those styrofoam models from little giant and farm innovations are OK, but you need something with a little tighter control that those "wafer" type thermostats. You don't need to spend $350 for those Brinsea models ( but those look awesome and I hear they give impressive results) . I have one of the smaller Incuviews and it works great. Another affordable model I've been looking at lately is called a Reptipro. They're about $150 without the turners. The Incuview will run you about $180, but it has the turner and you can upgrade to automatic humidity control (mine doesn't have that, works just fine though).

Just keep on keeping on. Trust me, eventually you'll get it done. As I always say, there's a learning curve.

 

[mikeldb]

I'm also trying to hatch oegb and so far have had poor results, about 20 dis, but this is my 2/3rd batch and I have 3 that went on LD 2 days ago and 5 more that will be ready in 2 days, and about 15 more incubating, my 3 oegb hens lay about 10-15 eggs a week and I'm getting about 90%fetility but about half that have died were 1st week and the other half were 3rd week but I've gotten it dialed down to a good temp now I think

 

[Alex1010]

Alex, I can't tell you how utterly heart-breaking my first year of hatching OEGB was. Didn't hatch a single one, numerous chicks dead in the shell. I didn't think I'd ever get it figured out. From that point, I've gradually gotten better results every year. One of the most important pieces of advice I would give is to spend a little money on a decent incubator. Those styrofoam models from little giant and farm innovations are OK, but you need something with a little tighter control that those "wafer" type thermostats. You don't need to spend $350 for those Brinsea models ( but those look awesome and I hear they give impressive results) . I have one of the smaller Incuviews and it works great. Another affordable model I've been looking at lately is called a Reptipro. They're about $150 without the turners. The Incuview will run you about $180, but it has the turner and you can upgrade to automatic humidity control (mine doesn't have that, works just fine though).

Just keep on keeping on. Trust me, eventually you'll get it done. As I always say, there's a learning curve. 

I'm mostly going to use Broody's, they're the best incubator there is.

 

[WalnutHill]

When I first started hatching, I killed several not being patient. I've had them pip towards the middle or lower part of the egg, have another chick turn the egg to where the pip is on bottom and have had them drown that way.

Hatching, especially with incubators is a constant learning experience. Even then, you'll still have crappy hatches occasionally.

Anybody here ever hatch turkeys? If appreciate advice if you have. Gonna put some in the incubator tonight.

That scares me.

Ravyn? How do I do this? Better yet, how do you do this?

I've only hatched 2 batches, lol, but they were shipped eggs... I ran mine in a dry bator, 100.5F temp and about 30% humidity, auto turner and candled to watch the air cells... 28 days, lockdown day 25... they have a much tougher shell and the membrane can be like leather, so lockdown humidity needs to be higher... I think I did mine at 75% and they hatched fine...

Also, mine were a mix of heritage and broad breasteds, so not sure if that makes a difference either... Sweetgrass are pretty birds... if I hadn't become friends with Walnut, those would have probably been my first choice to try just for the heck of it...

Poults imprint super easy... they're also easy to get to use a rabbit waterer too... they catch a chill easier than chicks, but since you brood super tiny bantams I bet you're fine there...

Anything else, just ask... I can't think of anything to add for now... I'll see if I can get Walnut to pop on to the thread, she is the real expert...

My biggest question is humidity. If you could dial it in at a percentage, what would that percentage be? Right now I'm going with 45%. Seems to be where this particular incubator gives me the best air cell development over the course of my incubation. Once I get them to the hatcher, and start getting internal pips, I'll go much higher, 75-80% or so. Once they've pipped, I don't think you can go too high, outside of setting them in a bowl of water. That's my plan until someone advises me differently.

Edit: Actually found a thread on here that confirms this, as well as the dry hatch thing you suggested. Guy even uses a Reptipro to incubate turkey eggs. I've been looking at those, may have to look a little harder.

He also suggests dropping the temp a degree during the hatch, and his rationale makes a lot of sense.

I've hatched a few hundred turkeys in a half dozen types of incubators, shipped eggs, local eggs and my own flock's eggs. I'd be happy to chat.

First, let me tell you what I did and did not find successful, and why. Then I'd love to hear what you have, and hopefully we can mesh my experience with your equipment and come up with great results.

Turkey eggs are much more rugged than chicken or duck eggs. The shells are thick, and get brittle in very low humidity. The outer membrane is thick and leathery, like a reptile egg. Once the shell is breached, that membrane will toughen and the poult will be unable to tear it if humidity drops in the incubator. So leave the incubator closed while eggs are pipping and zipping.

I am currently using an old GQF 1402 cabinet incubator with the GQF automatic water pan and bucket reservoir so the water pan stays full without opening the cabinet. I updated the thermostat, but it's still a basic forced air cabinet incubator with a water pan up top in front of the heating element and fan. Taken on the top shelf as per manufacturer recommendations, the temp is set at 100F. The design of the cabinet drops the temp slightly on each shelf as you go down, so I start eggs on the top shelf and as I rotate more eggs in I move them down a shelf. As the poults' own metabolism goes up, the external temp goes down ever so slightly. Three days before hatch date, I move them to the bottom hatching tray which runs at approximately 98-99F depending on room temp and I insert a humidity pad in the water pan. My best hatching results are from a consistent 60-65% humidity the last three days. GQF recommended 55-60%. Kevin Porter at Porterturkeys.com recommends dropping the temp a degree and raising the humidity over 70% and I am sure that works for him, but it did not work for me. I ended up with sticky poults at 70%+ humidity and shrink wrapped poults below 50%, even if dropped for only a few moments to pluck out hatchlings.

I don't have a window in the door of my incubator, so I can only listen to the peeping coming from inside until I decide to open it. Wait as long as you possibly can, 12 hours minimum, from the first peeps you hear inside. If you don't drop the humidity by opening the door, all the poults should hatch in 12-16 hours. Any that don't are likely not all that strong. Have a warm brooder ready for them, 95-97F under the light, along with food and water. If the brooder lamp is set too low, they will not move out from under it. They will lay there and pant and die. If it's too far away, they will stand and huddle. So if they alternate between resting and active chatter, the temps are just right. They do want heat for at least four weeks until fully feathered, though they use it less and less. They need good traction, so I like to use a discardable rag to cover a square of bedding under the heat source. They will start eating right away, picking at whatever is in front of them, so make sure you have turkey starter crumbles on their pad. I like the rabbit water bottles, they are very clean to use and it's really easy to train them as they are attracted by the glistening water droplet. But have a shallow water dish handy too for those that are slow to pick it up.

Turkeys love to snuggle and do great in groups. They are highly socialized and have a sizable vocabulary. They tend to nap in unison, then awake all at once and chatter and eat and drink and explore. They will respond to your imitations of their vocalizations. The three note "Here I am, where are you" is the most common and if you remove one from the group for a trip to the outside world, they will carry on a long distance conversation as far as their voices can reach.

So that was my success story. Here is what did not work for me, and why.

Tabletop foam incubators. Humidity control is awful, eggs don't fit in the auto turner, and ventilation is insufficient. I had few poults hatch, and those that did burned their heads on the exposed heating elements.

Leahy tabletop redwood incubator. Great for incubating, terrible for hatching because there is no way to raise humidity without filling the incubator with wet sponges, and then no way to re-wet them or to control humidity.

Brinsea Polyhatch. Great for incubating, difficult to measure or control humidity for hatching.

Brinsea Eco 20. Small, but good for incubating a few and good for hatching a few. Very little room for them to move and no room for them to stand once hatched.

Homemade cabinet incubator. Really did work pretty well, but thermostat had pretty wide temp swings.

Cooler hatcher. Until I can precisely control humidity I won't incubate or hatch in there. It goes from 16% dry to 100% in minutes. I had a lot of over-wet poults as well as a few shrink wrapped.

Brinsea Ova Easy 380. Great temp control, large water pan (but does not auto-refill), easy to get hatching humidity with a humidity pad. Full view door makes it easy to see, and large hatching tray space allows for using individual shoe boxes for pedigree hatching or a tray for a group hatch. I had a great hatch in the Ova Easy too, but again opening the door shrink wrapped poults.

If you want to chat about your equipment, I'd be happy to do so. I'm in the metro Detroit area, and I find it necessary to add water to maintain incubation humidity in my cabinet incubators. During incubation I shoot for 30-45%. I don't worry about numbers, I just look for averages and make sure the air cells are on track.

 

[jophus]

I'm also trying to hatch oegb and so far have had poor results, about 20 dis, but this is my 2/3rd batch and I have 3 that went on LD 2 days ago and 5 more that will be ready in 2 days, and about 15 more incubating, my 3 oegb hens lay about 10-15 eggs a week and I'm getting about 90%fetility but about half that have died were 1st week and the other half were 3rd week but I've gotten it dialed down to a good temp now I think

I'm far from an expert. I learn new things everyday, through research, and from the more experienced folks on here. BYC is a great resource.

Three most common things I've found that will kill OEGB chicks, and chicks in general, in the incubator:

Extended temp spikes. 99-101.5 is what I shoot for, with somewhere around 100 being ideal. They can go a little higher, but depending on where the eggs are at in development, you can start to see malformations. Lower temps, which I have rarely had a problem with, just seem to delay my hatch a bit.

Humidity, either too high or too low. Both are dangerous. Too high and they will literally drown in the shell. Too low and the membranes become like flypaper. No way a chick will hatch if he can't move inside the shell. Crack your DIS and see if they're too wet or too dry. I have good hygrometers, but you have to understand that they give you a range, and not a precise number. Lots of variables in the humidity equation, and if one changes, it affects the result. I run at 40-45%, which I feel gives me the best results based on watching air cell development. Check and mark your air cells.

Poor ventilation. Throw. Your. Plugs. Away.

I know this sounds like a regurgitation of everything you've read, but it's what works for me. I continually tweak my process as the results dictate. I had a couple of 100% hatches this year, but I had a 10%er as well. That's the way it works. Buy good thermometers and hygrometers, calibrate them, and learn to trust them. Good doesn't equate to most expensive. My favorite (and most accurate) are the $5 Little Giant incubator thermometers from Atwoods. Rarely get one that is not dead on.

Hope this helps.

 

[jophus]

I've hatched a few hundred turkeys in a half dozen types of incubators, shipped eggs, local eggs and my own flock's eggs. I'd be happy to chat.

First, let me tell you what I did and did not find successful, and why. Then I'd love to hear what you have, and hopefully we can mesh my experience with your equipment and come up with great results.

Turkey eggs are much more rugged than chicken or duck eggs. The shells are thick, and get brittle in very low humidity. The outer membrane is thick and leathery, like a reptile egg. Once the shell is breached, that membrane will toughen and the poult will be unable to tear it if humidity drops in the incubator. So leave the incubator closed while eggs are pipping and zipping.

I am currently using an old GQF 1402 cabinet incubator with the GQF automatic water pan and bucket reservoir so the water pan stays full without opening the cabinet. I updated the thermostat, but it's still a basic forced air cabinet incubator with a water pan up top in front of the heating element and fan. Taken on the top shelf as per manufacturer recommendations, the temp is set at 100F. The design of the cabinet drops the temp slightly on each shelf as you go down, so I start eggs on the top shelf and as I rotate more eggs in I move them down a shelf. As the poults' own metabolism goes up, the external temp goes down ever so slightly. Three days before hatch date, I move them to the bottom hatching tray which runs at approximately 98-99F depending on room temp and I insert a humidity pad in the water pan. My best hatching results are from a consistent 60-65% humidity the last three days. GQF recommended 55-60%. Kevin Porter at Porterturkeys.com recommends dropping the temp a degree and raising the humidity over 70% and I am sure that works for him, but it did not work for me. I ended up with sticky poults at 70%+ humidity and shrink wrapped poults below 50%, even if dropped for only a few moments to pluck out hatchlings.

I don't have a window in the door of my incubator, so I can only listen to the peeping coming from inside until I decide to open it. Wait as long as you possibly can, 12 hours minimum, from the first peeps you hear inside. If you don't drop the humidity by opening the door, all the poults should hatch in 12-16 hours. Any that don't are likely not all that strong. Have a warm brooder ready for them, 95-97F under the light, along with food and water. If the brooder lamp is set too low, they will not move out from under it. They will lay there and pant and die. If it's too far away, they will stand and huddle. So if they alternate between resting and active chatter, the temps are just right. They do want heat for at least four weeks until fully feathered, though they use it less and less. They need good traction, so I like to use a discardable rag to cover a square of bedding under the heat source. They will start eating right away, picking at whatever is in front of them, so make sure you have turkey starter crumbles on their pad. I like the rabbit water bottles, they are very clean to use and it's really easy to train them as they are attracted by the glistening water droplet. But have a shallow water dish handy too for those that are slow to pick it up.

Turkeys love to snuggle and do great in groups. They are highly socialized and have a sizable vocabulary. They tend to nap in unison, then awake all at once and chatter and eat and drink and explore. They will respond to your imitations of their vocalizations. The three note "Here I am, where are you" is the most common and if you remove one from the group for a trip to the outside world, they will carry on a long distance conversation as far as their voices can reach.

So that was my success story. Here is what did not work for me, and why.

Tabletop foam incubators. Humidity control is awful, eggs don't fit in the auto turner, and ventilation is insufficient. I had few poults hatch, and those that did burned their heads on the exposed heating elements.

Leahy tabletop redwood incubator. Great for incubating, terrible for hatching because there is no way to raise humidity without filling the incubator with wet sponges, and then no way to re-wet them or to control humidity.

Brinsea Polyhatch. Great for incubating, difficult to measure or control humidity for hatching.

Brinsea Eco 20. Small, but good for incubating a few and good for hatching a few. Very little room for them to move and no room for them to stand once hatched.

Homemade cabinet incubator. Really did work pretty well, but thermostat had pretty wide temp swings.

Cooler hatcher. Until I can precisely control humidity I won't incubate or hatch in there. It goes from 16% dry to 100% in minutes. I had a lot of over-wet poults as well as a few shrink wrapped.

Brinsea Ova Easy 380. Great temp control, large water pan (but does not auto-refill), easy to get hatching humidity with a humidity pad. Full view door makes it easy to see, and large hatching tray space allows for using individual shoe boxes for pedigree hatching or a tray for a group hatch. I had a great hatch in the Ova Easy too, but again opening the door shrink wrapped poults.

If you want to chat about your equipment, I'd be happy to do so. I'm in the metro Detroit area, and I find it necessary to add water to maintain incubation humidity in my cabinet incubators. During incubation I shoot for 30-45%. I don't worry about numbers, I just look for averages and make sure the air cells are on track.

Thank you so much for taking the time to share this. It's exactly what I was looking for.

I'm incubating in a homemade desktop incubator. It's fairly new and my results have been mixed, but I think I've got it dialed in. It consists of a Hovabator shell and is powered by an Incukit Mini.

Temp is constant and I can adjust in 0.1 degree increments. I base my readings on mercury thermometers I've calibrated and know to be accurate, and I use a Brinsea Spot Check to monitor egg temps on the shell. It also heats back up very fast if I go in to candle or turn.

Turner is an Incuturn for a Hovabator, but I'm worried that it won't completely turn these big eggs. I'll be able to give them a good full turn by hand twice a day.

Humidity is maintained by a Hygrostat and a Reptifogger. My concern here is the cool moist air blowing over the surface of the eggs. I've got the humidity set in between 40 and 45%. Seems consistent.

Your comment about the membrane being thick and leathery made me smile. I've hatched a lot of reptiles, so I knew exactly what you were talking about. I reworked by old reptile egg incubator into a hatcher unit for chicks.

Don't be surprised to get a PM from me. I'm sure I'll freak out at some point, LOL.

 

[WalnutHill]

Thank you so much for taking the time to share this. It's exactly what I was looking for.

I'm incubating in a homemade desktop incubator. It's fairly new and my results have been mixed, but I think I've got it dialed in. It consists of a Hovabator shell and is powered by an Incukit Mini.

Temp is constant and I can adjust in 0.1 degree increments. I base my readings on mercury thermometers I've calibrated and know to be accurate, and I use a Brinsea Spot Check to monitor egg temps on the shell. It also heats back up very fast if I go in to candle or turn.

Turner is an Incuturn for a Hovabator, but I'm worried that it won't completely turn these big eggs. I'll be able to give them a good full turn by hand twice a day.

Humidity is maintained by a Hygrostat and a Reptifogger. My concern here is the cool moist air blowing over the surface of the eggs. I've got the humidity set in between 40 and 45%. Seems consistent.

Your comment about the membrane being thick and leathery made me smile. I've hatched a lot of reptiles, so I knew exactly what you were talking about. I reworked by old reptile egg incubator into a hatcher unit for chicks.

Don't be surprised to get a PM from me. I'm sure I'll freak out at some point, LOL.

I had an immensely successful hatch in my GQF, 15/16 in my first hatch in there, the other having died around day 25. The airspeed in that tray would be considered light breeze. My cooler hatcher's fan moves far too much air. It's an AC fan on an IncuKit XL cabinet fan/heater so I can't dial it down. I could switch the fan with the heating element and incorporate a laptop fan as a circulating fan, and that would probably be effective.

I prefer not to hatch in the incubator for sanitation and staggered hatch reasons, but it's good to know that it does a great job of it.

I'd turn the eggs more than twice a day, even if they are at uneven times, say once before work and twice or more in the evening.

 

[Wickedchicken6]

Quote: Hey Raven!!!

Haven't crossed paths in a bit...lol.

 

[jophus]

I had an immensely successful hatch in my GQF, 15/16 in my first hatch in there, the other having died around day 25.  The airspeed in that tray would be considered light breeze.  My cooler hatcher's fan moves far too much air.  It's an AC fan on an IncuKit XL cabinet fan/heater so I can't dial it down.  I could switch the fan with the heating element and incorporate a laptop fan as a circulating fan, and that would probably be effective.

I prefer not to hatch in the incubator for sanitation and staggered hatch reasons, but it's good to know that it does a great job of it.

I'd turn the eggs more than twice a day, even if they are at uneven times, say once before work and twice or more in the evening.

My hatcher is homemade, powered by an Incukit XL and with the same Hygrostat/fogger combo as my incubator. I was using a small ice chest hatcher that worked great, but just wouldn't hold all my eggs as the season went on.

I used to help my dad hatch turkeys when I was younger. He used an old 1950's model Farm Master from Sears and Roebuck. After he passed away, I found it tucked in the back of a storage shed. It had been there 10 years. I took it out, plugged it up and it worked.

I don't hatch in my incubators for the same reasons, unless it's an emergency.

I'll go with 3 turns a day. Hopefully with the partial turns provided by the bator, it'll be enough.

 

[jophus]

My company for the day. Everywhere I put her the others are mean to her. She's so sweet. I let her out while I'm working in pens and she just hangs out with Dad.