Simulated Natural Nest Incubation~Experiment #1 So it begins....

[LOVEIGEE]

Introducing...HOOTIE!



What a Sweetie BF!

A miracle chick..........and if I know you as well I think I do......you are no quitter.....set those eggs baby doll! You still have time before you get the meaties and hootie will have pals!

I didn't read the other part until I posted......I'm so sorry BF......I still feel we learn by this.....and you will know next time......I'm actually terrified too hatching these I've got....never done it before and hoping I'll know if they need a little help when they do start hatching.....you have been a wonderful broody mama......you will find peace in your heart.....I just know it......Peaceful prayers coming your way......and know that I love you!

 

[foxvalleyfarm]

Oh Bee... Im so sorry.... This really makes me sad. I have to agree with you. This method is tough and takes slot of work and dedication to do. I've decided to not try again. Instead I think km goona use the box as a hatcher.

 

[aart]

Bummer....do your broody hens always have 100% hatch rates?

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Bee, a broody does not always get a 100% hatch either. I hatched out some Maran eggs last year under a broody australorp. 6 fully developed chicks, four live birds. I would try it again. Those shells are thick but so are the shells of wild birds. Think of quail eggs and how tiny they are... Most people use a cutter to open them. Yet the tiny bird inside hatches out. While I would have helped them out, that's not the real key to the success of a broody. The real key is their extraordinary level of care during the incubation in the first place. Constantly shuffling the eggs, making sure it's all perfect... We throw that off with human interference, my eggs were shipped, and that's where the hatch rate changes significantly... But if the goal is "incubate eggs like a broody does", not "replace a broody completely" then this experiment has a lot more potential than this run gives credit to. It's a balance between trying too hard and trying not enough, and things such as turning and candling can make a big difference. Next time will be better and so on and so forth until it becomes a totally legit hatching method.

If you're trying to create an efficient home made incubator with scraps that ofers a more natural incubation method, you're on the right track... This is, after all, an incubator. Flat out.
If you're trying to replace a broody entirely? Well, that's a $5000 contact incubator that humanity spent many years developing and it even only comes close. You'll never fully replace a broody hen perfectly, and I think it's folly to try. And I think you know that going in.

So I'd try again because I think this incubation method has some merit as an incubation method. Not as a replacement for broodies.

 

[lularat]

Sorry to hear about the other chicks. *Hugs* I admire your dedication and value for life, no matter how small some people think it is. I believe that all life is sacred and like you said, too many people are obsessed with the notion of "hatching more and more chicks" and not the end result. You are in my prayers.

 

[DaveOmak]

Bee, morning..... I am a neophyte in the chicken arena and trying to learn stuff.... Looking at the chicks, was their egg tooth as developed, as other chicks you have hatched.... Just curious if that could be a contributing factor..... If it was the tough shell, nothing could have been done, or the genetics would have been improved by adding some really tough and strong chicks.... As you note many times... stuff happens for a reason.....
This thread has been a valuable learning tool for many folks..... Thanks a bunch.....

 

[subhanalah]

Bee, morning.....   I am a neophyte in the chicken arena and trying to learn stuff....   Looking at the chicks, was their egg tooth as developed, as other chicks you have hatched....    Just curious if that could be a contributing factor.....   If it was the tough shell, nothing could have been done, or the genetics would have been improved by adding some really tough and strong chicks....   As you note many times...  stuff happens for a reason.....
This thread has been a valuable learning tool for many folks.....   Thanks a bunch.....

I wonder if anyone has used CO2 levels at the beginning of the incubation period to try to thin the shells? I read an article on it on metzers.
I really want to try, but I'm so afraid that I'll suffocate the little things before they even have a chance. Always so afraid to do anything! What if it's the wrong thing !?

 

[theawesomechick]

I think you should definitely try again. You owe it to those two little chicks who lost their lives to take your experience and help more babies into this world.

 

[topdycke]

That's the question, isn't it? Will I attempt it one more time, wiser by two dead chicks? I currently have 18 eggs in a box gathered just yesterday that I was intending for a new nest...big, fine, and as viable as my flock are going to put out this year....but do I do it? Right now I'm discouraged and saddened by two chicks that died needlessly for my experimentation and inexperience and that is always what I have hated about reading on incubation threads...the people just keep baking chicks willy nilly, no matter how many come out crippled, vitamin deficient, or dead in the shell.

As if those are not a life that was created intentionally, but mere play dollies for those obsessed with hatching more and more chicks, cheerfully and self-deprecatingly using words like "chicken math".

I don't ever want to take a life that lightly and so I will pray on this today and in the coming days, turning it over to the Lord. Right now I don't have the heart to try again but way in the back there is a hope for these new eggs, provided in just 2 days time, as this particular flock reaches its peak performance. These big, clean-legged chicks out of these shells gave me hope for producing some replacement layers, even if they are mutts.

I just don't know...I think I'm just sad today, is all. All I can think to do is pray, which is always the best decision.

Bee, I am very sorry that your trial did not go better. I know I learned many things from it and it made me think about man made process versus natures processes. Both processes seem to have things about them that may be cruel and harsh but the things that come through them are stronger for it.

 

[LindaB220]

Bee, I am very sorry that your trial did not go better. I know I learned many things from it and it made me think about man made process versus natures processes. Both processes seem to have things about them that may be cruel and harsh but the things that come through them are stronger for it.

Me, too. Don't count this as a failure. It can be done. You've proved it. BUT, the best thing I got out of this experiment is the heating pad brooder. This is terrific and will save a lot of stress and money on elec bills. I don't have electricity in my coop yet and having a brooder light with an extension cord is so dangerous. Kudos to you. Next to bringing Fermented feed back into fashion, this is a great accomplishment.