The 6th Annual BYC Easter Hatch-a-long!

[Cynthia12]

Hatch rates will be lower for eggs older than 2 weeks. Shipped eggs should not be older than 7 days because of the added stress from shipping.

Older eggs will still hatch--I would not set eggs older than 30 days and if I did I would watch them very closely for rotting.

Thank you ron for this information!

 

[Razadia]

LOL! Dang it to the sticky notes. AND they don't stick so great to the styrobator. Haha....Writing hatch dates on them is a great idea. They are so covered in sticky notes. Haha I have written collection dates but never thought of writing set dates or hatch dates. Love the chart idea and numbering...Thanks for the Idea Somanyhats!

Cynthia I am getting another still air bator if you see them on sale around here holler! See, you created a monster a couple years back....your fault

I just write one number on each of my eggs. Say I'm seeing every Monday. The first Monday, all eggs are labeled with a "1" always on the fat side so I can see easy which are which. The next Monday, each are labled with a "2" and so on. Then I have a calender. I write set date set 1, lockdown set 1, hatch date set 1 and the same for each number. Works great for me

That right there is an amazing idea. If I can ever get another incubator.

 

[Razadia]

Er, sorry about the double post. I can't edit it from my phone.

 

[Cynthia12]

Er, sorry about the double post. I can't edit it from my phone.

 

[LadyHawkeAvry]

do any of you have Japanese coturnix quail? im considering getting some eggs from my friend to hatch, so I can sell eggs from them.
what are your opinions on this quail breed?

I love mine! They can, however, be very aggressive towards each other, so separation by age and sex during the breeding season is essential. They are prolific layers, and easy to manage. Scope out your egg markets ahead of time, as in some areas they don't sell well.

 

[SpringPeeper]

do any of you have Japanese coturnix quail? im considering getting some eggs from my friend to hatch, so I can sell eggs from them.
what are your opinions on this quail breed?

I do, and I am very happy with them. Good eating, really surprisingly good layers, hardy for smaller birds, and I love the noises the males make. They definitely can be aggressive with each other, especially the males. I have had good luck keeping the females in groups without aggression, but I would keep a close eye on any group that contained a mature male. They are a little notorious for 'scalping' females and weaker males.

 

[Ravynscroft]

So I'm doing a test hatch in my new bator. I set the eggs over a couple of days. Friday evening, Saturday afternoon, and Sunday morning. Should I hatch in another bator or do you think the ones set on Sunday can handle the environment of lock down for an extra couple days?

I did a batch exactly like that, had shipped eggs come in late... I did lockdown for the 3 days in a row for the middle day's set time... so 1 day late for Friday's, on time for Saturday's and 1 day early for Sunday's... worked well for me... good luck!

 

[myfivegirls]

Quote: I'm doing a 2nd test hatch, as my 1st test hatch resulted in mostly infertile eggs. The 2nd hatch was set over 4 days, so I'm planning on lockdown for all the eggs on the same day, which ranges from day 16 - day 19. Hopefully it'll be ok. I should have just waited & set them all at the same time, but I didn't know if the following day I'd have any to set.
I just finished the coolerbator yesterday that I'll be using for hatching.

 

[ozexpat]

Ok, so I am going to fire up my usual styrobator this round, but I have also decided to attempt a cooler bator build! Wish me luck!

Advice requested from those who have experience with this (I have never attempted this sort of thing, and I did read through all of Sally's incubator build pages, thank you Sally!):
I am going to use the digital set up (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Digital-Aut...t=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item5d362a8e76) that uses the solid state relay (I think I need the 25 is the one I need if I am following the instructions properly http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Solid-S...850?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_2&hash=item19f1495ae2). Would there be a benefit to using the larger relay (40?). Do I need to use the heat sink with either relay? It is only a couple of dollars, so I figured I would get it just in case (is this the right one? http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Aluminu...796?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_2&hash=item43d771982c).

What do I need to wire all this stuff together?

With any luck I will have something that can hold several times what I am using currently. I can't wait to fill it!!!

jumping in a few days late but i am going to try and help

stop

you do not need the relay - the thermostat has a buit in relay.

you dont need the heat sink

there is a better thermostat looks the same - check ebay or amazon for STC 1000 - i use them on styro upgrades and new builds like my small hatcher.















HOW TO WIRE A STC 1000 TO A LG HEATINE ELEMENT (I use 110v and 220v in the Phils but the wiring is the same)




the above is if you are using a 110v fan

if using a 12V fan you can just install a female end of an extension cord and plug the LG into that - just crank the original thermostat all the way up

 

[ocap]

I think I am going to need some eggs for the hatch along. Hardly any of my girls are laying right now. I think i got 2 eggs today and they were cold. Anyone know where I can get some eggs????

where do you live?