The Heritage Rhode Island Red Site

[Fred's Hens]

Having a dedicated hatcher is the proper way. Or, some incubators have dedicated hatching trays. Same same. I do not "mix" eggs from different pens for the very concerns you have @ejcrist .

It is very simple if you hatch dedicated batches. Toe punching or web snipping with cuticle scissors is pretty much fool proof for identification. Do a google search on toe punching and you'll be able to see that you can make up to 16 separate ID's by punching or cutting out different combinations of the four web areas that each chick has.

I covered all this with some extensive teaching posts about two month ago, if you look back, you'll find them.

 

[Ur-ur-ur-urrr]

I got a very nice trio of RIR's yesterday to start a breeding program. I also got a Barred Rock cockerel and three pullets. They're still young but they are the nicest birds I ever owned. Even though they are young they are twice the size of the hatchery birds I have. The differences are stark. Being new at breeding, I hope I can do my part well to advance the line.

Even though this is an RIR thread, I'd love to see some pics of your new Barred Rocks.

 

[ejcrist]

Even though this is an RIR thread, I'd love to see some pics of your new Barred Rocks.

I only have this one picture but I'll take some more.

 

[ejcrist]

It depends on how many females you'll be using this coming breeding season. If it's a pair, it's very easy. Collect eggs from #1 pen for a week, then mark them as #1 and set those eggs. Once those eggs are set, collect eggs from pen #2 for a week then set those eggs. Do this every week, setting eggs from alternating pens. After 18 days, move the first eggs set (pen #1) to the hatcher. It will be best to use a separate hatcher since the humidity requirements are different. When those eggs hatch, move the chicks to a brooder, clean out the hatcher, toe punch or band the chicks, and wait a few days until the next batch of eggs is ready to go in. Doing it this way, there's no chance for the chicks to get mixed up. Every following week will result in newly hatched chicks. This can be applied to more than two sets of eggs, but will require a divider in the hatcher, and accurate record keeping such as dates eggs were laid, which pens they came from, dates eggs were set, and hatch dates. As long as you mark each egg with set date and pen #, it shouldn't get too complicated.

Having a dedicated hatcher is the proper way. Or, some incubators have dedicated hatching trays. Same same. I do not "mix" eggs from different pens for the very concerns you have @ejcrist .

It is very simple if you hatch dedicated batches. Toe punching or web snipping with cuticle scissors is pretty much fool proof for identification. Do a google search on toe punching and you'll be able to see that you can make up to 16 separate ID's by punching or cutting out different combinations of the four web areas that each chick has.

I covered all this with some extensive teaching posts about two month ago, if you look back, you'll find them.

I'll be hatching eggs from 3 different hens so I'd have to have a way to keep them separated to record the correct lineages. The Sportsman 1502 has a hatching tray but no partitions, and even if you fabricated something I'm thinking I'd run the risk of them knocking the barriers down and getting mixed up. Fred I think you're right about the best way is having a separate hatcher. GQF also makes the 1550 digital hatcher that I like a lot. That would certainly be the best way to go. Absent that I'll just have to hatch in weekly batches from each hen. It'd be nice if GQF made a hatching tray with removable partitions like you see in tool boxes.

 

[cmom]

I incubate in my cabinet and hatch in my styrofoam incubator hatchers. I separate my my hatching eggs then I don't have to worry about who is hatching. I do have a hatching tray in the bottom of my incubator but I don't use it.

 

[ejcrist]

I incubate in my cabinet and hatch in my styrofoam incubator hatchers. I separate my my hatching eggs then I don't have to worry about who is hatching. I do have a hatching tray in the bottom of my incubator but I don't use it.

That's a neat set-up. I didn't think about hatching in the styrofoam incubators. I remember seeing them for pretty cheap; the 1602N is around $75. Do they work ok for you and is it easy to maintain the temp and humidity? Which models do you use?

 

[Fred's Hens]

Continuous Setting and Hatching Method.

I don't want to cover all that ground again, as it was dealt with pretty thoroughly in those in depth posts last August/September????
But in short, the concept to grasp is this. Gather eggs from your three breed pens, but ROTATE their starting date with eggs from specific pens.

Pen I goes into the incubator. Let's say whatever she lays in 10-14 days. 7 days later, set only eggs from Pen B. Everything the female has laid in Pen B over the last 10-14 days. Still later, 7 more days later, set eggs from Pen C, all the eggs the female has laid in Pen C over the past 10-14.

If you set on Saturday night, you will be hatching every Sunday morning. Every Sunday morning.
Every Saturday you are setting and every Sunday morning you are hatching.

You are transferring eggs EVERY Thursday from incubation trays to hatcher or to hatching trays. Every Thursday is move eggs day.

You don't need a HUGE incubator to accomplish this. BUT... you DO need an incubator and a dedicated hatcher or hatching trays. This method even allows you four days during which to clean and sterilize the hatcher between each hatch.


Once you can visualize this??? Your chicks will never be mixed up. You just keep the assembly line going and going and going. You never set eggs older than 10-14 days. The setting never stops, the moving to hatcher never stops and the hatching of live chicks never stops all through the breeding/hatching season. This is how it is done.

With a large enough incubator and with two dedicated hatching trays or two hatchers, you could hatch out even more during the season. You'll be drowning in chicks and you better have a plan, of course, of where they go to be brooded out and grown out.

Best of luck to you. It will be an incredibly exciting year for you.

 

[Fred's Hens]

This is an incubator. The eggs are a specific breed pen arranged in rows. As you see. The eggs have my code written on top.


This is one of my hatchers. Simple but very effective. Since I only hatch 10-14 days off a single mating, the clutch is very small, typically a dozen eggs or less.




Again, this is the same incubator running and running and running. It ran for 60 days straight. Eggs go in and eggs come out to be placed into the hatcher.




Small 24 egg Brinsea on left. Large 40 egg incubator in center and the hatcher on the right. I use yet another hatcher just like it. (not shown)

My operation does not justify a 400 egg cabinet. I live within my means and narrowly define my breeding and hatching goals. Usually? That is around 70-80 chicks on the ground. But with these basic pieces of equipment, I could easily put twice that many chicks, 150 chicks on the ground, as I have done on many occasions when the situation demanded it. Thank God, those days are largely behind me. LOL


Moral of the story? It is about what works for you. And, it must work and work well. Crap equipment that doesn't work well leads to frustration. If it works and works for you? It's all good.

 

[Ur-ur-ur-urrr]

Continuous Setting and Hatching Method.

I don't want to cover all that ground again, as it was dealt with pretty thoroughly in those in depth posts last August/September????
But in short, the concept to grasp is this. Gather eggs from your three breed pens, but ROTATE their starting date with eggs from specific pens.

Pen I goes into the incubator. Let's say whatever she lays in 10-14 days. 7 days later, set only eggs from Pen B. Everything the female has laid in Pen B over the last 10-14 days. Still later, 7 more days later, set eggs from Pen C, all the eggs the female has laid in Pen C over the past 10-14.

If you set on Saturday night, you will be hatching every Sunday morning. Every Sunday morning.
Every Saturday you are setting and every Sunday morning you are hatching.

You are transferring eggs EVERY Thursday from incubation trays to hatcher or to hatching trays. Every Thursday is move eggs day.

You don't need a HUGE incubator to accomplish this. BUT... you DO need an incubator and a dedicated hatcher or hatching trays. This method even allows you four days during which to clean and sterilize the hatcher between each hatch.


Once you can visualize this??? Your chicks will never be mixed up. You just keep the assembly line going and going and going. You never set eggs older than 10-14 days. The setting never stops, the moving to hatcher never stops and the hatching of live chicks never stops all through the breeding/hatching season. This is how it is done.

With a large enough incubator and with two dedicated hatching trays or two hatchers, you could hatch out even more during the season. You'll be drowning in chicks and you better have a plan, of course, of where they go to be brooded out and grown out.

Best of luck to you. It will be an incredibly exciting year for you.

Cranking out new batches of chicks leads to another situation that may not be taken into consideration by new breeders... what to do with all of these chicks. Obviously, newly hatched chicks can't be thrown in the brooder with week-old chicks. Each new batch will need a separate brood space. My question is, how do you experienced breeders handle this situation?

 

[cmom]

Quote: My incubator/hatchers are quite old as I have had them for many years. I have both Little Giant, Hova-Bators and homemade. I dry incubate but do increase the humidity when I set the eggs for hatching. You have to figure out what works best for you. Good luck and have fun...
Here is another thread with a lot of good tips when using styrofoam incubators. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/601352/little-giant-incubator-tricks