The Old Folks Home

[Arielle]

~~Finally heard from my daughter. She spent a couple days in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. She said it was beautiful.

THese mtns are amazing-- like no other mountains I have ever seens. Very jagged.

Quote: Ron, WHile I respect all your information and avidly read your posts, I would like to offer that sometimes lower does work.

My last batch ran at 15-20%-- much lower than I usually run the humidity, but I kept it at that because the cornish x eggs were not making a large enough air cell fast enough. I was worried even going into lockdown that the air cells were not big enough. All very odd certainly-- but I did get a few a in 2, chicks out of it. A buckeye hatched too. On time, 1 with help because I didn't bump up the humidity soon enough ( it had already externally pipped).


I do think exchange rate of the air in the incubator plays a part in the evaproation of the eggs.

 

[Bunnylady]

Quote: x2

Ron where didja find such great smilies? Gotta get ROB to freshen the' too few,' that BYC has.

It really enhances posting and gets the emotion across.

There's one site I go to that has about 250 smileys that come up on the editor as I am typing up a post (takes me forever, because that much activity at the top of the screen is a little bit distracting), but if that isn't enough, there's an additional window I can bring up with about 100 more to choose from. That's almost an "embarrassment of riches." I often have a tab open to one of the free smiley websites when I'm posting here.


And in my news, I have a dilemma. A single Serama chick hatched in my homemade incubator yesterday after 23 days' incubation. There aren't any other eggs in there that are due to hatch any time soon, so this is an 'only chick.' There are 6 EE and BR 10-day-old chicks in the brooder (yeah, so much for Idonotneedmorechickens, right?); I can't put the Serama in with them, they'd kill the tiny little thing. I'm thinking that I need to set up a partition that will allow the tiny cheepie to see them, but stay safe.

 

[pickitfarm]

x2

There's one site I go to that has about 250 smileys that come up on the editor as I am typing up a post (takes me forever, because that much activity at the top of the screen is a little bit distracting), but if that isn't enough, there's an additional window I can bring up with about 100 more to choose from. That's almost an "embarrassment of riches." I often have a tab open to one of the free smiley websites when I'm posting here.


And in my news, I have a dilemma. A single Serama chick hatched in my homemade incubator yesterday after 23 days' incubation. There aren't any other eggs in there that are due to hatch any time soon, so this is an 'only chick.' There are 6 EE and BR 10-day-old chicks in the brooder (yeah, so much for Idonotneedmorechickens, right?); I can't put the Serama in with them, they'd kill the tiny little thing. I'm thinking that I need to set up a partition that will allow the tiny cheepie to see them, but stay safe.

My hatch a few weeks ago , the last to hatch was very weak and I did not have much hope but did not want to put it in with the others who were a few days older. I used a square tupperware containers and lined it with shop towels and used small cat food tins for water and food I just placed on the towels. I placed the container up on the edge of the tub in my spare bathroom next to the brooder tote I had in the tub. That way it could hear the others but was safe from being picked on. After 5 days she was thriving and placed in with the bigger chicks and did fine. I tried to add a docile chick with her but she (I don't know if it was a she) pecked at it pretty hard. Because she was by herself the only pecking order for her was her.

 

[ronott1]

Ron where didja find such great smilies? Gotta get ROB to freshen the' too few,' that BYC has.

It really enhances posting and gets the emotion across.

There was a smiley project last year and I did provide a couple but the project did not go anywhere.

The two in the post came from an EO Marraduna Basque site.

They do make things more fun!

 

[Hangtown Farms]

I'll pray for you.

Speaking of a lighter note, I was at the feed store near my house yesterday. They had their chick day two Saturdays ago and had 300 chicks arrive earlier that week. They sold half by that Saturday morning, Today they still have 30 chicks left so I'm contemplating bringing them all home since they haven't been well cared for since they got them. I'm just near capacity with more eggs going in the incubator today. I might just get them and find homes for them.

Just say no lol

 

[ronott1]

Quote:
Humidity is the most over blown part of incubation. Good point about something other than humidity causing evaporation or the liquid in the egg going away. I think the chick absorbing the yolk correctly makes the biggest difference. I have had 0 sticky chicks this year so far. That is not because of humidity.

What I often post is that hatch rates will be lower and will lead to.... The main thing I try to make Hatchers understand is that humidity is different every where and you need to adjust for your place and the time of the year.

The information you posted is correct. You could also have posted that you did not turn the eggs and still had a good hatch.

It's about the hatch rates. If we did not care about getting all of them to hatch, lower hatch rates would be fine.

Poultry science and research both show that low humidity and high humidity cause problems and will lower hatch rate. The range is from about 25% to 60% during incubation. Within that range, weighing the eggs and using an air cell chart will, once again, Increase hatch rates.

Find the humidity that works best for what you are hatching and adjust based on the condition of the eggs.

A fellow in Florida is having a hard time now getting and Ostrich egg to the correct low humidity needed to hatch an Ostrich!

Great topic!

 

[Arielle]

I like the way arielle gets caught up at 1 time. Its efficient

I'm behind on everything!! yup, trying to be efficient!! lol

Got an email that my buckeye chicks will be in the mail next TUesday-- I"m so not ready!! Rabbit's cage is hogging 1/3 of the brooder, and 2 marans- cornishx hogs ( and a buckeye chick) are hogging the other end.

Feeling frazzled-- rain storm is rolling thru for 2 days- - wish it was snow instead. I don't mind feeding in the snow, hate feeding in the rain . . . and the mud.

 

[Highcotton]

Well, I've been diagnosed once again with yet another type of cancer.  For those of you that would be kind enough to include me in your prayers, I will be grateful.  On a lighter note, WE ARE IN LOCKDOWN!

I am so sorry to hear about the cancer. You have my prayers.

 

[Arielle]

Quote: Last winter I did need to add a little water to keep up the humidity to kep the air cell on track-- still not sure why the cornishx was so different.

THis winter has been my first experience with hatching cornishx. THey have been my only focus this winter.

If I reported the humidity that I use over the calendar year people would think I was nuts. I adjust the humidity based on what the air cells tell me. BY late summer when the ambient humidity of summer is high, air cells don't get big enough, so I quit hatching before summer now.

( I have an LG and a homemade coolerbator and both are quickly affected by the ambient humidity.)


WHen you say " condition of the eggs" do you mean the air cell size for the number of days incubated? Or other factors??

 

[ronott1]

Last winter I did need to add a little water to keep up the humidity to kep the air cell on track-- still not sure why the cornishx was so different.

THis winter has been my first experience with hatching cornishx. THey have been my only focus this winter.

If I reported the humidity that I use over the calendar year people would think I was nuts. I adjust the humidity based on what the air cells tell me. BY late summer when the ambient humidity of summer is high, air cells don't get big enough, so I quit hatching before summer now.

( I have an LG and a homemade coolerbator and both are quickly affected by the ambient humidity.)


WHen you say " condition of the eggs" do you mean the air cell size for the number of days incubated? Or other factors??

Condition of the eggs is the air cell size and weight loss.

I just eye ball the eggs and do not use a chart or weigh them. I should probably weigh the Penedesenca eggs. I sometimes have trouble seeing the air cell in them.

Cornish are different!

I read an article about a person that checked humidity under a broody and the humidity changed during incubation. At the end, she raised it fairly high too. I need to see if I can find that article.