~*Third Annual Cinco de Mayo Turkey Hatch-Athon*~ all poultry welcome!

[lsmith]

When you say dry hatch, do you mean without adding any humidity at all?

 

[AmericanMom]

see... (can I say "told ya so"?

).. I love dry hatching since our weather has been so wonky!

Just watch how the first turkey does.. he he struggles too much then you MIGHT have to up the humidity a teeny bit (or block the fan's direct air flow if you are using a forced air bator to re-direct it a bit..).. but mine have been hatching with no issues.. so your's might be like that too..

Yes you can say I told ya so!!!

I am so much more comfortable doing it this way, heck set it and almost forget it, that's what the last month has been like with this incubator, I have only candled when it was needed to remove infertile or quitters...I let my nose lead me to a quitter that had started to rot, didn't worry about candling the others...

Hopefully the turkeys come out as easily as the first chicken just did.. Pip and pop all within a 18 hour span... was alittle concerned last night because I was once again over thinking the situation on the chicks knocking the eggs around...Took a deep breath and told myself to let it be.. Got the first incubator cleaned out and plugged it in this morning to use if I need to move babies over.. So far the first chick is not creating to much havoc and so it will stay to encourage more hatching

Deep breath, hands off has gotten me this far..

 

[AmericanMom]

When you say dry hatch, do you mean without adding any humidity at all?

I have added not one drop of water to the full 28 days of incubation... I did decide last night to cut a sponge in 1/4 strips and I wet two of them with warm water and laid them along the edge of the incubator... I am not even monitoring humidity.. I'll let the chicks tell me if I have to much or not enough... I have ignored it to this point and just watched the air cells.

First chick (chicken) hatched this morning without a bit of problems... Another is looking like it going to start zipping pretty soon..

 

[lsmith]

I have added not one drop of water to the full 28 days of incubation...  I did decide last night to cut a sponge in 1/4 strips and I wet two of them with warm water and laid them along the edge of the incubator... I am not even monitoring humidity.. I'll let the chicks tell me if I have to much or not enough... I have ignored it to this point and just watched the air cells.

First chick (chicken) hatched this morning without a bit of problems...  Another is looking like it going to start zipping pretty soon..

Ok, can I ask where you live? I'm in northern Nevada and today my humidity (outside) is only 21% and it's supposed to rain :/. I want to try this, my chickens didn't do so well and I'm worried that it's because of something I did. Then again, my original incubator stopped keeping temp for a whole day and I had to get a new one. Only 1 has hatched from 30 set. They are still on the incubator but I don't see any movement. I'll let them stay there until Monday, just in case, but I'm doubting they'll hatch. I have a duck egg in there too and I just set 5 turkey the 30th. I don't want the turkeys to have the same problem. I'm really worried and killing all those eggs now.

 

[foxvalleyfarm]

Which one of you snuck into my house and told my chicken eggs that they were part of the cinco de Mayo hatch. They are now on day 21+12 hours and the bantams in the group are just starting to draw down and push up... The two ducks on day 27+12 hours are closer to hatch then the chickens...

 

[foxvalleyfarm]

I just pulled and opened a quitter. What day would you say it was when it quit?

 

[ronott1]

Ok, can I ask where you live? I'm in northern Nevada and today my humidity (outside) is only 21% and it's supposed to rain

. I want to try this, my chickens didn't do so well and I'm worried that it's because of something I did. Then again, my original incubator stopped keeping temp for a whole day and I had to get a new one. Only 1 has hatched from 30 set. They are still on the incubator but I don't see any movement. I'll let them stay there until Monday, just in case, but I'm doubting they'll hatch. I have a duck egg in there too and I just set 5 turkey the 30th. I don't want the turkeys to have the same problem. I'm really worried and killing all those eggs now.

You will need to add water. Humidity goes down with temperature--It would not be a good idea to incubate at 5% humidity. Folks that do not add water are still above 25% during incubation.

No one says to hatch during lockdown and low humidity. You need 65% plus then.

We all live in very different places. The Humid south is completely different from Nevada and conditions change by season.

 

[JennaLynn122]

yeah... for some reason these people think that roosters lay eggs too.........


I know... i was shocked... 





lol.. "designer chickens" will be the next thing they are calling them!


I would drop that humidity down.. BUT before you do... have you been checking air cells or weight?.. if you have and they are on track then your hygrometer is probably off... 


some of these people worship the almighty dollar a bit too much.. so they just don't care.. sad but true


see... (can I say "told ya so"?   ).. I love dry hatching since our weather has been so wonky!

Just watch how the first turkey does.. he he struggles too much then you MIGHT have to up the humidity a teeny bit (or block the fan's direct air flow if you are using a forced air bator to re-direct it a bit..).. but mine have been hatching with no issues.. so your's might be like that too..

20$ a chick.... woooow! Im selling my mutt extras right now as 'Barnyard Laying Mixes' and have my prices set at $4 per chick (sr), $5 sexed pullets and $3 sexed cockerels and all my prices are stated negotiable (especially with big orders). And sometimes I still question myself as to whether or not my prices are too high. I just don't lower them because if I did I'd have more orders than I do chicks.

 

[HEChicken]

And sometimes I still question myself as to whether or not my prices are too high. I just don't lower them because if I did I'd have more orders than I do chicks.

In that case you are priced about right for your market. There isn't a set value on anything - it is all market based - i.e., what someone is willing to pay. If you increase to $5 and still sell everything you have then the market price for mutts in you area is $5. If on the other hand you're not selling them at $4, you might need to lower to $3 because the market price in your area is lower.

 

[JennaLynn122]

In that case you are priced about right for your market.  There isn't a set value on anything - it is all market based - i.e., what someone is willing to pay.  If you increase to $5 and still sell everything you have then the market price for mutts in you area is $5.  If on the other hand you're not selling them at $4, you might need to lower to $3 because the market price in your area is lower.

the weirdest part is, I haven't even posted the chicks for sale. I've been getting orders for chicks through my hatching egg post. I may raise my price to $5 just to see what the market is with the next hatch. Honestly my business plan was set for starting next year. I haven't even gotten my breeding pens set up. Hence the mutts. Just planned on selling extras that weren't going into my laying flock. The mutts were supposed to be a layer project for me since both groups of hens lay like crazy. I have 8 hens and sometimes get 10-12 eggs a day. And no in natural lighting to produce more.