Tis Time for a March 2020 Hatch-a-long!

[Jules929]

I needed live chicks badly enough that I wasn't sacrificing another batch to it. I think if the eggs are bigger it probably works a bit better, but it was just too easy for the eggs to swivel with the narrow end rather than roll when I tried it.

I didn't have many eggs in it, so they did swivel instead of roll. Maybe that was my problem. And I had them spread out. Hmm...

 

[CluckNDoodle]

I have a new still air incubator coming in the mail. It doesn't have a turner. I am going to see if my dumb HHD turners fit in the new incubator when it comes. If it does, the HHD turner doesn't have a plug in, just connective wires. But, I plan on letting the wire hang out of the incubator, and will hook it up to the lid of my HHD. Every time you turn on the HHD the turners rotate. I will turn it on just long enough to turn the eggs, then detatch, until I need to turn again. (the HHD heater, stopped being warm enough, but the turner still works. I will only have it on long enough for a turn.) I will take pictures. It will be better than turning 40 by hand/opening and shutting the incubator.

It may be easier for you to just use the turner as an egg holder and tilt the entire incubator but propping it up on something and switching sides a few times a day. I've seen this done before and it seems to work just fine. There are even incubators that are made to just manually tilt back and forth rather than individually turning eggs.

 

[Mosey2003]

I didn't have many eggs in it, so they did swivel instead of roll. Maybe that was my problem. And I had them spread out. Hmm...

I filled it, for what it's worth.

I've read here that other people love it, but I sure didn't.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

When people say 80% hatch or whatever other percentage, they’re talking about the ones that made it to lockdown or the ones that were fertilized and also counting blood rings and early quitters, but not the yolkers?

Thanks! I’ll find out in two days. These last couple of days I feel like I’ll be touching them less and less, I just want them to grow and not be messed with by candling.

For an accurate hatch rate you subtract any infertile eggs and get your hatch rate from any eggs that are fertilized against number of chicks that hatch, This is how I write mine in my document to keep track with notes.

1st 2/18/20: 90% (started with 10, No infertile, 1 quitter, 9 live chicks) Version 2 Nurture Right incubator
(1 Late embryo death, on hatch day, I believe due to large vaulted skull)

2nd hatch 2/19/20: 100% (started with 12, 2 infertile, No quitters, 10 live chicks) Version 3 Nurture Right incubator

 

[ShannonsChimkens]

I made my own judgement when it came to numbers. I don’t breed or show, so it’s what I decide

I go based off of who makes it to lockdown. All of my early quitters, blood rings and infertiles are taken out within the 1st week. Everyone else normally makes it to lock down. If I were to do the math the other way, I would have had a 60% hatch rate. 7 were clears, so it’s hard for me to want to do that math.

Sticking with lockdown percentages

 

[Mosey2003]

I do like to track everything if I can, because I'm only incubating my own eggs. If I'm getting what I feel is a large number of clears and/or blood rings or quitters, it tells me something is up and I need to investigate. Obviously, if I were hatching more shipped/outside eggs, it would be far less useful.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

I made my own judgement when it came to numbers. I don’t breed or show, so it’s what I decide

I go based off of who makes it to lockdown. All of my early quitters, blood rings and infertiles are taken out within the 1st week. Everyone else normally makes it to lock down. If I were to do the math the other way, I would have had a 60% hatch rate. 7 were clears, so it’s hard for me to want to do that math.

Sticking with lockdown percentages

Well you don't count the clears, that's what I meant by subtracting infertile eggs first.
I understand though. I'm really going to be pushing my hatch rate percentages on this Olive Egger hatch since I knowingly set the undesirable eggs. Hopefully it ends better than expected!

I do like to track everything if I can, because I'm only incubating my own eggs. If I'm getting what I feel is a large number of clears and/or blood rings or quitters, it tells me something is up and I need to investigate. Obviously, if I were hatching more shipped/outside eggs, it would be far less useful.

Yeah, that's why I keep all of the numbers in case the breeders want to know what their fertility rate was as well. Helps me to stay clear of breeders with poor results. Especially when the results repeat themselves. I've been very fortunate that I have dealt with mostly really nice and honest people though and they mostly just want updates on how active their roosters are and how the hatch is going.

 

[Mylied]

I did a candle on everything. Pulled 6 that were for sure not developing. The duck eggs are too early to tell. 2 of the marans were too dark to be sure. Only 1 of my own eggs I put in was infertile. And with the shipped eggs, at least 8 are developing. 1 quit early, 1 was clear, and then there's the 2 dark marans.

 

[julskinka]

There are proper terms for it, but I never remember them. So I always just say what I mean, as in, "Hatched 18/20 that made it to lockdown, 90% hatched. But this was a 50% overall setting since I sat 36 eggs." etc.

@Mosey2003 — yeah the article I read from Sally Sunshine goes by two numbers. The fertility rate, then the hatchability rate which does include all fertilized eggs including blood rings, early quitters as well as the ones that didn’t make it even though they were alive at lockdown.

I think there should be three numbers. Fertility, Lockdown, & Hatchability

I usually speak to fertility (things that progressed at all vs clears), and viable hatch rate vs total hatch rate.

So if 15 of 20 eggs are fertile/progress, that's a fertility rate of 75%, but 5 of those eggs quit or are DIS at hatch, that's a viable hatch rate of 67%. The total hatch rate would 50%.
Sometimes I even break it down further into the post-lockdown hatch rate, so I can see where things were just quitters versus where I had issues with hatching.

As a person who uses shipped eggs, I find this to be helpful, because it lets me figure out:
1) How many eggs I actually need to order based on my past experience;
2) Which sellers (or shipping routes) don't do well for me; and
3) Where the problems are with my technique/equipment.

All that to say . . . unless people are being specific, I don't think you can assume what a hatch rate means, but I concur with hysop that two numbers don't give you the whole picture.

 

[Don 27]

I did a candle on everything. Pulled 6 that were for sure not developing. The duck eggs are too early to tell. 2 of the marans were too dark to be sure. Only 1 of my own eggs I put in was infertile. And with the shipped eggs, at least 8 are developing. 1 quit early, 1 was clear, and then there's the 2 dark marans.View attachment 2036879

Cool looking incubator!