- Nov 30, 2009
- 93
- 17
- 106
I've been incubating for some time now with mixed success. The results are all over, but I can generally point to inconsistencies along the way that were probably the reasons for poor hatches.
I am on the cusp of completing a hatch in which I think I did most everything right. I have two incubators. One with a turner that I run the first 18 days at just about 45% humidity (by my hygrometer). The other incubator is used for the last 3 day "lockdown" and runs about 65-70% humidity (before the first one hatches - it's hard to keep steady once they start hatching). I've had both of these incubators for a while and have the temperatures set where I don't have to adjust them anymore. Both incubators are inside the house in a room where the temperature fluctuates at most about 4 degrees between day and night.
With that set up, I started with 21 eggs that are a cross between a Barred Plymouth Rock rooster and 4 White Leghorn hens. At 7 days, I had 1 egg that was either infertile or never took off. At 18 days, I removed 3 eggs that had quit early. That left 17 eggs going into the final stretch on lockdown. They were due on 8/4 and started hatching that day. At the end of the day on 8/5, I took the first 5 hatches (who had been in more than 24 hours) and placed them in a brooder. After carefully taking them out (leaving the lid in place and just cracking it enough to remove them), I poured hot water into one of the reservoirs so that the humidity remained high through the whole event except for the moments I was taking the chicks out.
Today, after I got home from work, I found another 5 had hatched (for a total of 7 still in the incubator), however one had died. It had a bloody bottom. As I looked closer, the other 6 chicks had bloody beaks. No doubt, they were just pecking at the blood, but I don't know if they killed the chick or if whatever happened during the hatch ultimately did it. Regardless, my number stands at a total of 12 hatched (11 surviving), 1 chick that has pipped but may be dead in the shell, and 4 eggs with no pips.
If that number stands, I've got a 57% hatch rate with 52% surviving.
Any tips to get that number up?
It always seems to me that once a few chicks have hatched, they start playing bumper cars with all the other eggs. A few hatches ago, I had 5 that had pipped (2 of which had zipped quite a bit) that died in the shell. I assumed that somewhere in the shuffle, the other chicks flailing around had somehow caused the deaths.
Can I (should I) put the eggs in something where they can't be rolled around (and into each other)? Suggestions?
Thanks!
I am on the cusp of completing a hatch in which I think I did most everything right. I have two incubators. One with a turner that I run the first 18 days at just about 45% humidity (by my hygrometer). The other incubator is used for the last 3 day "lockdown" and runs about 65-70% humidity (before the first one hatches - it's hard to keep steady once they start hatching). I've had both of these incubators for a while and have the temperatures set where I don't have to adjust them anymore. Both incubators are inside the house in a room where the temperature fluctuates at most about 4 degrees between day and night.
With that set up, I started with 21 eggs that are a cross between a Barred Plymouth Rock rooster and 4 White Leghorn hens. At 7 days, I had 1 egg that was either infertile or never took off. At 18 days, I removed 3 eggs that had quit early. That left 17 eggs going into the final stretch on lockdown. They were due on 8/4 and started hatching that day. At the end of the day on 8/5, I took the first 5 hatches (who had been in more than 24 hours) and placed them in a brooder. After carefully taking them out (leaving the lid in place and just cracking it enough to remove them), I poured hot water into one of the reservoirs so that the humidity remained high through the whole event except for the moments I was taking the chicks out.
Today, after I got home from work, I found another 5 had hatched (for a total of 7 still in the incubator), however one had died. It had a bloody bottom. As I looked closer, the other 6 chicks had bloody beaks. No doubt, they were just pecking at the blood, but I don't know if they killed the chick or if whatever happened during the hatch ultimately did it. Regardless, my number stands at a total of 12 hatched (11 surviving), 1 chick that has pipped but may be dead in the shell, and 4 eggs with no pips.
If that number stands, I've got a 57% hatch rate with 52% surviving.
Any tips to get that number up?
It always seems to me that once a few chicks have hatched, they start playing bumper cars with all the other eggs. A few hatches ago, I had 5 that had pipped (2 of which had zipped quite a bit) that died in the shell. I assumed that somewhere in the shuffle, the other chicks flailing around had somehow caused the deaths.
Can I (should I) put the eggs in something where they can't be rolled around (and into each other)? Suggestions?
Thanks!