Turkey Talk for 2014

[Sydney Acres]

Ancona ducks and Khaki Campbells hatched on the 13th.. got a 100% hatch rate on the shipped ancona eggs

Every single darn turkey egg in the incubators are fertile.. so the tom is doing his job..
hatch dates on those are 3/30 thru 4/5 (3 test batches).. lol.. we're eating the excess turkey eggs that I hadn't planned on setting..

Fabulous!!! How were your Ancona eggs packed, how long were they in transit, and how far did they travel? Was it through the USPS?

 

[yinepu]

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I'm in Central Texas.. the eggs were from eBay

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According to eBay they were 720 miles away (of course they don't take into consideration the routing.. so the eggs probably traveled a bit more than that).. they were shipped on a Wednesday and I got them that Friday.. After I unpacked them I let them sit for a couple of hours.. then popped them into a clean "cold" incubator and started warming it up with the eggs inside.. bumping the temp up a bit every few hours until it hit 99.5

as for packing:
They were bubble wrapped and then packed in shredded paper. none were cracked however they all did have air cell damage.. which is no biggie really
and yup.. they traveled via USPS even through the dreaded Austin postal hub!

 

[JWEBB]

Yinepu, thanks for the tip on how you start the eggs with a cold incubator and slowly warm. I'm trying that next time.

 

[yinepu]

Yinepu, thanks for the tip on how you start the eggs with a cold incubator and slowly warm. I'm trying that next time.

it works well for incubators that have a digital readout where you can set it a few degrees at a time.. it's a bit trickier with the wafer thermostat types and the ones that have a set screw or just a knob for adjusting temperature

 

[JWEBB]

I can imagine. Saving for a digital now but I do like the wafer I have, holds a steady temp really nice. Didn't take long to figure out less is more when turning those screws and knobs.

 

[Sydney Acres]

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Yes, excellent recommendation. Much easier than warming the eggs up first so as not to shock cold eggs in a warm incubator. I'm incubating for the first time, and borrowed an incubator that has just a knob for adjusting temp. I've got it working, but glad I borrowed it before I bought one. I'll be getting one with a digital readout for sure.

 

[yinepu]

I can imagine. Saving for a digital now but I do like the wafer I have, holds a steady temp really nice. Didn't take long to figure out less is more when turning those screws and knobs.

I'm using homemade coolerbators.. so some have the digital thermostats.. and some have wafers.. both hold temps perfectly.. I just had to make a mark on the back of the ones with the wafers to give me an idea where the "set temp" should be..

oh.. one other thing.. if you take all day to get to the set temperature remember to add on a day to the incubation since the eggs don't actually start incubating as quickly with the slow gradual heating of the incubators

 

[NewToFarming]

I'm FINALLY joining the egg club! We go our first turkey egg today!

(It's still below freezing here and we didn't get to it before it froze and cracked,

but at least now we know to be on the watch for more.)

CONGRATS!!!!

 

[yinepu]

Quote:
Yes, excellent recommendation. Much easier than warming the eggs up first so as not to shock cold eggs in a warm incubator. I'm incubating for the first time, and borrowed an incubator that has just a knob for adjusting temp. I've got it working, but glad I borrowed it before I bought one. I'll be getting one with a digital readout for sure.

especially if you are starting with cold eggs... allowing them to set at room temp for a few hours.. then the slow gradual heating also helps prevent condensation inside the eggs

 

[JWEBB]

I'm using homemade coolerbators.. so some have the digital thermostats.. and some have wafers.. both hold temps perfectly.. I just had to make a mark on the back of the ones with the wafers to give me an idea where the "set temp" should be..

oh.. one other thing.. if you take all day to get to the set temperature remember to add on a day to the incubation since the eggs don't actually start incubating as quickly with the slow gradual heating of the incubators

Oh alright! thanks for the reminder on the day/time counting. Makes sense. I like the coolerbators a lot. I haven't tried the digital thermostat yet. Maybe I'll try making one with a digital thermostat and save some money.

Do you use the GQF digital? I haven't looked yet to see whats out there.