Hello Group,
The Story I am about to tell is true. The names have been changed to protect the guilty (mainly me).
My name is David Underhill Miles (not real name). I have just completed my third attempt at hatching chicks. This try did not go well, smoothly or by the book. The results were surprising.
My goal this hatch was to incubate some eggs for my brother in law. I had no control on how the eggs were collected or saved.
When I received the eggs I decided to wash them. I knew there were differing opinions on the subject but I went ahead and washed them thoroughly in warm water (strike 1).
I placed them in the incubator (Brinsea Eco with turner) and did not pay strict attention to the humidity(strike 2). On day 18 I plugged in the candler and candled all 24 eggs and threw away 4 clears. 20 eggs looked well along.
The next day I walked by the bator and something did not seem right. The temp was down to 70F!!
Somebody had unplugged the bator! I immediately went into blame mode and tried to blame my wife (not a good idea), daughter and son. When I thought it through I realized that I had unplugged the bator when I was candling the eggs the night before. The bator was off for NINETEEN HOURS! (STRIKE 3!)
I was not a happy camper. My first thought was to get rid of the evidence and try and forget about it. But I decided to continue the hatch and try and salvage something. I did not go into lockdown (strike 4?) , but simply allowed the auto turn to continue. ! did not boost the humidity. On Monday (day 20) I had my first pip. By today (day 24) I had 16 birds in the brooder and one drying off in the bator.
85% SUCCESS!?
I did end up boosting the humidity when I noticed 2 of the chicks drying too fast before getting out of the shell.
I didn't think this story would have a happy ending
.....but I will take it!
Sincerely.
David Underhill Miles (D.U.M.)
The Story I am about to tell is true. The names have been changed to protect the guilty (mainly me).
My name is David Underhill Miles (not real name). I have just completed my third attempt at hatching chicks. This try did not go well, smoothly or by the book. The results were surprising.
My goal this hatch was to incubate some eggs for my brother in law. I had no control on how the eggs were collected or saved.
When I received the eggs I decided to wash them. I knew there were differing opinions on the subject but I went ahead and washed them thoroughly in warm water (strike 1).
I placed them in the incubator (Brinsea Eco with turner) and did not pay strict attention to the humidity(strike 2). On day 18 I plugged in the candler and candled all 24 eggs and threw away 4 clears. 20 eggs looked well along.
The next day I walked by the bator and something did not seem right. The temp was down to 70F!!
I was not a happy camper. My first thought was to get rid of the evidence and try and forget about it. But I decided to continue the hatch and try and salvage something. I did not go into lockdown (strike 4?) , but simply allowed the auto turn to continue. ! did not boost the humidity. On Monday (day 20) I had my first pip. By today (day 24) I had 16 birds in the brooder and one drying off in the bator.
85% SUCCESS!?
I did end up boosting the humidity when I noticed 2 of the chicks drying too fast before getting out of the shell.
I didn't think this story would have a happy ending
Sincerely.
David Underhill Miles (D.U.M.)
