what do you wish you'd known before incubating?

[justtoni44]

Hi there, This is my first year..and I ordered eggs the other day.grrrrrrrrrrr ADDICTED. Got bored with my own.
My biggest mistake was not calibrating my new hydrometer...........Assumed because it was new, it was fine. I was very wrong and had a lousy hatch. The hydrometer was 8 points off.
The other thing that wasn't bad, but sent me scrambling. was thet I did not realize how quickly they grow.
Wow, I have 7 week olds that are the size of a grown banty right now.

I do come here for therapy,usually in the form of laughter. Such great people.this site is a real blessing.

I have a little giant still air.......I have not had any problems with it.but some say it is difficult to keep the temp regulated. The room I use has even heat.so maybe that is why it works for me. I bought an automatic turner........worth the extra $'s.
About egg cartons..I use them to hatch and have not been aware of a problem.helps keep the inc. clean.
But I read today that someone turns their eggs sideways in the carton to hatch.think I will do that next time.
And, as stated in earlier posts.Feb can make it difficult unless you are really set up somewhere outside.
Barn or what ever.......By the time they are growing good, being in the house proper may be difficult.
And, as an added thought,I do not put mine out because we fight rats in the barn .....
My husband made a great brooder out of peg board and wire cloth..nothing is getting in.or out.
Will look forward to you sharing your upcoming adventures.

Good luck and have fun.

 

[emvickrey]

Quote:
My incubator should arrive tomorrow, so i'm reading along with this thread to see what i can learn. I was planning to hatch in cartons. But i don't think i understand why you're cutting holes in the bottom of the cups. Will you explain? Thanks!

they do that because eggs breathe through the shells so it increases circulation

Ventilation. Even egg turners have the hole in the bottom of each cup. I used the carton method before I got the turners. I rigged them with wire hangers and had the hook part straightened and poked through the side of the bator and used a vise grip to hold the carton in place when I turned them. When it was time for lock down I removed the cartons, mostly for fear they would get injured, and put the eggs on the wire floor of the bator. That worked well but a turner is definately worth the money.

 

[SweetMotherOfMars]

Yep, ventilation/circulation is the reason for the holes in the bottom of the egg cartons.

SportChick, the last 2 hatches I had the eggs sitting fat side up, but I was thinking this time I might angle the tops a little. I don't want to lay them completely flat because they are packed in pretty tightly and I don't want the air cell lines covered or pointing right at another egg. (I want popping room!

)

Another thing I'm doing differently this time... I've used the spongy shelf liner all along (makes clean up very easy) but as I have some special hens' eggs in there I ALSO measured the inside of the 'bator and cut plastic canvas and slotted it to divide the area into 6 sections. You know, in case some of them hatch when I'm not watching.

I tried it for fit, but I'm leaving it (and the liner) out until lockdown.

Last time we had some nearly identical chicks, so we made legbands with different colors of electrical tape. (Instead of folding the tape in half, we folded it so that there was a non-sticky bit as big as the chick's leg and a sticky bit to overlap onto it.) Once they started feathering out we could tell them apart better, so we never had to make bigger bands. We removed the old ones as they got ragged.

ETA: an L

 

[SweetMotherOfMars]

This is a great thread, I hope it keeps going.

ps, I have 4 little firecracker chicks so far today... and it's not even 3pm!

 

[Debbi]

I wish I'd known I would be up till 2:30am watching eggs for 3 nights!!!!

 

[Debbi]

Sorry, should've explained that better. That 3 days was the lockdown period. Watched them like a 2 year old kid sitting in front of the TV for the other 18 days!!! Got 4 babies though, and a great experience!!

 

[marathonmultiplesmom]

Quote:
On that note, I wish I would have known that having chicks hatch is like when you bring home a new baby... no sleep, checking on the incubator and listening to them crash around in there. So you have to wake up and check them every 3-4 hours like a baby except that only lasts a week max until your next hatch.

 

[SweetMotherOfMars]

You are both so right!

 

[Jarsheart]

Quote:
Truer words have not been spoken