Wisconsin "Cheeseheads"

[jvls1942]

Hey all........
Jim I now defer to our master hatcher, please tell me how I screwed up anything and I will try to learn what and where I may have messed up..........


Day 1 opened the bator, assembled the cradle, wiped it down, added 1, 1/2 tray of water as book said, 20's do not come preset, like the Mini's do, so let it come to temp several hours, was 102 so turned it down, a sliver at a time, several times until it stayed at 99.5, left it over night, still 99.5 in the am, set the first batch of eggs set 22 ..after chores...(.temp stayed constant up too lock down)......... candled at day 8, removed 6 clears, let them cook, to day 19, candled again, removed 1 more egg. filled both chambers with water, removed it from the cradle, and left them alone......temp spike on day 20 to 101 degree's, no noticeable moisture running inside the bator, so turned it down just a tad to make it closer to 99/ but slightly less than 100......... hatch day..... 8 babies in the am, too many to see what is up with the other eggs, so left them alone, day 22, 2 more hatched, .... so left them again, 3 pips that will not come out, they are alive but not zipping....... so left them 1 more day, am no progress, so opened enough to remove 11 babies, 1 more than I counted the night b4, peeled 2 stuck babies out of there shell, I made it but was crippled dislocated hip I think, and tendon issues at the knee, the other died the next day............turner started clicking just before LD also, so ended up with 11 chicks, 1 cripple, 1 dead and 2 no shows, and 7 clears.

Second batch, after cleaning the bator with soapy bleach solution, temp was adjusted to make it 99.5, and 24 eggs were added, channel was filled half way as stated in the book again, left alone to day 8, candled 2 clears, left alone to lock down, day 19 candled 22 eggs, ........ all appeared good, filled both chambers with water, removed cradle and left them be, day 20 temp spike again almost 101, adjusted to 99.5, hatch day 11 babies in the am, by afternoon 7 more, left them alone to dry till day 22, opened the bator removed 18 babies, 4 were doa in the shell....died about day 19 ully formed, but yolk sack was not absorbed...so ended up with 18 babies, and 4 doa, and 2 clears

3Rd...... Cleaned the bator, refilled the 1/2 chamber of water added 24 eggs......... left it alone to day 8, candled 2 clears, removed, added more water, left them be to day 19, new cradle is clicking again, but still working, so just removed it, had 1 more clear at day 19, this batch temp wise seemed to fluctuate between 99.5 and almost 101, could not get it stable for any period of time, but never went under 99, or over 101..........figured it was the day time heat, and cooler nights........the bator sits on my breakfast nook in my kitchen......
also take note
I had to add water every 3 days or so, and the humidity at lock down, seems very low.........in the mini it was quite apparent there was plenty it was running down the inside plastic, making it hard to see inside, not the case with this bator........... I know they sell a humidity pump, I did not order it, guess I should have........... anyway I also not have a humidity meter so I have no idea what its at during lock down or any other time for that matter............

BigZ....... I also heard they make a great incubator, hence why I spent almost 300 bucks on the this thing with turner, and as anyone can vouch not every single product that comes off the assembly line is perfect, many are duds, and I think I have 1 of those......because I do not understand why the humidity seems so low at LD, and also why after the first 2 batches the temp kept fluctuating? plus I'm on my second turner, and this is clicking again after 1 , 22 day cycle so something is not right...... maybe Brinsea is now cutting corners, to save money, maybe there standards have changed, but I am not happy with the results, so far, In my mini I had almost 100% hatch rates, these have not even been close......................Kim

I cannot say much about the operation of your Brinsea.. I have never met one in person..

One thing I can say for certain,, you rushed the hatching a bit when you peeled the chick and the guts are hanging out..you have to accept the blame for that one..

You all know how I feel about candling.. it is for the nosey.. there is not a great deal of advantage to it, IMHO..

If somebody is having issues with temperature and or humidity, then candling is definately detrimental.. IMHO

bad hatches are not always the fault of humidity or temperature.. vitality of the eggs is important.. I am not talking about clears.. the chick inside the egg has to be healthy or it will not hatch properly.. IMHO

 

[dcba flock]

BL4: I LOVE those Picts!! Have a great time on ur mud run this weekend, I did the Tough Mudder last year and had a blast! One of my new chicks has some weird thing going on with one of its legs it is twisted to the side and kind of twitches when it tries to move? I have a band aide on it like the spraddle legs thread suggests. It seems kind of sleepy all the time. Any suggestions? If its not better soon I will cull but I'd like to give the little guy a shot!

 

[unkadan]

BL4: I LOVE those Picts!! Have a great time on ur mud run this weekend, I did the Tough Mudder last year and had a blast!

One of my new chicks has some weird thing going on with one of its legs it is twisted to the side and kind of twitches when it tries to move? I have a band aide on it like the spraddle legs thread suggests. It seems kind of sleepy all the time. Any suggestions? If its not better soon I will cull but I'd like to give the little guy a shot!

get the chick separated and keep a close eye on it and the others, make sure it is drinking

It could be something as simple as a strain, but, you have described the possible first signs of Mareks,,,,I only know about this because a close friend went through it last year with a chick, she nursed it for months, it lived a little over a year then died. None of her other birds ever displayed any symptoms. I had a long conversation with Wayne Meredith and gained some insight

 

[BlackBrookPoultry]

I have to do the warrior dash next weekend and haven't ran in about 5 months. This should be interesting. Last year I went with a group and ran together and this year I told everyone I was going to run alone to get my best time. So much for that.

 

[Amyable]

cs congrats on the house!!!

Terri, by mules you mean sterile. Hmm, hadn't thought of that. Will hens lay eggs though? I was just letting this Scovie girl do her thing.

 

[FrenchToast]

Quote: I meant to comment on your hatching as well but forgot.... I have to agree with Jim on the vitality of the eggs..... dietary deficiencies, genetics, feed, condition of breeding parents all play a part. As well as age of eggs, are they shipped, were they kept at idea temps...
I drove all the way down to Green Bay to pick up some pure ameraucana eggs a couple years ago. Beautiful birds..... nice color to the eggs. Got 2 dozen eggs.
Put them in my genesis 1588 hovabator and wondered where I was goint to put 24 chicks !!!
My hatch was a disaster..... the chicks that did hatch were slimey.... and most of them died in the shell and never hatched. It was terrible.
With the same incubator my first hatch (which I followed the manufacturers directions to the hilt 100% hatch rate with the exception of maybe 1 or 2 clears.
It wasn't until i started reading everyones advice about humidity etc that I started to have problems.
So back to the Ameraucanas..... I thought maybe the problem was that the seller was storing the eggs upside down..... so I went and got more eggs........ same problem. Then about a year later I talked to someone who had also bought eggs from the same person in GB...... Same problem even after she started storing them in the right position.
So that being said..... There is more to it then taking a fresh egg and incubating it. There is a very good book I think called "Guide to better hatching"
It has a yellow cover, Paper cover but it is loaded with good info. I know Cutler Supply carries it and it is about $8. Strombergs carries it but I think it is $13 shipping included.
Bl4 Very nice pictures... thanks for saving us thousands ....... no we don't need to make the trip when we can see it all at your expense !!!! LOL
You must have a nice camera as well.... what is it? And nice clean lens.... those photos could be in a book !!! NICE !!

VickyW, Yep I have the motor and sensory neuopathies. When I was 13 and had the experimental chemo (yes I am a guinea pig) I couldn't pick up a pencil in school without dropping it. They didn't realize it was from the chemo. Hexamethamelanine..... they were asking me if I had eaten any paint chips..... at 13 I was so offended !! lol Finally figured out it was from the chemo. Only one other case at the time in the US. So went off of it in time for it to not paralyze my diaphram....
My foot never recovered from that but my hands did... until 1987 when I got the BCancer. All sorts of neuological symptoms started appearing 2 years before. Then when they finally found out I had cancer again they said the chemicals from the tumor were bothering the previous nerve damage. My body was trying to tell me something and I was trying to tell the doctors but of course beind the .........that they can be took a while. I'll tell you I didn't realize how it affected me until I started volunteering and wrapping the surgical instruments..... I do things more by site then feel I think... and I am so pokey at whatever I do.... oh well. glad to still be doin it..... get your mind out of the gutter people.... doin it as in livin !! lol
I have terrible arthritis in my neck as well..... that is painful $hit !!!!!! I feel for you.

I just bought a new bottle of aspirin to start taking. I think it works better then the tylenol for the arthritis....

See what all you young folks have to look forward too..... So listen up..... Eat right, drink your milk, stay fit and get off the internet !!!!! lol On that note I"m going to go take some more aspirin for the arthritis in my over worked hip !!!

 

[FrenchToast]

Moscovies are the only duck that is not from a mallard decent (is that the right word), therefore they can breed with other ducks but they will be like the Mule.... sterile.
They should lay eggs and have a dingy to dong with LOL but should be sterile. Can't wait to see what they look like.

 

[FrenchToast]

VickyW what is the name of the chemo that caused the nerve damage? When I had the mets to my lung they gave me vancristine (sp) that I think is known to do the nerve damage but that was in 1974. The Adriamycin (again sp) did the heart damage.
Have you had your heart checked... the tech that did my echocariogram said that now days they monitor peoples hearts all along while they go thru chemo treatments. (I'm sure just the ones who have chemo that is known to cause damage)

I was pretty impressed with the knowledge of this young girl that did the echo. She was from Nebraska.... Her family is coming in August to visit... she is not sure what to do with them when they get here....... LOL Show them the Hodag !!!!! Shop in Eagle River.....

 

[kristip]

Can I just mention that I love my csa farm! We do a farm pickup so we can snatch some of the extras they offer. Ad tonight we were the only ones there so our farmer was showing some different trellising techniques and showed the kids a tree fort ry never saw before and let us pick in her berry patch and she gave me some Brussels and eggplant starts she had left over. How fantastic!!!!
Found a home for my two roosters...well one carol took for someone. But they are gone as of tomorrow. So down to a silkie rooster which is what I we looking for...small and controllable rooster. We have two girls for him, so it is good.

Otherwise we had another busy day. My twentieth hs reunion is this weekend. We are skipping the drinker disaster and just going to the family picnic on Sunday. Better that way!

 

[babylady4]

Kendra, he is doing well. Today he was showing me how to play minecraft...... He reminds me of both my sons combined together!

I will try to get more pics up tonight. I bought myself a camera last year for Christmas from a co-worker..... I love it! I am sitting outside right now so I can get the details to you all later.

This is my first running event of the year, in Aug. I am going to do the sprint run of our local Tri....... I need to start training for that starting July first.