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Post by rinksgi on Mar 22, 2010 19:54:07 GMT -6
o.k. I set 55 eggs Saturday and 18 eggs under 2 hens today. Looks like I have 2 more hens to set. here chick.chick...
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Post by Timbo on Mar 22, 2010 22:00:20 GMT -6
Thats great u'll have a bunch for selling at the chicken swap.
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Post by Timbo on Mar 22, 2010 22:00:54 GMT -6
If you need help incubating let me know i don't mind
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Post by megintn on Mar 23, 2010 8:59:01 GMT -6
We did something very wrong with our last batch in the incubator. None hatched..I think we may have handled them too much? We candled them and could see the dark eye spot thing, but none finished growing. Maybe the humidity isn't right? We have one of those styrofoam incubators with the egg turner from Tractor Supply. We just put a new batch in there and are not going to touch them, just wait. Any ideas why none of the last ones hatched?
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Post by gusinten on Mar 23, 2010 9:10:53 GMT -6
More on this saga...we left the eggs in the 'bater for an extended time past the 21 days because nothing had happened. After about 8 more days I decided nothing was going to hatch, so I started cracking them open starting with the oldest of the three days' worth. What I found were several in varying stages of development, and some with no apparent development. This group was obviously not fertile. We suspect that the others had set in the nest too long in early February, and gotten too cold before being put in the 'bater, hence stunting the development. Does this sound logical? Or maybe something interrupted them during the 21 days?? Thanks for help and/or opinions.
Gus and Megan
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Post by Timbo on Mar 23, 2010 22:56:50 GMT -6
First of all I’m sorry it took me so long to respond. I have been down sick with shingles and eye infection the past couple of days. Well?? There are so many factors. I'm going to say if they had some development, they had something go wrong in the incubation process. I going to say it could be a temp or humidity problem. I would check my equipment and test the thermometer and humidity gauge for accuracy maybe add a second digital temp/humidity gauge in it for back up in the opposite end of the bator. I just found it so hard to work with the styrobators. Do you clean your eggs before incubation and how? Do you acclimate the eggs to room temp before incubating? Do you have still air or a fan in it? Is there anyone else in the forum successful with these types of incubators.
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Post by megintn on Mar 24, 2010 7:39:07 GMT -6
So sorry you've been sick!
We didn't wash the eggs, just took them straight from the nest boxes and put them in there. It was really cold still. There is no fan in it.
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Post by rinksgi on Mar 24, 2010 12:04:23 GMT -6
Sorry you have been sick,Timbo. You are so right about the many different factors. The weather could have something to do with it, fertility may have been off(it often is during the winter) and incubator conditions all could play a part. If I chose one thing, I'd say inconsistant bater temps. Do you have a good thermometer? Was the temps fluctuating much. I have a Hovabater and I find that an investment in a new wafer thermastat every year is one of the best things you can do to help your hatch.
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Post by Timbo on Mar 24, 2010 12:38:12 GMT -6
Thank yall! I'm slowly getting better. My advice would be get you some fresh fertile eggs and to test the incubator. I would add an extra dual gauge for security. During this set I would closely watch the temp and humidity, check it every chance you get, at least 3 or 4 times a day, to make sure the parameters don't fluctuate. Make sure you don’t have the incubator setup near air vents, open doors, or any other drafty areas. If you run into any problems you can post on here or give me a call 731-414-1215. We will help you get thru this and get you hatching eggs like an ol’mother hen. LOL
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Post by gusinten on Apr 8, 2010 19:29:22 GMT -6
As we said in our last post of the saga of failed hatching, we got skunked big time. Not to be outdone by a stinkin' storebought incubator, we tried it again, with eggs that had not been subjected to the cold winter. So far we have 5 new hatchlings under the red light and at least one more pecking it's way out of it's egg home. Yea!! maybe this time we got it. We'll see in a couple of days how many are going to hatch. ;D
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Post by Timbo on Apr 8, 2010 21:36:02 GMT -6
congrats!!!!!!!!!
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