Incubating eggs for the first time... ALOT of questions

Oh Batteries are in the drawer under the bator.. I dont have a plug in over there had to run an cord for the bator... but I do have a strong light over head

I have read and agree totally with Claire's ten step program, not that she needs my approval, but I also agree with what ZZ's said about the eggs rolling around during the hatching struggle. I like the egg cartoon idea but when I tried it in my little giant it messed up my temps badly. I knew that there had to be a way to deal with this issue so I cut a piece of plexiglass 18x18 to fit my little giant. The plexiglass was 1/8" thick, I then took a spade bit and every three inches in all directions drilled half way through the plexiglass. I used a 3/4" spade bit, that created a pocket for the eggs to sit in and put a stop to the rocking and rolling egg problem. Also the spade bit has a very pointed shank and that part goes clear through the plexiglass which is good as it lets the heat circulate unencumbered. Hay.

Not having electronic tools puts me at an advantage..Well lets be honest putting a drill in my hands may not be a smart thing to do, and I am lost at what a spade bit is...

Wow! Nice solution Hay! You genius, you! Are you gonna sell those to everybody? That really is a great improvement.

MissJ - do try to ensure that you have a good hatching percentage before you give the eggs to the 4-H program. It would be unfortunate to give them infertile eggs! Have you re-candled yet? How do things look?

One of those flat looking things with a fierce point at the tip. Used for making bigger holes...

I thought I would candle later when the house warms up, I am under a blanket wrapped in divine socks and a sweatshirt... So not moving yet...

Need the drill that goes with it, I have the basic hammers and screw drivers.. Wondering if I can heat up the screw drivers and do the same?

ew.....erm....dunno...

I've never noticed any change in temps using the cartons... there are usually small spikes in temp at the end of the incubation, since the chicks are getting bigger and producing their own heat. Least, that's my 2 cents! Sooo much cheaper, easier and no cleaning!

Ok now Thursday will be the 21st day, do I have to turn them every day?

You stop turning them on day 18.

Yaaaaay! Roseane, you did great! I especially like the beer! Tee hee!

The coffee filters will be fine. Anything that absorbs water is fine. That just helps keep humidity up and also gives the little chicks something to walk on when they hatch, so their feetsies do not get upset from walking on the wire mesh.

Your results of not being able to see through 5 eggs are very promising. Chicks that are getting close to hatching take up nearly the entire egg, except for an air cell at the top. They are probably good. Sometimes even chicks at full development die for unknown reasons. I just had 2 happen like that myself. Don't be worried if it happens. That's the ups and downs of incubating.

Yes, put thermometer back in, just helps you know what the temp and humidity is. If the humidity gets below 60, crack open the edge of the lid and get more water in there!

And like Catsy said, no more turning necessary after day 18. All done!

You're on a roll!!

Cool then I can enjoy another beer. I know the 5 I could not see thru were heaver than the others, and how long should I wait after the 21st to see if anything is happening? I mean like by the 25th then reload? Just trying to figure out when to start collecting eggs again, or maybe going for ducks OH the decisions on what to do...

Congrats MsJestr! The next few days is very intense, but well worth it!

I just did the same thing.. I'm back in the saddle again! I have never laid them on their sides and just loose in the hatcher, so this is new for me. I had to transport eggs that were in the bator, to my house to go in the hatcher.. so I sure hope they made the trip okay. I didn't get to candle.. I have 5 tiny eggs. ;)

OK, let me check...you put them in on Feb 26 right? The Friday? So they should be hatching this Friday, which is the 19th. If you didn't put them in until Sunday, then it's the 21st.

If you put them in on Friday the 26, I would let them go until Monday the 22nd. If no sign of pips by Monday, take them out and re-candle. If no sign of something moving inside, they are not likely to hatch. Start over. If you put them in on Sunday the 28th, then I would wait until the 24th, just in case.

Yep they went in the night of the 26th, I am thinking it will be our luck they will come out while we are at the Gymkana on Saturday.,.
So if I start Friday collecting for the second batch, by Monday we would be ready to go... that would be 16 eggs since the girls are giving us 4 eggs a day.

If it were me, I'd already be collecting. I've hatched eggs that were well over 10 days old.. when they are home grown, and don't get shipped, I think they last longer.

Catsy needs to chime in here.. She just put some in that were like 2 weeks?? I can't remember..

Anyway.. might as well fill the bator right?

LOL the more the merrier??

I'm all into conserving energy.. I mean, look at all those wasted spaces! LOL

howz that?

Thats perfect....LOL and If we did this now, then in the late summer we will be over run with eggs right? then I can sell the eggs to get the food to feed more chickens to make more eggs to make more chicks and sell eggs to get the food to ......LOLOL oh my I was spinning for a moment...

Welcome to my world. LOL It's a beautiful circle to me!!

OH OH OHHHHHJJ In checking the bator just now I noticed that two eggs have crack's.... OH OH OH
But attle conserned about the temp it is at 98.7 isnt that a little low?? Dont want to touch the temp thing, will it hurt the chicks?? OH OH OH Doing the happy dance...OH OH OH

The temp on my incubator is steady 99.5, but 98.7 will not hurt at all. It's the humidity more than the temp that is critical now. The temp through the incubation period is important for development and growth, but once they are at hatching stage, the humidity is key for helping them get out of the eggs because otherwise the egg membranes can dry out against them and they can't get out. They will take a long rest now, having made the hole, and now you just need to be patient, which is of course the hardest thing ever!!

With a fan in the bator, that temp is not bad.. without a fan, it might be a little low.. but Yes, humidity is #1 now..

I was wondering about pips..

Congratulations!!!

I agree ZZ - it would be low for the incubation time, but for hatching it should not make a difference.

She has a fan though right?? Did the computer fan work out okay?

Doesn't matter.. she has pips!!!!!!!! Yeee haw!!

Yep the computer fan is working out, I think I will be putting a nylon on it after this hatching, I am not happy with the casing around it.
I am doing real good at monitoring the RH, and am keeping it up.

Now fast forward here,
I have a tank ready to go and I know they have to be in the bator for the first 24 hours of the chicks life, what else do I need to get ready? I have a few rocks that were cleaned and will be put in the water, Do I need special food? My babies that I have right now are on Grow, do I need starter? Do I need anything else in the way of special feed for the after 24 hour period? when can I put them in with the others Scratch that, I am thinking that the babies I have now are getting good feathers and I will be putting them outside in the bigger cage in 2 weeks cause the tank although a big one, is getting cramped, they are growing like weeds..

I use no-drown chick waterers, the kind with the red or white base and the upside-down bottle. I don't use the rocks or marbles. Never had a problem.

They should be on chick feed - the ground up kind - and I tend to use the medicated for the first 2 weeks (prevents coccidia) and then transition to the non medicated. Either one is fine though. Ensure that the "floor" that they will be walking on is not too slippery - tends to encourage spraddle legs. I use scraps of old polar fleece fabric or paper towels. Newspaper is slippery. If you are using it, put paper towel on top of it. They will start pecking at the feed when they need it. Dip their beaks in the water so they know where it is because they don't have a mom to show them. That way they will figure it out.

I would like to add..
maby some crumbled up boiled egg yolk.. sprinkled around.. that is more for me than the chicks I think. Not necessary really..

I use those waterers too.. Although, I've learned nothing is drown proof.. now I make sure it's not up against the wall and there is plenty of clearance all the way around for them to get by without getting stuck.. and just give up and drown when the lil thing put it's head down to rest.. :(

Also, I like to make sure the floor is flat.. some of the tubs I use have a little "gutter" along the edge... newly hatched chicks sometimes flip over and can't get up on their own the first day or so, especially if they get in that lil "gutter".. they will fry under the light.. I stay on "flip over watch" the first day.

These are things that happened to me.. may not be something common, or that anyone else has experienced.. I try to share everything, since waking up to dead chicks is so hard.. Sometimes, it seems no matter how hard we try, they find a way to die.

Oh goody, goody, goody!!!

Erp... not waking up to dead babies... that was one of those cross-posting boo-boos!

Goody, goody, goody to new little happy, healthy, chirping babies.... may you have a couple of lousy nights sleep for all the commotion!


Edited so I don't look like a ghoul!

This message was edited Mar 18, 2010 11:57 AM

ZZ makes a really good point about the waterers - always make sure there is full clearance around them. Chicks, for some reason, like to squash themselves into tiny places that they can't get out of. Really odd habit and kind of annoying. I think Billy will be watching them so much that they won't get away with getting stuck!!

Squashing into tiny places is probably some sort of racial memory for crowding under mother hen, she of the soft, downy underside.

I bet Billy will be on watch 24/7 I didn't think of that Claire! How cute.. I think MsJestr should set up the chicken cam to be a Billy cam!! LOL

Awww that is so cute Jay.. I was thinking of that too.. watching my 2 tiny ones snuggle under the bigger one.. so affectionate..

I use alfalfa in the older chicks tank, can I use a thin layer in theirs?
Since the 2 week old chicks are in my bedroom, I have had a few sleepless nights lately... Why do they play at 3am??

I am taking tomorrow afternoon off so we can watch that hatching... (LOL that is my eggcuse anyway)

That is an eggcellent eggcuse to take time off from work. Wish I could join you :(

I would use paper towels to start. They need to be able to see food.. they will lay around sleeping, and peck at the lil specks of food on the paper towels.. it takes a while before they venture over to the feed dish..

I guess alfalfa would not hurt, since it won't hurt them if they eat it. I agree that the paper towels would make it easier for them to find their food bits though. I suppose in the "wild" (and by that, I mean on a domesticated farm, with momma hen) they would be on hay or other materials. Don't use wood shavings because they can ingest those and it's not at all good for them.

Well I am sure you all are waiting for an update...right......................... Well I got home to find Billy's horse had crashed thru the gate and was in the field so I had to wrangle him and he was full of piss and vinegar. Then feed all the birds, and water them, pick grass for the babies, feed the injured duck, unload hay and by the time I got in the house, it had been two hours since I pulled up... Well I went to feed the babies the grass and Billy and I headed to the bator.... WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOOWWOOWOWWOWOOWOWOWO we are doing the baby dance...
Had to run to the little store and get paper towels, figured they would not hatch till tomorrow so was not prepared... Eggs are boiling now, smashed up some quick grow till tomorrow when I can get chick starter cause...............
DRUM ROLL PLEASE,......................
Meet Peanut and unnamed... (Billy already named his)

CRUD it wont let me upload a picture...

Oh and now unnamed...