Free's incubator experience (Urgent question p 4)

[aggieterpkatie]

Very exciting!!!

 

[Henrietta23]

Cool! I've hatched twice,once at home once at school. At school the hatch was early I think because the temp. was a little high?

 

[freemotion]

16 so far! I just brought 10 down to the warmed-up brooder. Since it is in the cold cellar and I have to go through the garage, I used a small lunch cooler to transport them. I warmed it up first by putting a couple of towel-wrapped quart jars of hot water in it, then lined it with a paper towel and took the dry ones out and down to the brooder.

With 25 chicks the incubator is paid for. Getting closer and closer!

 

[TanksHill]

Very cool!!!

Great job.

 

[mandieg4]

I've got the incubating bug too. I'm doing a staggered hatch this time. I figured it can't be any harder than the last batch when I didn't have electricity for all of day 20. The first batch is on day 12 and the second batch is on day 8. I candled last night and only had 3 out of 32 that didn't start.

 

[MetalSmitten]

we must've set at right around the same time, today is day 21 for my first incubation too! so far 4 pips (one half zipped!) and some cheeping, but none are out yet. i've torn myself away from the incubator to give my eyes a break...

you should post photos!

 

[stano40]

Congrat's on a successful hatch. I've got a second load of black australorp's in the incubator due to hatch the first week of May.

These are from my first hatch this year.

bob

 

[freemotion]

We ended up with 19 chicks and they are four weeks old today and tomorrow. Time to clean the incubator (it has been sitting there, filthy, for four weeks! Ick! I've been so busy with all the baby goats and chicks that I forgot about it) and fill it up again. Time to get the chicken tractor finished in the next week or so and get those first chicks outside.

I've gotten them transitioned to whole grains now. They get soaked/sprouted oats, heads of sorghum (I started out pulling the seeds off, but it is a lot of work....I threw in a couple of heads and they did a thorough job of it! I'll be planting some this year for next years chicks.) and once a day they get a big glob of mashed meat/skin/bone scraps from broth-making, previously frozen in convenient sandwich bags. I throw a big pinch of small crushed granite grit over this each time. I need to be more diligent about putting some chopped greens in there, too. I am in the process of turning sod to expand one of the gardens, so today I'll save a few chunks to bring up to the house and will put one in the brooder until it is decimated, then replace it.

Hoping for a better hatch next time. I suspect that moving the incubator from my parent's very climate-controlled apartment to my wood-heated home caused some temperature fluctuations during hatching time. I hope my folks will keep the incubator at their place until the hatch is complete this time, and I'll transport the new chicks over here as they hatch and dry in a small, lined cooler. This is how I got them into my own basement since I have to go through the unheated garage and it was still quite cold during the last hatch.

 

[savingdogs]

I have some due to hatch tomorrow....my first incubation! I hope I get at least one hatch!

 

[savingdogs]

the eggs are moving and sounds are coming from the incubator that sounds like baby chicks!