# Anyone Else Hatching?



## SarahFair

Anyone hatching right now?
I just set 36 guinea eggs today and next monday Im adding a dozen ameraucana eggs along with a dozen + black australorp(x)silver laced wyandotte eggs.

Anyone else hatching?


I thought I would pass this link on to anyone else who might find it useful 
http://www.shilala.com/Howlongtohatch.html


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## luv2drum

Did you ever find you some silkies.  We have found a couple of people on the west side of Atlanta that have some and ours are laying now and we are setting them along with others.  Where did you get your guinea eggs?  That is what I would like to set to hatch next.  Especially after I found out that they will kill snakes.


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## SarahFair

I had some silkies hatched but back a good many weeks ago I had them on the brooder on the back porch..
Well I had to leave for a couple hours and had NO idea that the temp was going to get a hot as it did and they all died 
The normal feathered chickens lived but the silkies didnt 


I got mine from Brian Fowler. Hes in the Market Bulletin. Hes a real good guy. Will stand there and talk to you and tell you all about what hes got out there 
I bought my first 2 chickens from him
He only charged $5 a dozen for the guineas and $3 for standard chickens


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## Capt Quirk

I'm still waiting to get some Guineas myself. Got a brand new incubator in the box.


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## dawg2

I haven't looked for their nests.  I usually sell all mine to the feed store: eggs and poults.


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## SarahFair

Capt Quirk said:


> I'm still waiting to get some Guineas myself. Got a brand new incubator in the box.


What kind did you get?




dawg2 said:


> I haven't looked for their nests.  I usually sell all mine to the feed store: eggs and poults.


Really? I didnt know feed stores would buy them!
Do you mean more "mom and pop" type places or like TSC


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## Capt Quirk

I got a $60 Hova Bator. It was what was in stock in our local feed store.


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## SarahFair

Capt Quirk said:


> I got a $60 Hova Bator. It was what was in stock in our local feed store.



Is it still or forced air?
Did it come with a turner?


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## Capt Quirk

The auto turner was another $60. We can do it ourselves for free  It does have a turbo fan, according to the box. Haven't even opened it.


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## SarahFair

lol yeah I could buy the turner for another $50-$60 so I decided to use my hands.
Works good for me!


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## dawg2

SarahFair said:


> What kind did you get?
> 
> 
> 
> Really? I didnt know feed stores would buy them!
> Do you mean more "mom and pop" type places or like TSC



Mom and pop.  I sold the eggs for $2 and poults for $3.   I couldn't hatch them fast enough.  I kept four.  I lost 3 females to yotes last year when they sat on their nest.


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## luv2drum

We have had two hatches with our hovobator forced air with the auto turner and had great success, over 70% hatch rate both times.  We are having a hard time contolling the temp and humidity this time for some reason.  Let me know about a week before you set your next bunch and we will save you some silky eggs.


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## dawg2

I use a turner, but do not use forced air.  I usually get all 40 eggs to hatch, but a couple times I have had 38 out of 40 eggs hatched.  I candle mine and toss them if no blood vessels appear.  But so far that is rare.


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## luv2drum

I think part of ours may be improper candling, but the first batch my wife let the humidity drop too soon when hatching began and some of the chicks got stuck inside the eggs.  But we had 17 out of 24 survive that hatch.  The second batch we got some eggs that were old or not fertile that did not develop.  We had 15 out of 20 survive that hatch.  This time we are having trouble keeping the temp right at 99.5, it keeps fluctuating about 1.5 degrees.  And the humidity keeps jumping up to over 65% even with all the vents open (this may be the cause of the temp problems)


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## SarahFair

luv2drum said:


> I think part of ours may be improper candling, but the first batch my wife let the humidity drop too soon when hatching began and some of the chicks got stuck inside the eggs.  But we had 17 out of 24 survive that hatch.  The second batch we got some eggs that were old or not fertile that did not develop.  We had 15 out of 20 survive that hatch.  This time we are having trouble keeping the temp right at 99.5, it keeps fluctuating about 1.5 degrees.  And the humidity keeps jumping up to over 65% even with all the vents open (this may be the cause of the temp problems)


Let me ask you...
Do you open and close windows in the house or running the AC? 
I found that  back in January when I did my last hatch my SO was frequently changin the temp on the thermostat so in interfered with the temp in the incubator.
Just remember that a broody hen wont always keep them at the exact 99.5-100 degrees either! 
If they get cold awhile it just might take them longer to hatch if they get warmer awhile (not cooking them temps) they will develop faster (but I wouldnt do this!)


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## plottman25

Ive got a hovo-bater, i think thats the brand, but i have never had any luck at all hatching.  I just said the heck with it and let the hens do their job lol.  but those were game chickens not layers. Will layers not hatch their own chicks?


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## SarahFair

Its been generally bred out of layers to sit on them. There are some breeds that still frequently sit.
Silkies are one and I think a lot of "exotics".


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## dawg2

SarahFair said:


> Its been generally bred out of layers to sit on them. There are some breeds that still frequently sit.
> Silkies are one and I think a lot of "exotics".



Rhode Island Reds are good brooders.  You let that pile of eggs build up and they will jump on it.


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## noggin nocker

FYI My neighbor has some silkie chicks he is trying to get rid of.


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## doyle paulk

*hatched two weeks  ago*

190 hatched out of 258 eggs :78 eggs marans 55 hatched ,18 eggs buff cornish14 hatched,104eggs welsummers 84hatched, 58 delaware eggs and their crosses  and 37hatched  ut 86 guinea last tues. along with 30 muscovy duck eggs . Today 22 silver sebright and 24 welsummers and 30 crosses.I am looking for some golden penciled hamburg eggs or chicks and some white muscovy eggs .


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## SarahFair

doyle paulk said:


> 190 hatched out of 258 eggs :78 eggs marans 55 hatched ,18 eggs buff cornish14 hatched,104eggs welsummers 84hatched, 58 delaware eggs and their crosses  and 37hatched  ut 86 guinea last tues. along with 30 muscovy duck eggs . Today 22 silver sebright and 24 welsummers and 30 crosses.I am looking for some golden penciled hamburg eggs or chicks and some white muscovy eggs .




Are you using a cabinet?


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## SarahFair

noggin nocker said:


> FYI My neighbor has some silkie chicks he is trying to get rid of.



Yall located close to Monroe?


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## doyle paulk

*yes*

old gqf


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## luv2drum

SarahFair said:


> Let me ask you...
> Do you open and close windows in the house or running the AC?
> I found that  back in January when I did my last hatch my SO was frequently changin the temp on the thermostat so in interfered with the temp in the incubator.
> Just remember that a broody hen wont always keep them at the exact 99.5-100 degrees either!
> If they get cold awhile it just might take them longer to hatch if they get warmer awhile (not cooking them temps) they will develop faster (but I wouldnt do this!)



I may have found out part of the problem.  We have the incubator set up in a closet. We had the door closed to keep curious kittys out. I left the door cracked open last night and the humidity dropped to acceptable levels and the temp seems to have leveled out as well, so we shall see.


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## luv2drum

SarahFair said:


> Are you using a cabinet?



I would love to get a cabinet incubator and hatcher.  I'm researching to see if I can atleast build a small cabinet hatcher to move eggs out of the incubator and turner and not have to reset the humidity.  Which I suppose any incubator without a turner could be set up and used as a hatcher.  The cabinets just sound so reliable and convenient.


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## mickbear

we have about 10 in incubation now and will stop the turner thurs night.using a Little giant w/fan and turner.we got a mixture of eggs from a lady in Barnesville.


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## SarahFair

mickbear said:


> we have about 10 in incubation now and will stop the turner thurs night.using a Little giant w/fan and turner.we got a mixture of eggs from a lady in Barnesville.



Hows has your forced air LG been working with temps?


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## mickbear

SarahFair said:


> Hows has your forced air LG been working with temps?


it has kept them with-in a 2 deg range.i originaly had a still air and found a fan kit on line and its made a big difference in the temps.the only problem i'v got with the LG  is where to put a hydro-temp meter  if you have a turner and refilling the water trays.


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## plottman25

Silkies are good brooders, i used one when i had game chickens.  SOme of my hens would lay out and never set so a guy told me to use his silky. I put her in the coop and took the Hatch hens out and she sat right on em and hatched most of them off.


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## Hankus

Buff Orpingtons and hova-bator 1602n. Tween em I got 40 on the ground and 40 or so more on the way.


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## dawg2

Now I am.  I just found the Guinea nest.  It had 63 eggs in it.  I just put 41 in the incubator.


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## SarahFair

63?! How many Guineas you got?


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## wildlands

Sarah are you still looking for some Silkies? My niece and nephew  have a about 15 eggs in the incubator right now, located in Williamson. They are doing it to make a little money. They have 2 hens and a rooster that they got last year when their mom ordered replacement chicks.  

They also have a lot of other chickens. Just can not keep up with what they have. They are getting about 2 - 3 dozen eggs a day.  On top of all the layers they have running around the yard and pasture they raise holistic meat birds to sale. We have a large group of people in this area that are into the all natural foods. I have to say those are some really good eating birds. They do  4 batches a year of double breasted meat birds. About 50-75 birds a time and then process their self. They have a client base that comes to the farm to pick up their birds.

Ken


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## SarahFair

Thanks but you are located about 2 hrs from me.
Tell them good luck with their hatching!


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## dawg2

SarahFair said:


> 63?! How many Guineas you got?



11 Guineas


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## mickbear

when i left for work this morn @ 6:30 i looked in the bator and we had 3 Buff Orpingtons hatched and 3 more pipped and cracking .


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## SarahFair

mickbear said:


> when i left for work this morn @ 6:30 i looked in the bator and we had 3 Buff Orpingtons hatched and 3 more pipped and cracking .



Exciting! Good luck!! 



Last night I added 30 chicken eggs for a total of 66 eggs


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## luv2drum

SarahFair said:


> Exciting! Good luck!!
> 
> 
> 
> Last night I added 30 chicken eggs for a total of 66 eggs



I see a little bit of wasted space there.  I think you could fit one or two more eggs in there if you really try.  Wow what a clutch to keep up with.


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## SarahFair

luv2drum said:


> I see a little bit of wasted space there.  I think you could fit one or two more eggs in there if you really try.  Wow what a clutch to keep up with.



I didnt have anymore


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## luv2drum

SarahFair said:


> I didnt have anymore



Those should keep you busy with the manual turning.  If you want some silky eggs to set let me know and I'll save you up a few.  Right now we are getting one or two a day.
I gonna attempt to build a cabinet incubator, then I can hatch off more of our eggs, if it works.  Wood working I can do, electricity not as much experience.


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## Capt Quirk

On a slightly off topic note, at what age should I separate the Roosters?


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## SarahFair

luv2drum said:


> Those should keep you busy with the manual turning.  If you want some silky eggs to set let me know and I'll save you up a few.  Right now we are getting one or two a day.
> I gonna attempt to build a cabinet incubator, then I can hatch off more of our eggs, if it works.  Wood working I can do, electricity not as much experience.


Youre almost on the other side of the state 
Thanks for the offer!

Why does everyone who raises silkies seem to be SO far away!! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			








Capt Quirk said:


> On a slightly off topic note, at what age should I separate the Roosters?


I would reckon when they start fighting. All the ones that I raised together I never saw fight and they were almost a year old when I sold them..


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## luv2drum

SarahFair said:


> Youre almost on the other side of the state
> Thanks for the offer!
> 
> Why does everyone who raises silkies seem to be SO far away!!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I know the feeling, I used to live in Winder.
> I could always ship them to you.  You would probably get them the next day.
> I'm having trouble finding Mr Fowler's add in the bulletin for the guinea eggs.


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## SarahFair

Thanks but I wouldnt want to trouble you with that! It takes a lot to ship eggs and even still that is iffy due to the awesome postal service! 

Heres Brian Fowlers ad..


> '09 Ameraucanas, production Reds, Buff Orp., Jersey White Giants, Barred Rocks, mixed hens, turkeys, Muscovy ducks, and many more. Brian Fowler Monroe 678-602-7291


http://www.agr.state.ga.us/mbads/Ads.aspx?CategoryID=446


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## dawg2

Capt Quirk said:


> On a slightly off topic note, at what age should I separate the Roosters?



I wouldn't until or unless they fight.  Some know they are the young pup and don't fight the older/dominant one.


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## luv2drum

dawg2 said:


> I wouldn't until or unless they fight.  Some know they are the young pup and don't fight the older/dominant one.



Ours are all came from the same clutch.  They started fighting around 5 or 6 months.  Like dawg said, if they are not fighting then they are ok.


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## Capt Quirk

Ours likely did come from the same clutch, but starting to scrap now. Not sure how old they are, or how bad they need to fight before separating them.


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## luv2drum

If they start pulling out feathers, I would play it safe and separate them.


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## SarahFair

GRAPHIC (...if you dont want to see a chick embryo)




My chicken eggs are on day 7 and when I was candling them I dropped one onto another and cracked it beyond repair.
I cracked it open to see what was going on and here is what came out..


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## Nicodemus

We have 24 due to hatch this Saturday and Sunday.


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## SarahFair

Nicodemus said:


> We have 24 due to hatch this Saturday and Sunday.



Let us know how they do!


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## Nicodemus

SarahFair said:


> Let us know how they do!





Would you like pics as they hatch?


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## SarahFair

Nicodemus said:


> Would you like pics as they hatch?


Ummm...
YES!


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## Capt Quirk

Pictures are so 20th century... we want live streaming video


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## SarahFair

Capt Quirk said:


> Pictures are so 20th century... we want live streaming video


I actually have a video of my first hatch...
I was naughty and took the top off the incubator...
<embed width="600" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullscreen="true" allowNetworking="all" wmode="transparent" src="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid276.photobucket.com/albums/kk13/Faircloth9945/DSCN2876.flv">


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## Capt Quirk

Sort of like watching popcorn in slow motion


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## ylhatch

ive hatched around 85 chicks.i got another 7 hens setting right now.


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## flatwoods

Man this thread brings back memories!!
Now yall got me wanting some more chickens. Took me five years to get rid of 'em all before.


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## gp lineman

Did you ever find any Silkies? I have some.


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## SarahFair

gp lineman said:


> Did you ever find any Silkies? I have some.


I didnt...
How often do you have them? Weve got family down there and frequent the area


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## SarahFair

flatwoods said:


> Man this thread brings back memories!!
> Now yall got me wanting some more chickens. Took me five years to get rid of 'em all before.



One or two cant hurt


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## flatwoods

SarahFair said:


> One or two cant hurt



One or two can turn into 200. Trust me.


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## SarahFair

lol you dont have to tell me!

They are like chips.. 
You cant just have one


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## Nga.

Got 35 in Bator hatching now.  4 OE Bantams 31 Black Austrolops.

Got 3 Austrolop hens due to hatch the next 4 days ea with 16 under them. 

I have 4 dozen fresh Guinea eggs coming Monday to set from a buddy of mine.

I have 30 Black Austrolops and a couple OE Bantams in the brooder that are 4wks old.


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## SarahFair

What kinda bator are you using?


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## Lane_H

My buff hatched these last week.


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## SarahFair

Pretty cool! I have always wanted one of mine to go broody, but they never do..
I thought my BA was at one point and even tucked some eggs under her I gave her. After awhile she got up and left the nest though.


Are those 2 silkies I see in there?


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## Rays123

just hatched 42 australorps and 42 RIR, ive been thinking about trying to mix the two and try for the ultimate hen


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## Nicodemus

I`ll have to stick with pics. Movin` pictures is beyond my capabilities. Won`t be but another day or two...


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## packrat

*Hatching*

On my 3rd run of 126 egg incubator hatches. Got 4 hens that hatched off good runs and 6 that are sitting on 10+ eggs each. Sold a fair amount and I still got 2 day bitties 4 week doodies, 8 week runners & more all the way up to mature hens and roosters. It's been a good year for the game breeders, which will be even better next spring when the roosters go to sale.


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## Nga.

I have a havor-bator and I'm build a homebrew cabinet. with 3 trays 5dz per tray. I have to oder my thermostat and finish my trays. so far I have about 15 bucks in it.

Update on Hatch:
1 Austrolop hen so far has hatched 12 of 16
bator 3 of 4 of my OE hatched and 9 of 31 Austrolops pipped this morning.


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## Lane_H

SarahFair said:


> Pretty cool! I have always wanted one of mine to go broody, but they never do..
> I thought my BA was at one point and even tucked some eggs under her I gave her. After awhile she got up and left the nest though.
> 
> 
> Are those 2 silkies I see in there?



Yes it is. She hatched 2 silkies for me and my silkie hatched 4, I just dont have pictures yet. All my silkies are white and all the baby chicks are different colors, anywhere from yellow to a grey color.


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## SarahFair

Nga. said:


> I have a havor-bator and I'm build a homebrew cabinet. with 3 trays 5dz per tray. I have to oder my thermostat and finish my trays. so far I have about 15 bucks in it.
> 
> Update on Hatch:
> 1 Austrolop hen so far has hatched 12 of 16
> bator 3 of 4 of my OE hatched and 9 of 31 Austrolops pipped this morning.



Are you using new wood for the cabinet or an old piece of furniture?


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## Hankus

36 in bator pipin rite now, 42 on way in other bator, 4 large fowl sittin on 12-6 eggs and 2 bantams on 6&7  Twixt me and the neighbor runnin bout 200 now and cull don't start for bout 8 wks


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## Nga.

SarahFair said:


> Are you using new wood for the cabinet or an old piece of furniture?


 
I have a piece of 3/4in plywood that has been around a while still new loking it's been in garage. I ordered Thermostat and I ordered the heating element also. I bought a roll of hardware cloth for the tray bottoms. This thing is looking sweet  , I want to got to get some egg trays for my trays. I put the trays on piviots so I can turn them as a turner would, but I will have to rotate trays manually.

Updated cost 75.00

Once I get it running I will get some pictures up here for everyone.


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## luv2drum

Nga. said:


> I have a piece of 3/4in plywood that has been around a while still new loking it's been in garage. I ordered Thermostat and I ordered the heating element also. I bought a roll of hardware cloth for the tray bottoms. This thing is looking sweet  , I want to got to get some egg trays for my trays. I put the trays on piviots so I can turn them as a turner would, but I will have to rotate trays manually.
> 
> Updated cost 75.00
> 
> Once I get it running I will get some pictures up here for everyone.



So which thermostat did you order?  You might be able to find a inexpensive actuator motor to use for a auto turner.


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## Nga.

I ordered the waffer style thermostat. I have had incubators for years and they are proven + I had 3 or 4 spare waffers laying around.

Right now all I have to do is open the door and pull a pin rotate the tray replace pin.


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## luv2drum

Nga. said:


> I ordered the waffer style thermostat. I have had incubators for years and they are proven + I had 3 or 4 spare waffers laying around.
> 
> Right now all I have to do is open the door and pull a pin rotate the tray replace pin.



Wow, can you post some pics of the set up?  I'm getting ready to build one myself.  
I was just trying to find a different thermostat, because I had read that the wafers can be affected by changes in barometric pressure. Or does it really not make that big of difference?


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## luv2drum

Well we had our best hatch yet.  20 out of 22 fertile eggs hatched.


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## dawg2

Nicodemus said:


> We have 24 due to hatch this Saturday and Sunday.



You hatching Guineas?


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## Nga.

luv2drum said:


> Well we had our best hatch yet. 20 out of 22 fertile eggs hatched.


 
That's a good hatch.

I set 50 Guinea eggs yesterday.


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## luv2drum

I just set 24 guinea eggs and six turkey eggs in one bator, and about 40 chicken eggs in the other.


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## Capt Quirk

Hey Nic, what happened with your clutch of eggs? Any McNuggets yet?


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## Nga.

OK here she is, I promised some pictures of the homebrew bator.


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## Capt Quirk

That looks pretty nifty Nga. How is it working?


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## luv2drum

That looks great!!  How many watts is the heat element?  Where did you order your parts from? I found a kit on ebay that has the heater, fan, and t-stat all together for around $45.  But it is only rated up to 150 watts and I was not sure if that would be sufficient for a cabinet that size.


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## Nga.

Not sure on the wattage I ordered my Thermostat and heating element from Randall Burkey supply. The heating element is for the GQF cabinets. It was 23.00 w/insulators the fan I took out of a electric space heater. I seen the incubators built with 2 computer fans. Just make sure they are 120v fans.

They say go to Walmart buy a electric space heater and strip it and use that equipment. 

I powered it up and it took about 20min to stabilize and it hasn't moved a 1/2 degree yet. It is 3/4 OSB flooring.


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## luv2drum

Nga.  that sounds like the ticket. I found the dimensions of the cabinet in a description of the GQC cabinet incubator.  I already have some 3/4" mdf that is laminated on both sides, I think it is called melanime.  I think your route of buying the GQG element is a more sure thing than the incukit I was looking at.


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## SarahFair

Well I was gone camping when my hatch started. Friday my SO came up and said six had hatched. Came home and 2 americanas had died with the yolks not absorbed. One looked like it leeked all over the bottom of the incubator. One guinea had also died. 
Ive got about 3 of my own mix to hatch, 10 or so guineas, and no other americanas. 

Im wondering if the others didnt get polluted and are now bad. Tonight about 8 pm will complete day 21 and I plan on letting them go till about day 23.


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## Nga.

If they got rolled around bad by the other chicks after they hatched it could have polluted or injuried your chicks in the shell.
If your Humidity was to high it will also not let them asorb the yolk sac good.

Good luck the next couple days on you hatch.


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## luv2drum

We had a guys tell us that he would place his eggs that are ready to hatch in the big flat egg cartons.  He would cut a hole in the bottom of each spot to keep the moisture from building up on the egg bottom. We have tried it with our last two hatches and it works well. The eggs do not get rolled around and so far we have had a higher hatch rate.


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## SarahFair

Yeah Im thinking about doing that with my next hatch..
I ended up tossing the rest of the eggs yesterday (trash day). There was an awful odor coming from them so I figured they were past done.


I cracked a few and out of the few I cracked 1 was part developed and the rest were fully but had sunken eyes so I figured they probly drowned if the humidity got too high


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## ylhatch

i dont add water until the 18th day when i quit turning them.i hatch anywhere from 70-100 chicks a year.they tend to drown while in the egg.i have a higher % hatch doing this


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## Nga.

Air ventilation is very important during the process as well.
I tend to let my water tray run out once or twice during the hatch.
It seems to give me the better overall humidity for the setting. I really add the water last 3 days. Pan in top of bator and a pan in the bottom.


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## mcallum3

I have been watching this thread almost from the beginning and keep checking on it to see if anything new has been added. I have been wanting to get an incubator for some time now and had a friend loan me a Little Giant 9200 still air w/o turner. I had intentions of loading it this weekend. Right now all I have is a thermometer for it, but  I was planning on going to Radio Shack to see if they have one of the electronic models in stock that also tells the humidity (looked online they sell for around $20.00)also called our local tractor supply and they have the turners in stock for around $40. But like others on this thread I figure I could just turn them by hand until I can make my own (I do custom metal work for a living) not to mention it wouldn't be very smart to spend that kind of money on a loaned incubator. I guess what I am wondering is, how well does the little Giant 9200 work as a still air unit? Or should I go ahead and try to purchase the fan unit? Once again, I'd be buying this for a loaned unit. I do have intentions of building my own incubator and could possibly use it in that. Anyway, my intentions are to fill it as full as I can, then go back in a week and candle them to take out the ones not fertile keep in mind I have never done this before so would someone tell me if I am headed in the right direction?



ylhatch said:


> i dont add water until the 18th day when i quit turning them.i hatch anywhere from 70-100 chicks a year.they tend to drown while in the egg.i have a higher % hatch doing this



Also, after reading the above post I am a little confused. I thought I was supposed to add water immediately, but if you are hatching 70-100 a year then you must be doing something right.

I failed to mention that I have a small flock of Buff Orpingtons that we raise for eggs and we would like to hatch out more for meat. I had one hen that hatched 7 successfully and another hen sat on 12 eggs until disaster struck on the 21st day. 

Any help would be greatly appreciated,
Perry


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## CRT

Hatched out 16 Buff Orps and 12 OEGBs. Gotta love them fluffy butts.


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## ylhatch

Also, after reading the above post I am a little confused. I thought I was supposed to add water immediately, but if you are hatching 70-100 a year then you must be doing something right.



Any help would be greatly appreciated,
Perry[/QUOTE]

i used to think the same thing.i would break eggs that didnt hatch,and there would be a dead chick in them.a friend told me they were drowning in the egg from to much moisture.he told me to not add water till the 18th day.i was scared the fist time,but its the only way i do it now


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## mcallum3

I picked up a temp/humidity gauge yesterday, and plugged in the incubator to bring it up to temp. The link at the beginning of the thread says for a still air model the temps should be 101.5 and mine is holding around 101. so I feel pretty good with that, the only thing I am worried about now is the link also says to keep a constant humidity of 60-65% until the last 3 days and then go up to 80-85%. Right now the humidity is holding steady at 20-25%. Should I not be too concerned about it until the last 3 days or should I go ahead and try to get it up a little? I know I am probably making this way harder than it needs to be; I have never seen a hen sitting on a clutch of eggs with a humidity gauge beside her, but at the same time I have never laid an egg either. She knows what she is supposed to do and I am trying to learn what to do.

Thanks for any help,
Perry


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## luv2drum

If you are going to hand turn the eggs daily then there is no need for a fan.  You will circulate enough air opening the incubator to turn the eggs.  For decades all small incubators where still air only.  All the directions I've seen say to have the humidity anywhere from 50 - 65%.  It will be ok to add water and get the humidity up, just add only a couple of ounces (1/4 cup) at a time,but definitely do not let it get above 65% for any length of time.  Play it safe and stay around 55%.  Then crank it up the last three days.


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## SarahFair

Check out the the incubating and hatching section on Backyardchickens.com.
It will answer any question you ever thought of asking


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## clown714

my phoenix hen still isn't broody

clown


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## SarahFair

How old is she?
I have been raising chickens for a few years and never had one go broody...
But then again they are your standard americanized chickens..


I would think some just dont go broody


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## luv2drum

I got a surprise yesterday.  One of my 9 month old deleware hens has gone broody.  She actually attacked me when I checked for eggs.  So, we have slid a few more eggs into her nest.  Keep your fingers crossed.


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## SarahFair

I had my BA hen peck my hand real good once when she was sitting on the nest. I gave her about 8 more eggs and she tucked a little over half of them under her then got up and left.

...shell sit on them for a little while after laying them and the change her mind.
I think its my rooster calling for her to come back out. He always seems to stand gard as she lays then comes running if she makes a peep.


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## Capt Quirk

The roosters ganged up and killed our turkey the other day. We had chicken for dinner last night


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## clown714

SarahFair said:


> How old is she?
> I have been raising chickens for a few years and never had one go broody...
> But then again they are your standard americanized chickens..
> 
> 
> I would think some just dont go broody



she's about a year old.

got any room in your bator?i'll split them w\you.

clown


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## SarahFair

clown714 said:


> she's about a year old.
> 
> got any room in your bator?i'll split them w\you.
> 
> clown



Ive got room for about 20 but I had such a horrible hatch last time I fear you might not get much...


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## luv2drum

...shell sit on them for a little while after laying them and the change her mind.


So far she is still on the eggs.  We'll see if she keeps it up.  Keep your fingers crossed for me.


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## GAGE

Sarah,  my family and I are going to meet a woman who raises silkies tomorrow.   She lives in Bishop/High Shoals and is selling both eggs and chicks.

http://athensga.craigslist.org/grd/1772031983.html

She is a very nice woman,  and I will report back Monday on how our visit goes.


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## SarahFair

I saw that ad! Let me know how her silkies look! 
...and how much she charges for hatching eggs


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## luv2drum

Well we had 6 of our speckled sussex to hatch.  We are giving the other 6 a few more days, but it does not look good.  Our guineas and turkeys go into the hatcher on friday, so keep your fingers crossed for us.


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## GAGE

SarahFair said:


> I saw that ad! Let me know how her silkies look!
> ...and how much she charges for hatching eggs



I had every intention of buying two silkie chicks but we came home with four (each a different color).    She has quite a place,  her chicks start at 2.50, and her hatching eggs are12.00 a dozen for whatever you would like.   She is not in it for the money,  just started with a couple and now has a bunch.     This was our first buying experience and it was a good one.


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## blocky

*Silkies and RRI's*

I am new at this chicken thing and need some advice. Will my big RRI rooster kill silkies if I put them in the same pen? I would like to have some of those beautiful birds but don't want them harmed. Also would like to have a couple of domineckers too.


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## luv2drum

It might kill a silkie rooster, but it will very likely try to mate with the silkie hens......  I would keep them seperate.


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## Nga.

Noticed this morning in the home brew bator I had 4 pipped. 

Hatched 6 OE Wheaton's under a hen yesterday.


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## SarahFair

blocky said:


> I am new at this chicken thing and need some advice. Will my big RRI rooster kill silkies if I put them in the same pen? I would like to have some of those beautiful birds but don't want them harmed. Also would like to have a couple of domineckers too.





luv2drum said:


> It might kill a silkie rooster, but it will very likely try to mate with the silkie hens......  I would keep them seperate.



Silkies are awesome and I would suggest getting them if you can!
I have heard of a standard rooster trying to mate a silkie and it end up killing her. Not on purpose of course..

Why not just make a seperate pen for the silkies


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## luv2drum

I got a surprise last night.  I came in from work and checked the cabinet incubator.  I decided to increase the humidity a little because we have some guineas and turkeys due to hatch this weekend. Well just as I went to close the door, I heard a peep peep. One of the turkeys had already started hatching.  So, I took the eggs off the turner and put them in the little bator to hatch. I just hope it is not too early, because none of the others are showing any activity.


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## Nga.

Update on the homebrew bator.

As of right now the hatch count for the 1st run is. 51 of 72 set.


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## luv2drum

Well the early turkey did not make it. 

 But we have about 5 or 6 guinea and another turkey starting to hatch

And our broody delaware is still setting, and my wife's black silky just turned broody on us and started pecking my wife's hand when she checked for eggs.


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## SarahFair

Dang..
Hatches seem to be sorry this year 


Ive got about 15 in the bator now


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## aa136

I got 14 out of a hatch this week. That is terrible for us. We just installed 2 new dog pens for the chickens today. I have them all ages. I have at last count around 110 or so. I have all buffs, but did hatch some game hens the other day for my mom


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## luv2drum

Last count I had 10 guinea keets hatched and 3 more turkeys.  Only one turkey has made it so far.  I was told that the hovobator is not steady enough to hatch turkeys well, any one else heard of this or have any experience with turkey.  This was my first attempt at turkey and guineas.


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## Nicodemus

After one very successful hatch, we ain`t doin` too good on our hatch rates.


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## mcallum3

SarahFair said:


> Check out the the incubating and hatching section on Backyardchickens.com.
> It will answer any question you ever thought of asking



Thanks for the link, this site is amazing for anyone just starting out with any project concerning chickens.

Tomorrow is day 21 and I was completely surprised yesterday to start hearing birds chirping inside the eggs. Woke up this a.m. to find 4 itty-bitty ones already out, got ready to leave (our Daylily club had its annual Daylily show in Gainesville today) and checked before leaving and a 5th one had hatched. Got part way to G-ville and my wife called and said #7 was out, so needless to say I was a little excited about all that was going on. I was not able to get back home until around 6:00 and we had 27 hatched out.  Unfortunately they had turned over the bowl I had in there for water and they all looked very damp (more so than I thought they should be) so I got my brooder heated up and started transferring them over into it, and at the moment everything seems to be doing well. I started out with 51 eggs thinking I would have about 10 not fertile, and about a week after starting them I candled them and only 3 were not good. So, I wound up with 48 eggs in a Little Giant, which is probably way more than its supposed to have, and at the present moment I have 44 hatched out and in the brooder. Anyone have any Idea how long I should let the last 4 sit in the incubator before giving up on them? I can tell tonight is going to be a long night for me. All in all I am pretty happy with how this has worked out considering this was my first time trying to hatch out eggs. And thanks to the ones who offered up advice. On a side note I went out tonight (after dark) to pick up the eggs and had a hen sitting in one of my laying boxes on a days worth of eggs.


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## HALOJmpr

I think the LG's are $41.99 at TSC for the incubator and the same for the turner.


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## SarahFair

mcallum3 said:


> Thanks for the link, this site is amazing for anyone just starting out with any project concerning chickens.
> 
> Tomorrow is day 21 and I was completely surprised yesterday to start hearing birds chirping inside the eggs. Woke up this a.m. to find 4 itty-bitty ones already out, got ready to leave (our Daylily club had its annual Daylily show in Gainesville today) and checked before leaving and a 5th one had hatched. Got part way to G-ville and my wife called and said #7 was out, so needless to say I was a little excited about all that was going on. I was not able to get back home until around 6:00 and we had 27 hatched out.  Unfortunately they had turned over the bowl I had in there for water and they all looked very damp (more so than I thought they should be) so I got my brooder heated up and started transferring them over into it, and at the moment everything seems to be doing well. I started out with 51 eggs thinking I would have about 10 not fertile, and about a week after starting them I candled them and only 3 were not good. So, I wound up with 48 eggs in a Little Giant, which is probably way more than its supposed to have, and at the present moment I have 44 hatched out and in the brooder. Anyone have any Idea how long I should let the last 4 sit in the incubator before giving up on them? I can tell tonight is going to be a long night for me. All in all I am pretty happy with how this has worked out considering this was my first time trying to hatch out eggs. And thanks to the ones who offered up advice. On a side note I went out tonight (after dark) to pick up the eggs and had a hen sitting in one of my laying boxes on a days worth of eggs.



That is awesome hatch rate! I would say if they are not out by tonight I would give up on them, unless you are seeing movement/hearing peeps.

Congrats on the awesome hatch!!


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## luv2drum

So, I wound up with 48 eggs in a Little Giant, which is probably way more than its supposed to have, and at the present moment I have 44 hatched out and in the brooder. Anyone have any Idea how long I should let the last 4 sit in the incubator before giving up on them?]

Wow that is a fantastic hatch.  I would give them up to 25 or 26 days.  Some hatch early as you find out, and some take a little longer.  If you have not seen any activity by day 26, then it is unlikely you will.  You could candle them to see if there is any life inside,


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## SarahFair

UGH! I was bound to fail with hatching this year. I am on day 19 and I walk in the kitchen to check this morning to find dew on the windows.

A chair sometime last night was tipped over and yanked the cord out of the wall. The temp in the bator was 80 degrees! The eggs are cold.

So if they havent drown they have froze. RR
I just plugged it back in to see if I get anything..


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## luv2drum

SarahFair said:


> UGH! I was bound to fail with hatching this year. I am on day 19 and I walk in the kitchen to check this morning to find dew on the windows.
> 
> A chair sometime last night was tipped over and yanked the cord out of the wall. The temp in the bator was 80 degrees! The eggs are cold.
> 
> So if they havent drown they have froze. RR
> I just plugged it back in to see if I get anything..



That stinks. 
 Oh speaking of stink, I found out the hard way that a bad egg will explode in the incubator.
 OOOHHHH!  what a mess and the smell UUUUHHH!!!!


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## SarahFair

luv2drum said:


> That stinks.
> Oh speaking of stink, I found out the hard way that a bad egg will explode in the incubator.
> OOOHHHH!  what a mess and the smell UUUUHHH!!!!


THAT stinks! lol
But I should be ok for a few to hatch. I can see wiggling and hear chirps
...I think there is also broken shell on the bottom but I cant see around the eggs good enough to tell


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## SarahFair

First chick is out!


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## Badgirl101

I put 14 eggs in my incubator last saturday and when i candled them 2 days ago only 4 was fertile, it sucked but im putting about 13 or 14 eggs in tomorrow.


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## SarahFair

I had a poor hatch this time around. 
6 hatched, 5 of which lived. The one that died hatched with an unabsorbed yolk. 
7 others were fully developed but never absorbed the yolks and never hatched. They either died during the cold spell or drown


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## luv2drum

we had a fair hatch this time.  We had about 30 out of 40 hatch, and have lost only 4 so far. I hope to build a cabinet hatcher soon, the cabinet incubator is working great.


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## Badgirl101

My 4 eggs are going to hatch on Saturday!!! If they do hatch


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