The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: Kimbo on April 29, 2015, 11:48:45 am
-
Well this evening I put the new Octagon into operation with 6 Cream Legbar and 6 Wyandotte eggs. Its my first time and to say im nervous is an understatement :-\
The eggs are a slightly different size but the incubator is big enough for me to keep them apart so I hope that wont be an issue.
My first question is about setting up the little metal dividers in the cabinet. Do I fit them to hold the eggs firmly or not? The instructions say that some small rolling between the dividers is OK but should I be trying to avoid that if I can?
The second question is going to sound really stupid; apologies. But how do they actually go in? Upright? lengthways? diagonally? Pointy end up or down? Does it matter? The eggs are resting pointy end down now but when they go into the cabinet that looks like it would be the most unstable position to choose.
Im sorry to be so dumb :-[
-
We've all been there- there are no dumb questions (unless you've already asked them 20 times!). You put the eggs on their sides in an Octagon normally. So their length runs along the length of the incubator so when they turn (have you got a cradle or are you turning by hand?), they turn from one side to the other rather than from end to end. Some incubators you do put them pointy end down so the air sack is at the top but not in this case. See not a dumb question!
I have the bars in fairly tight but I also sometime use the foam in the middle of the dividers so that if they are moving slightly as they rock, they're not banging against the divider. It mostly depends how many eggs I've got to fit in and how much space. At the moment I'm loading ducks and geese which means I can get three across but they're tight so no room for foam in the dividers (also turned manually individually so a whole different thing).
If you're turning manually for chicken eggs, you can just turn the whole Octagon from one side to the other which is the joy of the design - you don't have to open the incubator and turn each egg. But I'd always forget to I have cradles.
Good luck - have you bought a light so you can candle them next week sometime? That's the really exciting part :-) (that and hatching of course).
H
-
I cover the bars with a bit of paper towel for padding, then space the bars far enough apart that I can take the eggs out for candling with ease and without risking breaking them (so not tight).
So if they're a bit snug but you can still take them out easily it's fine. :)
-
thank you so much. Thank goodness I asked!
Im off to pop them in now. The incubator turns automatically so that's one less thing to forget remember!
-
Well we always hatch our chicken eggs upright with the pointy end down/air sack upwards. As per instructions in the Octagon.... works well...
-
Sorry! Anke's right - the pictures on their website have pictures with them pointy down. Whoops! Anyhow, I lay them on their side - certainly no way you could do duck or goose eggs that way and I think I'd be pushed with the chicken eggs. Probably means it's doesn't matter much (and in nature they're normally on their sides so it can't do too much harm).
-
Not to worry, they are in so Im leaving well alone. I agree, a hen wouldn't keep them on their ends so it probably wont make a lot of difference. Im far more concerned about whether we have one of our all-too-frequent power cuts in the next month
-
Me again!
Im faithfully following the Brinsea instructions but the water in the channels seems to dry up quicker than Brinsea predicts. Should I keep the water levels topped up ( just one channel in the Octagon 20 at the mo) or should I let the channel dry up and just replenish when the instructions say to?
Ive been scared by my neighbour who set 48 eggs in a cabinet incubator 4 weeks ago and only 8 hatched :(
-
I always keep the chicken eggs at 50% humidity during incubation, and yes it means topping up the channels (I have two) every other day or so. Also make sure that the air vent is closed.
-
Whether you need to put water in or not depends on the ambient humidity in the room and the porosity of the shells. We have just hatched and only added water for a few days when the weather here improved and the room humidity dropped from 85% to 70%. The development of the air sac is what is important and Brinsea do a hatching guide you can download which has a sketch of the air sac development over the hatching period. You can run 'dry' for the first 8 days then candle (to discard clears) and add water if the sac appears too big. At the hatching stage, so days 18 -21, turning stops and the humidity needs to rise considerably.
-
Im candling tonight.
I do hope its clear what are and aren't viable eggs :-\
-
It's very clear ;)
-
quite right N&C, it was very clear!
Ive lost just one Cream Legbar. The other 11 look good and I cd actually see 2 of them moving in their shells. I didn't expect to see that :) I hope the different sizes of eggs dont cause me problems in hatching as the Legbars are quite a bit bigger than the Wyandottes.
How disproportianately exciting this is!
Thank you for all your help to date XX
-
Another question im afraid.
Monday is lockdown day here :chook:. I candled and removed the one infertile egg. Should I candle again before lockdown or just leave them to it?
-
If your sure about the rest I'd just leave them!
Exciting isn't it, I've a few due to hatch on Tuesday.
Just wait till you see one pip...they take proper yonks to hatch...achy neck bent over peering in! I was up all night with my first lot ;D :chook:
Good luck
-
Did I say I was going to leave well alone? ???
I have got increasingly concerned about the "pointy end down" thing. I don't know why as surely hens don't brood their eggs in that awkward position. But I decided I had to at least try to rearrange them.
Its not easy. The little metal "fences" have no give in them for one egg being a bit rounder than the other. And I only have 11 in an Octagon 20 so they aren't pressed up against each other for support.
But in the end I think they are now all more-or-less pointing down :relief:
Now the next worry is if my messing with them cooled or dried them too much! Honestly! Who knew it was so stressful?!
N&C, how are yours getting on?
-
Fine...mine were eBay eggs, 1 didn't develop, lost another early stages...I went into to turn them Thursday and they were cold - plug had been pulled out ???? I candled yesterday and could see movement in 2 of the remaining 4 so we shall see (bit of a disaster hatch) if I get anything no doubt that will be cockerels :-J
-
Oh no, bad luck. What happened to the plug, not a teenager I hope? Mine are in the spare bedroom and my son has been at home from Uni for a few days. I was sure he was going to unplug the incubator to plug one of his silly devices in but so far so good.
Keep us posted on what happens to the remainder. What breeds have you got in?
-
Only myself to blame, I have to lift the lid 3x a day to turn them, think I've popped the lid down and its waggled out! Suppose to be white Silkies but off eBay so could be anything lol
-
2 chicks out already! Both Blue laced Wyandottes ( well, tbh Im not sure which colour they are yet as there are 3 possibles). One chick burst out in no time like Mad Max and is very feisty. The second had an epic struggle and is now resting but he/she looks OK.
Its only day 20 so Im now a bit worried about what to do with these 2 if the others haven't hatched by tomorrow evening. Im thinking, leave it to them and don't interfere.
Its a fantastic thing to see these little guys break free from their shells. Its quite life-enhancing and it makes me feel humble
-
Yay!
I leave new chicks 24hrs in the incubator to fluff up then pop them in the brooder.
(Nothing here so far)
-
Nothing yet N&C?? Oh no.... are they overdue now? Gosh I hope it wasn't the plug incident. Fingers crossed for you.
We now have 9 chicks. All 6 Laced Wyandottes hatched so that's a pretty good advert for eBay eggs!
The CLBs not so great. Of the initial 6 one was infertile and went at day 8. 3 of the remainder have hatched but the last 2 aren't even pipping yet. I know that today is only day 21 for me but its odd that all the others are out, some of them out yesterday afternoon....and CLBs among them. Im going to leave them alone and sit on my hands!
-
It can take a while, they may of developed but be the wrong way round & can't pip, I had that happen with my last lot (I like to open up and see what went wrong) hopefully they are just taking their time, they may of internally pipped, listen out for cheeping!
I'm hoping my 4 are ok, I'm expecting pipping today but nothing so far, may happen a bit later due to the plug incident or not atall grrr!
I've had great hatches from eBay eggs and selling my own, my last lot of light Sussex they hatched 6/6 :thumbsup:
Best of luck with your new gang! :chook:
-
Thank You N&C, and best of luck to you too. This whole process is ridiculously engrossing isn't it? Im now nervous for your brood! ::)
My 2 remaining eggs look pretty much inactive. But I haven't given up yet.
One thing I wondered. I have hatched 2 CLB hens and one cockerel. I really wanted at least 4 hens as my customers really want the blue eggs and I only have 2 laying at present. A lady locally is selling CLB female chicks aged 2 to 5 days. If my 2 eggs aren't alive would it be safe to buy 2 of her hen chicks and mix them with my brood? Im a bit worried about infections etc. Advice would be greatly appreciated
-
RE. the pointy end down thing, I tried setting some eggs that way after reading this (meant I could fit more in). I won't do it again - first two are coming out the wrong end with help, remainder have yet to pip (day 21 now). Ducks and geese were also set pointy end down but I lay them all flat after about 10 days because I panicked about how they were developing - very odd formation when you're used to them developing side down.
Re. buying in chicks, I guess it depends how well you know her and her set up. If you're happy she's got healthy, disease free stock you should be OK.
H
-
I think Im with you on that Hester.
Well it ended up as no more chicks. I opened the 2 that didn't hatch. One looked infertile , so I mustn't have candled it correctly. The other had a chick in but it had obviously died quite a while ago as it was very small and underdeveloped and completely bald.
Moreover, of the 3 Legbars that did hatch one is great and the biggest chick in the box but the other 2 are very tiny, quite reluctant to move about and I think the female has a deformed foot. So that was a bad batch of eggs I think
-
this is the last of my updates I think as the chicks are now 4 and 5 days old.
All looking good so far. The chicks are feisty, noisy, poohing for Great Britain and I fixed the splayed legs ( that was the problem, not her foot) on the CLB girl by splinting it for 3 days ( my god, what a fiddly job!).
Ive now got the CLB male splinted too but Im feeling quite confident about it as he wasn't as bad as the female and she has turned out OK. He's clearly for Coq au Vin though and she definitely wont be bred from. In fact Im not breeding from any of the CLBs as Im not happy that they are from good robust stock.
The Laced Wyandottes look to be 2 different colours. Im pretty sure some are Black/Gold Laced and I hope the others are Blue Laced but Im not sure. Very pretty either way.
Thank you all for your advice.
My first attempt is out of the way now so I hope next time to be a bit more relaxed.
-
If you're not sure if your eggs will hatch after the 21st day, tap the egg gently with a fingernail. you may hear the chick peeping or a faint "clicking" sound as the chick pecks away. You have to hold the egg to your ear so mark with a pencil the way up they were!