[FiB]

Am I hearing things or do thay actually cheep whilst still the egg?? I had no idea!!

[doganjo]

Doganjo - did your last ones look as though the membrane under the shell  had dried out? Had they pipped?
             - have you got any instructions with your incy? I think mine gives possible reasons for late death.
I seem to remember that pheasants need a higher temp than hen eggs in the incy to develop correctly and gamekeepers wife said chicks need to be kept warmer than hens chicks and need game chick crumbs.

Yes, membrane was very dry, no pipping at all on those - only 5 pipped and I had to help them out.  The others were fully formed - not even attached to shell.  No deformities at all as far as I could see.  No instructions with the incy.  I read online that pheasant eggs are like duck eggs and need higher humidity, and more heat than hens.  Very tough shells.  Their owner is bringing game crumbs tomorrow I think, although there are only 2 left from this batch.  They are also very stupid - I decided to check them at 3 this morning and 2 were sitting in a small ramekin I'd put in with water - like it was a nest.  That's why I've lost this one I think - got pretty wet and cold.
Yes, FiB  they cheep inside even before they pip - that's why I didn't throw these eggs away thinking they weren't going to hatch - they had gone to 29 days in stead of the expected 23 to 26 for phessies. (heat too low I think)   I'm quite sad about all this.    Even at 68 I am still learning! 

[Brucklay]

Yes your right Doganjo not much room in the octagon 10 but I did manage to roll up a steeming hot dish cloth - one of the cheap tesco's ones 3 in a packet so they are not very big - and place/balance over where the water tanks are in my octagon 10

[Fowlman]

I found pheasant/partridge hatch better in still air incubators, they dont dry out so much. They will need at least 24% protein feed as chicks so you did right a game starter feed should do fine.
In the octagon10 make sure the vent is wide open to reduce humidity or close it slightly to raise it but never shut it completely.

[doganjo]

I found pheasant/partridge hatch better in still air incubators, they dont dry out so much. They will need at least 24% protein feed as chicks so you did right a game starter feed should do fine.
In the octagon10 make sure the vent is wide open to reduce humidity or close it slightly to raise it but never shut it completely.

I didn't know there was a vent - going to look now. Thanks  What's a still air incubator?

[in the hills]

FiB - yeah, its quite special. Try not to open your incy much (humidity!) but if you put your head near, you can usually hear them cheep even through the incy. Arrrrr .... 

Doganjo - in my opinion the ramekins could be hazardous!    At the beginning, we use jam jar lids with clean pebbles or something similar in them to prevent drowning or soaking. Keep an eye on them because they dry up quickly. We dip their beaks in once or twice ..... only the tips .... so that they know where it is. Also put the food in several jar lids and peck at it with our fingers ( have a daughter luckily who likes playing mother hen  ).

[Fowlman]

I found pheasant/partridge hatch better in still air incubators, they dont dry out so much. They will need at least 24% protein feed as chicks so you did right a game starter feed should do fine.
In the octagon10 make sure the vent is wide open to reduce humidity or close it slightly to raise it but never shut it completely.

I didn't know there was a vent - going to look now. Thanks  What's a still air incubator?

A still air incubator has no fan to circulate the air like the octagon 10. I also have a brinsea hatchmaker which is also still air. The temp in the incubator will vary throughout the incubator, not so much in the 10 as its quite small. The temp should be correct at the top of the eggs.

[Brijjy]

I had goose eggs in my incy and they had been taken away from the goose as she had been letting them get cool. They were all at different stages of incubation and I did struggle to get the humidity right in my Brinsea Octogan 20. During hatching I used a new dishcloth in each reservoir. Even then I had to help 3 of the 5 goslings out of their shells. The membranes were incredibly tough and although the babies could pip thru the shells, they couldn't get thru the membrane. It took 10 days from the first egg to pip to the last one to hatch, so lots of manual turning on the less well developed ones. That was an epic hatch 

[Brijjy]

Am I hearing things or do thay actually cheep whilst still the egg?? I had no idea!!

Oh yes they do cheep whilst still in the egg. Geese seem to be especially noisy!

[Beewyched]

Am I hearing things or do thay actually cheep whilst still the egg?? I had no idea!!

Oh yes they do cheep whilst still in the egg. Geese seem to be especially noisy!

Yep, they definately pip when they're on the way out 

[doganjo]

ITH - haven't found a vent in my octagon 10 - where is it? Can't see anything to move about at all.

[Fowlman]

ITH - haven't found a vent in my octagon 10 - where is it? Can't see anything to move about at all.

Long time since i used a octagon 10 but it will have a vent of some sort. If it doesnt have a sliding vent it will have plugs that you take out.

[Brucklay]

Not to argue with the experts but on my octagon 10 the vents weren't that obvious, 2 x 5pence size holes at one end (no plugs supplied in my box - unless I missed them) which I used tape to cover to some degree to give less ventilation - again not very scientific but kept more humidity in for hatching

[jaykay]

Am I hearing things or do thay actually cheep whilst still the egg?? I had no idea!!

and if you put your mouth near a vent and cheep, they cheep back  I do it to encourage them out when they're hatching 

[Brucklay]

Oh Jaykay - glad I'm not the only one who 'cheeps' to a plastic box