Egg Hatch Thread

[JustShootIt]

Decided to try my hand at hatching some of my chicken eggs. I threw together an incubator using a wood ammo crate I had laying in the shop. Nothing fancy....guess I'll find out in about 21 days how well it works, lol........




Started incubating these eggs on 1-15-2013


Let the waiting begin.....

[ChickenLady]

Cute. I'm curious how well this will work.

Almost all incubators have insulation in them so this is interesting.

Watching.

Waiting.

[Mike]

Eggs??

[Rem700]

Mutant chickens!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! RUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[son of liberty]

My chickens would eat the hell out of them baby snakes.

[rustynuts]

Not baby snakes, that's a beardie. A lizard.

[WLJ]

Eggs??

[/url]

Coming soon to a KFC near you and it even tastes like chicken!

[JustShootIt]

Cute. I'm curious how well this will work.

Almost all incubators have insulation in them so this is interesting.

Watching.

Waiting.

Keyword....almost....

Lol

I have a sheet of insulation that I planned on using, but decided against it once I tested it out and it maintained a consistent temp without it...The wood actually absorbs the heat and seems to be working well (fingers crossed)....guess thats the main thing. Probably helps that its in a warm closet....


Already know a few things I'll change next go around...but that's what its all about...live, learn, trial and error.

[ChickenLady]

I've been wanting to incubate for awhile. My problem is I won't be able to get a consistent all females product out of the deal lol

[JustShootIt]

My chickens would eat the hell out of them baby snakes.

[JustShootIt]

Thought I would add:

Bulbs pictured are 50 watts each.

Not shown in above picture, but I did close off the cracks in the lid with duct tape. Prior to doing so it was maintaining a temp of 90 degrees...Simply closing off cracks in lid had it staying at a consistent 100 degrees. As mentioned above, that's in a warm closet, next to utility room where the furnace is. Just turned the eggs and temp was just shy of 102 degrees. Cracked the lid open slightly and it's running exactly 100 degrees again. I plan to add a dimmer switch...this should make it easier to regulate.

Seems everyone that hatches (after talking to folks and reading tons of crap on interwebz) keeps their incubator at temps of 99.5-101.5....I decided to split the difference and try to keep mine at 100....

[Livewire]

Have you thought of adding a process thermostat to cycle your lamps off and on?

Would run the cost up of your incubator but would save some energy costs if you were planning on hatching on a regular basis.

Might save you time checking and regulating your temps if you want less maintenance on your project.

[JustShootIt]

Have you thought of adding a process thermostat to cycle your lamps off and on?

Would run the cost up of your incubator but would save some energy costs if you were planning on hatching on a regular basis.

Might save you time checking and regulating your temps if you want less maintenance on your project.

This is a cool idea....

I tried to come up with a way to incorporate a thermostat, but honestly didn't think of it from this angle.

Like I stated above....I thought about a dimmer switch....and I used a chain switch on one light so I could turn one off and leave other on.....

Basically threw this one together using stuff I had on hand and easy to grab out of the shop, lol. Figured I would throw one together and improve on it as I went along.

I'm thinking of building one out of a small/medium Coke fridge (with glass door....nice viewing glass) Or a med size dorm fridge that's no longer working. Use thermostat like you suggested, and install an auto turner....cheap and easy to make and I can use this old programmable timer I have.

[Mike]

I have made incubators out off all sorts of things. My current one is a mini fridge that has been gutted. I have two feet of 12" heat tape in it hooked to a Helix DBS-1000 thermostat. I keep it set at 85 degrees. I also have two computer fans hooked up in there to circulate the air.

Some people put "heat sinks" by adding bottles of water to the bottom. That way when you open it it doesn't lose all the heat right away.

[JustShootIt]

I have made incubators out off all sorts of things. My current one is a mini fridge that has been gutted. I have two feet of 12" heat tape in it hooked to a Helix DBS-1000 thermostat. I keep it set at 85 degrees. I also have two computer fans hooked up in there to circulate the air.

Some people put "heat sinks" by adding bottles of water to the bottom. That way when you open it it doesn't lose all the heat right away.

Do you think the heat tape(s) you have could/would maintain temp of 100 degrees?

Do you leave fans running at all times or do they cut out via thermostat?

I've seen people use heating pads...but for some reason I don't trust them enough....Heat tape is something I haven't thought of or seen used for chicken eggs....Might be worth a try.

[JustShootIt]

Pics aren't real clear, but I candled a few eggs tonight (day 3) to see what they looked like. Showing signs of development.




Red, spider like veins, means they are developing

Egg pictured is white egg from a Leghorn

[Next]

I would love to do Quail and then release them on our farm, but I keep hearing they won't survive.

[JustShootIt]

I would love to do Quail and then release them on our farm, but I keep hearing they won't survive.

We have raised a bunch of quail...hard to say for sure how many survive once released, but we have a bunch of now wild quail on our place.

My BIL is a pro....he was hatching several thousand a year. They do require some special care and facilities when kept captive...but pretty resilient once released.

[Next]

I would love to do Quail and then release them on our farm, but I keep hearing they won't survive.

We have raised a bunch of quail...hard to say for sure how many survive once released, but we have a bunch of now wild quail on our place.

My BIL is a pro....he was hatching several thousand a year. They do require some special care and facilities when kept captive...but pretty resilient once released.

Where is the best place to get info on setting up everything and getting eggs etc? I am a rookie....

[JustShootIt]

I would love to do Quail and then release them on our farm, but I keep hearing they won't survive.

We have raised a bunch of quail...hard to say for sure how many survive once released, but we have a bunch of now wild quail on our place.

My BIL is a pro....he was hatching several thousand a year. They do require some special care and facilities when kept captive...but pretty resilient once released.

Where is the best place to get info on setting up everything and getting eggs etc? I am a rookie....

I would be glad to put you in contact with my BIL...like I said, he's the expert.

My FIL and I had a small quail operation, but we didn't hatch them...just raised them in fly pens.

Fly pens are really a must IMO...but they can be easy to make. Raised floor in their pens is also needed. When young and in large groups, they susceptible to disease...All "birds" seem to be to an extent, but quail more so than others.

My BIL and his family still raise quail...they could hook you and give you much better info...

[Mike]

I have made incubators out off all sorts of things. My current one is a mini fridge that has been gutted. I have two feet of 12" heat tape in it hooked to a Helix DBS-1000 thermostat. I keep it set at 85 degrees. I also have two computer fans hooked up in there to circulate the air.

Some people put "heat sinks" by adding bottles of water to the bottom. That way when you open it it doesn't lose all the heat right away.

Do you think the heat tape(s) you have could/would maintain temp of 100 degrees?

Do you leave fans running at all times or do they cut out via thermostat?

I've seen people use heating pads...but for some reason I don't trust them enough....Heat tape is something I haven't thought of or seen used for chicken eggs....Might be worth a try.

Probably would work if you had enough of it in there. It keeps my incubator at 85 without even getting hot to the tough. I keep the thermostat temp sensor right there in my egg box usually. Makes it simple.

My fan are on non stop. They are small so not a lot going on with them.

[JustShootIt]

I have made incubators out off all sorts of things. My current one is a mini fridge that has been gutted. I have two feet of 12" heat tape in it hooked to a Helix DBS-1000 thermostat. I keep it set at 85 degrees. I also have two computer fans hooked up in there to circulate the air.

Some people put "heat sinks" by adding bottles of water to the bottom. That way when you open it it doesn't lose all the heat right away.

Do you think the heat tape(s) you have could/would maintain temp of 100 degrees?

Do you leave fans running at all times or do they cut out via thermostat?

I've seen people use heating pads...but for some reason I don't trust them enough....Heat tape is something I haven't thought of or seen used for chicken eggs....Might be worth a try.

Probably would work if you had enough of it in there. It keeps my incubator at 85 without even getting hot to the tough. I keep the thermostat temp sensor right there in my egg box usually. Makes it simple.

My fan are on non stop. They are small so not a lot going on with them.

Thanks...

May get some heat tape to experiment with for next go around.

[JustShootIt]

Quick update...

The white eggs are easy to candle and see thru....the light Brown and dark brown are a little harder.

I can positively identify that at least half of them are "growing"

Pic isn't real clear, but if you look you can see some development ie some veins and dark stop that will eventually be the chick....

8 days down....13 to go....

[JustShootIt]

Checking my eggs earlier today and the kids said they heard chirping...

Looked closer and sure enough, one egg had peeped and couple others were doing a lot of moving and rockin...

Its going on day 20, so we should have some chicks anytime....

(Knocks on wood)

Pic below....you can see peep on eggs #5

[JustShootIt]

Chick #1 hatched sometime early this morn: