Got the incubator, its all set up. Getting ready to put eggs in. :)
*does happy dance* I'm gonna have fuzzy babies!!!
First hatch!
How many eggs total?
good luck GK!
17 eggs. 13 standard & 4 bantam now.. my question. IF a standard hen is chased & caught by a bantam roo (which is soo funny!).. do you get a standard or bantam chick? (heaven forbid) a Standard roo gets a bantam hen.. is it possible to get a standard size chick out of a bantam egg? I do not even begin to know how this works & since mine free range... who knows who's gonna be the parents.
The chick will fit....I've had many chicks from bantam mammas and standard papas. They are usually closer to bantam size than standard...but they are bigger than the bantam mother when they grow up.
i wasn't so much worried about them fitting.. just curious if it was possible.
I'm more worried about keeping my elderly cat, Sassy from sleeping on top of the incubator. That thing puts out the heat! I'm going to put a tiny piece of cardboard over the thermostat nob since its recessed & see if that affects the heat.. that way if she does choose to sleep there during the night hours she won't bump the knob thus lowering or raise the heat.
This is gonna be the longest 21 days of my life! I'm awful about checking on the incubator about every half hour....
Don't open that incubator!
Don't candle them for the first 5 days (very delicate embryo and veins forming).
Candle them no more than once a day the remaining time, keeping out for no more than 15 min....the mother hops of the nest and the eggs naturally cool about that often--some studies suggest that a short daily period of cooling may actually help the eggs develop. Not sure about that.
Don't candle them unless necessary after you stop turning them on day 18, because the chick is positioning itself to pip.
Don't open the incubator while the hatch is going on--the RH drops too much and prevents the later chicks from hatching.
Let's see, what else?
Oh, yea! Good luck!
Yay, dancing with you! It's going to be fun following this thread until they're hatched!
Annie
I'm not opening it... least not now that I got the humidity correct. I had to add water twice. I'm just checking temp & humidity on my nifty little thermometer that Haystack suggested I get. Our house is dry to its going to be hard to keep the humidity up on it. Considering its sitting under my nose.. most of the evening its not hard to pic up my flashlight & peek thru the window at the temp.
I believe i will pick up another thermometer & put it downstairs.. put some water on the stove & try to raise the whole house's humidity for a while.. I know my allergies would appreciate that if nothing else.
greykyttyn--I am jealous--but it is a GOOD envy! :) I can't have chicks or chickens here so I live vicariously through the Poultry and Livestock forum on Dave's. Can't wait to see pix. Thanks all!
I'd keep that cat off there for sure. I'd think that temp would spike from the added insulation. I'd freak if something got close to my bator! LOL