mcamden- the sloshy looking one is bad. you
might want to remove it. i got this info from
'Story's -Raising Chickens'. It is a great book
with all stages of poultry keeping.
My homeade bator!
I am so impressed with your 'chick-bator'. I just
ordered a small one from GQF manufacturing. It
will be my first time trying my hand, and the cost
is 18.95 with 4 quail eggs. The bator is just 14.95
sans quail eggs, and I thought what the hey, I'll give
it a go. It looks like it will handle 4 chicken size eggs.
If I do well, I will go larger.
I must say...this was easy! My cost was as follows:
Item Used Cost:
Container: Shipping Box from Omaha steaks: Free
Raised floor Wire and mesh wire from gargage: Free
Power: Old extension cord Free
Humidity Old can, washcloth, water Free
Viewing Window Glass from old photo frame Free
Light/heat Over bulb $1.50
Temp Regulation Water heater thermostat $13.00
Thermometer Digital kitchen $10.00
Total cost: $24.50
Plus I can do up to 12 eggs, and I just plug it in and go! If i ever want more I can just get a larger stryrofome box since Omaha Steaks well...is in Omaha...and I used to work there! I recommend making your own...much more fun!
So the only heat you have is the light bulb, and you
have managed to keep your temp so well? That's
great! I don't think opening it for a short time will
change the hatch rate, but your turner thingy sure will
make the task quick and easy!
Did you use any kind of sealer at the joint of the
glass and styrofoam, or just cut to make a tight fit?
I just cut the styrofoam a little smaller...then squeezed the glass down. I actually put three layers of glass. I stopped using the turner since it ended up being easy to just open and turn after I moved to the thermostat and a 40w bulb. It heats up within 2 minutes, and then shuts off until it gets to the minimum level...then comes back on. It uses less electricity this way also.
The eggs being on the wire rack seems better than
if they were in a carton, for circulation and humidity
sake. I read about just setting the carton of eggs in,
and propping it to get the angle and turn, but wonder
if too much moisture would build up between the egg
and carton. How many days are you in to incubation?
We are on day 8 tonight. I agree about the egg cartons, but if I were to try that I would probably cut them waaay down to get off as much of the carton as possible. I certainly wouldnt put them in a closed carton...but it could work! Putting them on something they dont roll around on would be good though...cause mine were rolling when I just had them on the wire bottom...but larger wire may not allow them to roll as much.
Mel,
Looks like you really started something here. As far as the egg cartons go,,,,,,,That's all I've used and after cutting off the tops I've had no problems. I have never seen any condensation buildup. And again, I achieve an 80% hatch rate equalling commercial ops. Maybe 20% of the time the roo just missed........lol.
There is one thing I think you could share with us is how you are candleing your eggs. This is one thing I have never done and I'm sure with all the views on this thread people would truely like to see this, including myself. You may not be able to get a picture of the egg but your setup it self would be interesting.
Another thing, if anyone here would like to share photo's of they're incubators please do. Lot's of people are interested in seeing how different they can be.
JB
Oh BTW,
I use the paper/cardboard cartons compared to the styrofoam ones.
JB
doesn't anyone have a broody bantam hen? I have a hen that would sit on eggs 24/7 364/days a year if I let her:)
Hey JB
I just use a flash light. Take some stiff thick paper(I use cardboard) and cut a hole smaller than the egg you will be candling. Place the paper/cardboard over the light and hold egg over hole opening and make sure to cover all light except what shows through egg. I think its really cool to see the little chick developing. If the egg is white and not to dark you can watch the chick even "swim" in the egg. This does not work to well with brown eggs or some other poultry. Just try It and you may be able to even see through the brown ones within the first week. You may not see a chick, but some vein netting.
Geo
Remember its best to do this in a dark place. You only want to see the light through the egg only.
OK...new expert here! Hahaha...JB, all my eggs in the bater are brown (as you can see from the pictures) the shells are also like Ft. Knox. Family always jokes that you have to get the hammer out if you want breakfast! I took a Magglight (brightest one i had) then I took a half empty roll of electric take...and taped it to the middle of the glass. Then I took a couple pieces of foil together, poked a hole out with a pen, and taped around the hole. Then put it over the tape stuck to the end of the light, and tied it with a rubberband.
I know...I know. You all are thinking "What the heck is the electric tape roll for?" Well...I will tell you. We all know an egg is not flat...it is well, egg shaped. So Now I can use the roll of take as a nice 'holder' for the egg. It forms a nice seal without pushing a curved eggshell against a flat glass surface. By doing this I was able to see very clearly into the eggs.
I then got really wild and did the same thing to a second light! Now I shine a light from both ends at the same time and my chickadees light up like the Christmas tree!
Alas...I tried to get pics...but my digital camera doesnt understand low light...so this is the best one I got. It just looks like a dark spot!
Just to give you an idea of how fast this little guy is growing...here is a pick of him two days ago. I know its just a dark spot...but you get the idea right?
Aaaaand...just since I feel like sharing pics...here is one of Bob the duck the other night when he got water-logged! OOOPS! Hahaha...dont worry. I blow dried him for two hours, and he got to sleep with a heating blanket.
Notice how he looks like he is sinking? Yeah...you ever try soaking a down pillow in water, and they ringing it dry without a spin cycle? That is what I had to deal with. About 2 liters of water came out of his down and feathers.
I did end up taking out that egg also. Since I didnt want to waste the experience I decided to open it and see what the inside looked like...WOW. It was beyond rotten. I could see the embryo that had started to develope...but it looked like it only made it to about 4 days. The smell was beyond horrible, and I am glad I took it out. Had it burst inside my bator it woudl have really been disgusting!
When I hatched mine I had 20 out of 24 eggs hatch. They were all buff orps. I never dared to open the ones that didn't hatch though. I always thought they were never fertile in the first place. I guess I was wrong.....lol. It saddens me to think the eggs were fertile and started developing and then didn't make it for what ever reason.
Keep us posted please,
JB
JB...you are going to think I am the coolest person in the world! Muahahaha...I am in the process of uploading some nice video of one of my babies. you can see him swimming around inside the egg. I will post a link to my site as soon as I have it up. :)
Melissa
OK...I posted a new thread...but in case no one is looking here is my link to the chicken video. I will get a better quality one tonight.
http://www.freewebs.com/ryanandmelissa/Embryo.wmv
You need Windows Media Player to watch it.
It sounds like all is going very well with your embryos!
I am one of those who gets sad about the interuption
of development. My hen Blanca is definately not a setter,
being a white leghorn. Currently she is my only hen, with an
Ameraucana/cross rooster, Davey. During one heavy laying
period she was laying a jumbo a day. I figured they
were fertile, but did not have an incubator for them.
Just as a learning experience, I cracked open eggs
to observe thier development. The weather was hot
and one was very developed, and I felt bad for it's loss.
I knew they would not develop properly having not been
turned and temps fluctuating so, but I had several
stages of growth I could learn from.
I was able to candle them easily placing them over a hole
cut in cardboard and shining a flashlight thru the back of the egg.
Blanca's eggs are white and large, so the degree of
low light was not a big issue. I plan a fixed maglight
arrangement for the next project, which is a small
clutch of quail eggs. I like your maglight idea, Mcamden.
Tho the camera didn't oblige, I can see the emryo in
your pictures.
I'm glad you removed the rotten egg. Storey's book
says the exploding eggs really set up a bacteria situation
in the incubator, not to mention the grossness!
Ah, the particle cardboard type cartons you use JB,
sound like a 'less moisture' environment. Congrats on
your high hatch rate. I will be happy if I get a 50% hatch
rate on the quail. It will be my first attempt on a very
small scale to see how I do. The eggs will be shipped and
I know this rough handling takes it's toll.
Well good luck with your quail! I am very excited for my first round of chicks. I am sure I am being silly....but I think the rest of mine will all make it to hatch! They are all doing so well, and the one that wasn't I kinda knew from the 3rd or 4th day. I will be excited to see what the different crosses end up looking like also! We have a Mascovy duck who I have read makes a great chick parent. We are hoping to use these babies to help integrate him to living with the chickens this spring. He is very interested in the eggs, and even tried sitting on one one day.
I can only hope! The video is not the greatest...but I am going to try to fix that tonight. I am going to take another one, and try to download the full file. This one was just cut down too far for internet and hosting purposes...but I think my website can handle a few more meg!
removed for space issues
This message was edited Aug 28, 2008 12:04 AM
I am sorry...my other half was playing with it. Try this one...it should work.
http://www.freewebs.com/1216clarke-union/thedevelopingchick.htm
The video is not phenominal...but you can certainly see the chick moving around inside.
I took a pretty good picture of "Henny Mama" aka the boss, she is the broodiest chicken in the yard:) she will sit on your lap and happy to snack out of your hand:)
Wow. I checked out the video- that is so awesome.
I'm amazed at how much they move around. I think
the interupted embryo I looked at was close to that
stage. It will be interesting to see at which point they
become 'cramped' in there.
Oh yes. I am having fun with this. I will try to do a new video of them tonight. They are at 14 days now...so one week left to go! They sure are getting big...but still have plenty of room. One of my RIR girls lays eggs that have a thinner shell, and are smaller, so I am use that one for my video. I can see the movement in all of them, but I can see every vein in the smaller one. I will try to do a higher quality video as well...and we will see how that comes across.
You might want to try a piece of cardboard with
a slightly smaller than the egg hole, and light it
from the back of the egg, resting the egg in front
of the hole on something. You may already do this,
but the vid looks like the egg was lit from the top, and
I can tell it may be easier seen with a back light?
I find the incubation process absolutely fascinating,
and I am so anxious to get my quail eggs. Hubby and
I shopped for a few doo-dads we would need, this
weekend. Woop woop! I'm going to check the post
office today!
Actually...I was lighting the egg from the top AND the bottom. I used two mag lights with foil, and hole in the center. I spent two days perfecting this to get the most light. Backlight does not work well for some reason with these eggs.
Wow, then your hen must lay some very stout shelled
eggs. Sorry, the second light source did not register
in my pea brain. I did notice that the egg is very
large. Just one week left. Your muscovy duck sounds
too cute. Foster Duck! to the recue. I look forward to
the next embrivideo!
Embrivideo! I LOVE it! Yes...our hens all lay very large eggs. In fact...we have to put most of them into Jumbo cartons...and they still dont alway close! We do have one hen who lays smaller eggs...but she is OOOOLLLLLLLDDDDDD! The funny thing is that her eggs have the tallest and brightest of the yolks though.
I am contimplating sneaking them into my work. I work in a tall cube...and while no one would see them...I wonder how much noise will register when they hatch. Since i cant take next Tuesday off...I am thinking about it!
Would they be ok to make the trip to work? I bet
everyone at work would just fall off thier chairs, then
maybe no work would get done cuz it would be just
too fun to have them at work!LOL.
I was reading in Storeys Guide to Raising Chickens
about yolk color. Seems it can be an indicator of
several things. Orange to dark yellow, green feed
yellow corn. Dark yellow, marigold petals. Medium
yellow, yellow corn, alfalfa meal. Pale yellow, white
corn or coccidiosis.(rare). I don't know much yet
about the disease, still reading.
My one current hen lays jumbos. Hubby has had
pity on her a number of times when he's seen the
eggs.
I feel sorry for a few of my hens that seem to small to lay those big eggs. We do have one huge hen that I dont think has any trouble, and she has never laid anything less then a jumbo.
I did get a new embivideo hahaha...last night...but it is not working on my site yet. I am playing around with it, and will hopefully have it up tonight. It is a much larger video...so some with the dial-up (sorry Lora) may not be able to view as well. IT does show the veins and umbilical cord VERY well though. The movement has certainly slowed down, and the chicks are occupying about 20% or a little more of the eggs now. The shell of my smallest has also developed some darker brown discoloring on the outside of the shell where the air pocket is. I just noticed this morning, but didnt have time to get a phone. Has anyone ever heard of that? I checked the chick, and he was doing fine inside.
Is it a ring around the base of the air cell?
Is it just the shell is darker, a clouded ring inside,
or is there any kind of seepage? Let me know, and
I will look at my book to check it out. If you don't hear
back til later, fret not, I have big animals to take care
of and an appt today. I will try to find out for you.
Okay, had time to look this up before taking off to
do chores: Storey's book says when candling after
the first week of incubation you will find one of three
things( I know, your's are older)
-a webbing of vessels surrounding a dark spot-the embryo
is developing properly.
-a thin ring within the egg or around the short circumference-
the embryo has died.
-nothing (or a vague yolk shadow) the embryo has died, or
the egg was infertile.
Since I am so very new to incubation, I do not know if
this is a bad sign for your emryos. I hope not! I will
check in later to see how they/you are. I check today to see
if my quail eggs have arrived.
This message was edited Jan 15, 2008 9:20 AM
All of the eggs have developed correctly, are fertilized, and are moving around well. My other half said another egg looked similar but not as dark. But it is JUST the shell. Very odd. I wonder if it has anything to do with the candling. I just used a flashlight with foil...but it is where the egg would sit on the foil that the dark areas occured. I will take a picture if it is still the same tonight...and then post.
Thanks for looking it up for me though!
It sounds like it may be due to the foil, if it is the shell
that has the color. I know when I get my foil really
hot, it gets a smokey haze on it. The book did say
"..within the ring..", and your's was outside. Whew.
That makes sense. I will look at the foil itself and see if that is it. I am sure that it is since everything else is doing well. Hopefully I can get the new video fixed when I get home...not sure what the problem is. Its amazing now much time I waste at work! There is so much more I could get done if I were at home!
So much more we could get done if we didn't work!:-0 lol
Oh yes...so I got that video to play...but it is horrible! I think my camcorder had a problem. The picture was almost cut in half...feel free to go take a look, but the quality is worse then the first video and this one is over 9meg!
http://www.freewebs.com/camden-lenaghwedding/
I spent all last night cleaning house...so tonight I can free to get a better video. I have a backup camera I can use if mine doesnt cooperate. We were able to see the beak on one of them this morning! now...THAT was cool!
removed for space issues
This message was edited Aug 28, 2008 12:05 AM
There really isnt anything to 'building' the candler. I have seen detailed instructions online before that require wood...nails...glue...etc. Oh my goodness! I took a maglight...then I took a half empty roll of electrical take and stuck it to the glass of the light...and taped it on. Then I took a couple sheets of foil, and poked a hole through the midle with a pen (perfect size). Then I tapes around the hole so it didnt expan over time, and put the foil over the end of the light and roll of tape. I stuck a rubberband around it and Whala! The roll of tape allows me to 'set' the egg in a little instead of trying to put it on a flat surface. SInce my eggs have very thick shells I did this with a second light, and shine the light from both ends. I can place the two lights on the bed (since that room is the darkest) and then put the egg in between them. They hold the egg perfectly without it falling, or me worrying about dropping it. They are due to hatch on Tuesday! So I am very excited. They are all doing fabulous as well.
I did try fixing that video, but my video editing software has a bug somewhere...so tonight I plan to uninstall it...and try to reload. Hopefully that will help.
Since you are hand turning your eggs, how often do you
turn them? Do you plan to stop turning a few days
before the hatch? Hope you get your video to work.
I would love to see them so close to hatching.