Dear God, please help .........................

[lynda66]

i mainly dry incubated, our air is moist, so chicken eggs don't need extra all the time, i only added a pot of water every 5-7 days, and then a couple of sponges at 18+ days, snadger is doing his with a bowl of water outside the incubator ..... if you look, most of the incubation websites are american, and they tend to have a drier climate than we do in the northwest

i'm itching for duckies now lol

[Snadger]

Congratulations aunty Mo! So you is going to be a mummy again?

I have the same incubator as the one you are using and aint using any water until day 18.
I have a container of water outside the inccy and the hygrometer reading inside is 35%. I tried a small container inside to see what difference it made and within an hour the reading was 65%

Took it out again for now and will replace at 18 days!

Good luck with your Wellsummmers!

[CoraxAurata]

Interestingly (for me) because Maran eggs are so dark and the colour is a coating on the ouside of the egg, the pores are apparently smaller (one of my books claims the French Maran people beleive Maran eggs won't contain salmonella 'cos the pores are too small! I have found that high humidity is too high more quickly than with other types (the moisture means the eggs can't breath) the marans breeder I bought the eggs from told me the darker the egg the harder they are too hatch, so I avoid handling them so the oils from my skin don't block the holes and use very little water until day 18 and even then i put a little in each day rather than filling one of the channels for the purpose - but then I have no Hydrometer... The welsumer has quite dark eggs too doesn't it? <g>

[frias]

Gosh, all this seems very complicated and stressful to me. I'm getting enough stress just reading about it all.

[Birdie Wife]

Me too. That's why I don't have an incubator broody is best!

[Hilary B]

My first incubator was part of a 'package deal' when a neighbour who was selling up offered me her breeding trio of turkeys and the incubator for a very reasonable price. It was a rather 'state of the art' incubator, and the humidity was controlled (although you had to play with the humidity control to find out what setting gave what humidity). Eventually there was a house fire. The replacement was VERY much less sophisiticated.....

[Snadger]

Me too. That's why I don't have an incubator. broody is best!

My sentiments exactly! Problem is all I have is hybrids at the mo which as you know have had their broodiness bred out of them.

The type of chickens I am trying to hatch in the inccy are quite prone to broodiness and apparently make good mothers?

In essence, the incubator will become redundant once I have hatched enough good mothers!

[MaureenHall]

Well the eggs are now in the incubator, and before I put them in, I dangled a chain over them (dousing or divining or something like that anyway) and according to the way the chain swung, there should be 5 boys and 7 girls (if they all hatch that is! I'm not counting them before they've hatched though ...................................... honest)

[Nicos]

How exciting!!!!...bet you can't wait!!!!

[Nicos]

The type of chickens I am trying to hatch in the inccy are quite prone to broodiness and apparently make good mothers?

Mine have so far turned out to be superb- problem is going to be getting them to lay again I reckon I've had to buy a dozen eggs this morning!
All 4 went broody within 2 weeks

[Snadger]

Well the eggs are now in the incubator, and before I put them in, I dangled a chain over them (dousing or divining or something like that anyway) and according to the way the chain swung, there should be 5 boys and 7 girls (if they all hatch that is! I'm not counting them before they've hatched though ...................................... honest)

Welcome to Disneyland Maureen!!!!Lol

[MaureenHall]

Or La-la land like another Grape?

[Flummery]

No Snadger's right. It's Disneyland because he disney know if they're boys or girls.

Coat being got as we speak!

[Nicos]

No Snadger's right. It's Disneyland because he disney know if they're boys or girls.

Coat being got as we speak!

Oh boy Flum....

[MaureenHall]

No Snadger's right. It's Disneyland because he disney know if they're boys or girls.

Coat being got as we speak!

Flum, is Lyndaritis infectious then?

I'll join you with me coat