# 3rd Hatch Set



## twentynine

Yep! That's right, I'm on the way to my 3rd of the year.

41 eggs set.

22 black sexlinks
19 Rhode Island reds

2nd hatch 27 black sexlinks are in the hatcher right now, due to bust out Monday the 25th.


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## robopetz

Your addicted too? Isn't it soo much fun. Lol


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## twentynine

1st hatch sold quick.

I procrastinated on saving eggs for the second hatch, so I'm trying to catch up. Have a waiting list for BSLs.


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## robopetz

Oh, I hatch for fun. I just give away what I can't keep.


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## twentynine

And 4th hatch set today!

22 BSLs
19 RIRs 

Looking for a March 19th hatch.

3rd hatch is set for a March 15th hatch.


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## twentynine

robopetz said:


> Oh, I hatch for fun. I just give away what I can't keep.


I never fool myself. I don't believe I have ever made feed cost. 
The sales are simply to reduce some of the expenses. $150-$200 worth of animal feeds a month, I might get $60 a month in chick sales.


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## robopetz

And for the fun of it. Lol you must have a big incubator.


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## twentynine

I have two homemades.

One a simple plywood box with wire shelves, the second a small converted fridge. I can do 82 in the fridge at one time, then up to 5 dozen in the box. I use little giant egg turners that hold 41 eggs. Currently I have 2 turners, so for a practical reasoning I am turner limited on egg capacity. 

The box can hatch 5 dozen if I use cartons but its a real pain to turn eggs for 18 days.


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## twentynine

I must have jinxed it.

Got home last evening. Incubator #1 tem reading 84*. Well naturally I remained composed, whilst running around cursing, fuming, and other karma neutral, activities. Thought for a momment grabbed the thermometer out of incubator #2, put it in #1, let it sit for 30 long minutes. 99.9*. Thermometer was broke. Ran out to the new petsmart, got me a vet meds, reptile digital thermometer $9.95. Comes with a remote sensor. I'm pleased as punch. Put both thermometers in the same incubator, after 30 minutes they were within .5* 
That's good in my book.


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## robopetz

What a scare. I'm glad all turned out well. My silkie and polish are due tomorrow.


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## Energyvet

I love those reptile thermometers. I have one in each bedroom as it will give temp and humidity too. My son has a piano and woodwinds and so we need to keep humidity at like 40-50%. And they last for years. Good science by the way. If you don't like the result, repeat the test.


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## 513

robopetz said:


> What a scare. I'm glad all turned out well. My silkie and polish are due tomorrow.


Any news yet? Getting excited for you!


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## robopetz

Thanks for thinking of me. I woke up to check and I have one pip and heard a peep from the polish. Yay, as that's the one I was really rooting for.


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## twentynine

Harch 3 10 day candling

Pulled 
4 black sexlinks and 2 rhode island red eggs

eggs remaining
19 BSLs
17 RIRs
36 total eggs.


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## twentynine

Hatch 4, 10 day candling

started with 22 black sexlinks, 19 rhode island reds.

Removed 6 eggs, 5 black sexlinks and 1 rhode island reds.

total remaining 

17 black sexlinks
18 rhode island reds


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## robopetz

Not bad, halfway there.


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## twentynine

I bought a 2nd reptile thermometer yesterday. 

I put both thermometers in the same incubator with the sensors tied together. 24 hours later I have .2*f difference in the 2 thermometers. 

I think I have found the answer to my search for an accurate thermometer.


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## twentynine

Hatch 3 lockdown!

Pulled 1 BSL egg.

18 BSLs 
17 RIRs remaining


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## twentynine

Hatching now!

6 out!


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## 513

Fantastic! Remember those pics!


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## piglett

twentynine said:


> I never fool myself. I don't believe I have ever made feed cost.
> The sales are simply to reduce some of the expenses. $150-$200 worth of animal feeds a month, I might get $60 a month in chick sales.


 how much are you charging?
here in the north east i am chaging $5 each for straight run buff orpingtons or silkies. those sexlinks would probably bring as much as $6 each as soon as they were fluffed up in the bator.

piglett


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## piglett

twentynine said:


> I bought a 2nd reptile thermometer yesterday.
> 
> I put both thermometers in the same incubator with the sensors tied together. 24 hours later I have .2*f difference in the 2 thermometers.
> 
> I think I have found the answer to my search for an accurate thermometer.


 may i ask what brand thermomerter you have?
i need something for my 2nd bator that i just got.

thanks
piglett


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## twentynine

piglett said:


> may i ask what brand thermomerter you have?
> i need something for my 2nd bator that i just got.
> 
> thanks
> piglett


Brand is Zoo Med from Petsmart. It may be a proprietary Petsmart brand for all I know. Cost was either $10.99 or $9.99.


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## twentynine

piglett said:


> how much are you charging?
> here in the north east i am chaging $5 each for straight run buff orpingtons or silkies. those sexlinks would probably bring as much as $6 each as soon as they were fluffed up in the bator.
> 
> piglett


Have mercy! At $5 each I think I could pay for feed with pittance left over.

Straight run day old Rhode Island reds, $2.50. As they get older if I still have'm I get a little more. Until they reach 4 weeks, at that point I can sex them with 95% certainty, so the price jumps to $7.

Black sexlinks day old pullets $3 and I throw in a few cockerals as lanappe. Same deal if I brood them any length of time the price goes up.

Around here every feed store in the parish sells a wide selection of day old chicks straight run $2, pullets $3. They sell the chicks at a loss so the buyers will get feed, feeders, waterers from them. No real way to compete. So I simply keep my business at a hobby level.


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## twentynine

I think they are about finished.

Small hatch this go a round.

14 BSLs
11 RIRs 

For a total of 25.

41 eggs started, 35 made lockdown 25 live hatches that's a 60% hatch rate. I consider that unsatisfactory. Possible causes, we had a 4 hour power failure one evening, I was a work so I could not start back up generator. Still I would have thought core temp of the eggs would not have dropped much.


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## twentynine

Hatch 4 still cooking. 34 eggs going into lockdown tomorrow morning. 

I am going to try an experiment with these 2 hatches I am going to attempt to brood them together. With only 4 days seperating hatches I'm thinking it should be ok.


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## 513

twentynine said:


> Hatch 4 still cooking. 34 eggs going into lockdown tomorrow morning.
> 
> I am going to try an experiment with these 2 hatches I am going to attempt to brood them together. With only 4 days seperating hatches I'm thinking it should be ok.


Let me know how you get on. Interested to see how it goes. Good luck with this hatch!


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## twentynine

Hatch 4 is locked down with 34 eggs. Should start hatching in the morning.


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## piglett

twentynine said:


> Hatch 4 still cooking. 34 eggs going into lockdown tomorrow morning.
> 
> I am going to try an experiment with these 2 hatches I am going to attempt to brood them together. With only 4 days seperating hatches I'm thinking it should be ok.


as long as the 2nd batch is all fluffed up good they sould be fine
infact the older group will teach the younger ones about what feed & water is & where to find both.


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## twentynine

piglett said:


> as long as the 2nd batch is all fluffed up good they sould be fine
> infact the older group will teach the younger ones about what feed & water is & where to find both.


That's what I'm hoping for.


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## twentynine

Well hatch 4 is having problems! Peak hatch should have been last night. So far only 2 BSLs out and maybe 8 pips. Rest of everything else is just sitting there.
Going to keep hoping, but it is completely out of pattern.


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## piglett

twentynine said:


> Well hatch 4 is having problems! Peak hatch should have been last night. So far only 2 BSLs out and maybe 8 pips. Rest of everything else is just sitting there.
> Going to keep hoping, but it is completely out of pattern.


 the bator might have runa little cooler so the hatch time is a little later?


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## 513

Fingers crossed for you 

Xxxx


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## twentynine

Ok!

Been a busy few days.

Final report on hatch 4.

51% hatch rate.

7 rhode island reds
14 black sexlinks, (9 cockerals, 5 pullets)

And yes I believe the temperature ran low for a few days. I had thermometer issues day 9 through day 13. My thermometer had failed, I continued to view the temp reading as valid, causing me to turn the thermostat down. After a few days when I became suspicious of the thermometer and I double checked it with a second thermometer the actual incubator temp was 97.5*. I believe this is the reason for the delayed hatch and the low hatch rate.

Good news is all rhode island reds and black sexlink pullets have been sold. I need to figure a way to develope a market for black sexlink cockerals. My freezer is full.
I have given them away as lannaippe to chicken buyers, I have grown them out for my table, (this next one is going to get me some fans) I have tried to sell them to reptile growers to be used as feed for large snakes. Nothing has worked. I presently have 25 of things in the brooder.


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