The Official Forum of the Ameraucana Breeders Club > Housing, Health & Hatching
Preparing incubators for hatching
Don:
Not that I'm there yet, but I am beginning to think about a new hatch year. Last year was a bad year with extremely poor hatches for us. So what process can you share about how you get your birds and incubators ready for this new year?
Mike Gilbert:
Don, I'm no incubation expert, but the best things you can do for your breeder flock to ensure they are not the problem are these. Make sure they are on a complete breeder ration for at least a month before saving hatching eggs. Don't give them "treats" as that diminishes the effectiveness of the feed by diluting it. Make sure they have no issues with internal and external parasites. Make sure your pens are kept clean and dry. I use a water soluble vitamin and electrolyte supplement. Maybe others would like to chime in here as well.
Birdcrazy:
I agree with Mike. I think a lot of hatching problems stem from flock maintenance, not the incubators. As far as the incubators and hatchers go, I start with a thorough cleaning with Tek-Trol disinfectant solution. I usually run the incubators and hatchers for a couple of days to check for constant temperature and humidity and see that the egg turners are operating properly. If not, its maintenance time for heat elements, thermostats, motors etc. I try to have spare parts on stock at all times. Nothing worse than having a part go
out 2 weeks into a hatch cycle. With the Hatcher available I can transfer eggs and keep them warm while I make repairs and get back in business.
Don:
Thanks Gordan and Mike for the info. I am working to add to the protein level in the feed available in our area. There are game bird feeds that provide 20-28 % protein. Unfortunately they are pricey $ 16-18. /50# and they do not include any animal products, only grain. Most of the mills that produce poultry feeds don't want to handle animal products because of potential cross contamination. I do have a single source of mash that includes poultry protein but I will have to include additional protein in one form or another. Last year I used more soymeal but I'm going to look at other sources.
Another of the members was able to get a good hatch from our eggs last year and we had a couple hens that had great hatches. So I suspect we had an incubator issue. I did use Clorox and oxine to clean the unit twice but no change. I did get a bottle of tektrol but was hesitant after reading the cautions on the label. Gordon, did you put the unit outside while using this product? What procedures worked best for you?
John:
Also check out this topic from 2012. Tek-Trol is discussed.
http://ameraucana.org/forum/index.php?topic=1704.15
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