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Author Topic: Oooh, that incubator and the failure of the power  (Read 8632 times)

Offline Cindi

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Oooh, that incubator and the failure of the power
« on: June 06, 2009, 12:37:04 pm »
Day 19 of incubation, about 60 eggs in the incubator.  Sitting by our pool, hearing an enormous boom....silence.  The birds are quiet, there is no sound of electricity.  Believe it or not, electricity makes a sound around my place, smiling.  When the power if off, the silence is beyond your wildest dreams.....

The pool pump is silent.  I know that a power failure has occurred.  It is hot outside, it is about 4 PM.  The bee house is where everything that is inanimate lives, the extra bee boxes, the tools I have (yep, I got tools!!!), to chicken foods, the straw -- and this is also where my incubator is living right now. 

We were having my Sister and her clan up for dinner, thank the lucky stars above the plan was for barbequed hamburgers.  And we ate.  We waited for the power to come back on.  Nothing.  Ten o'clock comes along, the skies are now dark, as is the house.  Time for bed.  My Husband hooks up the generator to the incubator, the bator begins again.  At 4:00 A.M. the power comes back on, the daylight is commencing, the birds are singing, the roosters crowing......the silence is gone.   That beautiful silence of my world, that is rarely ever heard.

It was an interesting event, because our power ALWAYS fails many times throughout the winter, but only in the summertime do we actually get to hear what silence is....and let me tell ya....is is a lonely thing.

The pips are expected today, it is day 21.  The last time I incubated eggs a few weeks ago, the pips began 2 hours before the EXACT day 21, going by hours.  Two hours before the exact day hours of incubation will be at 9:00 this morning....I will check, smiling.

There is concern that the embryo may have died during those hours when there was no heat.  I am pretty sure that during the last three days of hatching eggs, the mother chicken does not leave the nest.

This will be considered an experiment, and it will be a good one to have gone through.  The power had gone out during the last incubation for about 6 hours, but that was around day 12 of the incubation, the eggs were stone cold, but they still hatched well.  Time will certainly tell this tale.  I'll reply to my post here tomorrow morning to tell that tale myself, smiling.  Have the most beautiful day, to love and live our lives, health.  Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline Michael Bush

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Re: Oooh, that incubator and the failure of the power
« Reply #1 on: June 06, 2009, 01:11:35 pm »
As far along as they were and as short as the power outage was, I'd expect them to be a few hours late, but otherwise good.
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Offline Natalie

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Re: Oooh, that incubator and the failure of the power
« Reply #2 on: June 06, 2009, 01:21:32 pm »
That is my thought as well. Keeping my fingers crossed for ya.

Offline Jerrymac

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Re: Oooh, that incubator and the failure of the power
« Reply #3 on: June 06, 2009, 02:24:03 pm »
Mine are due the 9th. Some instructions I read says to take them off the turner three days before hatching, so I was taking them off this morning and there is one that is hatching and cheeping. I always seem to have early birds  :roll:
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Offline greenismycolor

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Re: Oooh, that incubator and the failure of the power
« Reply #4 on: June 06, 2009, 06:49:10 pm »
Hi Cindi
I had almost the same thing happen to me. It was a thunderstorm that caused the power to go off. Almost 8 hours, it was the day before they were to hatch. I didn't touch the incubator, holding my breath and waiting. Then the 1st pip came, and the next and the next. All in all it was a pretty good hatch considering. I got about 75% chicks. I hope you have good luck too! Keep us posted.

patti
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Offline Cindi

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Re: Oooh, that incubator and the failure of the power
« Reply #5 on: June 07, 2009, 12:07:12 pm »
The hatch is beginning.  A day late, but this morning there are three out of their shells, just.  Still moist and ugileeeee.  I have white crested polish in the amongst the jersey black giants, araucanas, and golden laced wyandottes.  The first to come out was the polish, it looks rather strange I would say, smiling, the other two are araucanas.

I set 10 araucana eggs under my hen that went broody yesterday.  My girlfriend gave me the eggs, she needed something to sit on, not duck eggs.  She chose the duck eggs that were in a mighty big clutch of 17.  The duck hasn't gone broody yet, so I guess she thought she would hatch them out for her, smiling.

Going away for three days, to come back Wednesday.  My Sister will look after the farm, it is nice to have her here, she knows all the routines.  Beautiful days, to love and live, health.  Cindi

There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline JP

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Re: Oooh, that incubator and the failure of the power
« Reply #6 on: June 07, 2009, 12:23:37 pm »
Sorry about the outtage Cindi, but I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the muscovy I snatched from ya right before I tripped your breaker. That's some fine meat!

Next time I go to Bud's I'm going back in for another one of those delicious ducks, feed up good for me now so Bud and I have extra sopping sauce with his world famous sourdough Texas toast!


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Offline Cindi

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Re: Oooh, that incubator and the failure of the power
« Reply #7 on: June 11, 2009, 11:09:31 am »
JP, oh you brat!!!  Now you've been sneaking in, snatching up my Muscovy ducks, eating them, tripping the breaker, and now you got Whoppo somehow into your avitar, you that King o' Brats for surely!!!  If Whoppo could only see you now, he'd be a pinchin' onto your calf, holding on for dear life, as you try to fling him off to release that grip, and with no luck, smiling, you'd get that bruise of a lifetime, hee, hee, that evil smile.

Sometimes, gotta wonder what people may think when they read our posts.  Guess I should elaborate just a little, and say to all that this is just joshing between you and me.  AND.....JP, BRAT!!!  leave my ducks alone, you never know when Sir Drake is just plain and simply, gonna get you when you try to raid my duck pen in the middle of the night, flying through cyberspace to get here, in your mind's eye, smiling.  Love you JP!!!  Have that beautiful day, to love and live, to find how much our life really means to us all, chin's up, bright days, peace  (as I have heard Annette say) and health.  Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline Kathyp

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Re: Oooh, that incubator and the failure of the power
« Reply #8 on: June 11, 2009, 11:15:51 am »
when i left my folks place on Sunday, my mom had set up an incubator in the kitchen.  i don't know what she's up to now.  something about snatching eggs from under two hens that were fighting over the nest.  hard to tell with my father fussing about his breakfast spot being taken by livestock, and my mother shooing him out of the kitchen with his cereal.

anyway....made me think of you guys..... :-D
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Offline Cindi

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Re: Oooh, that incubator and the failure of the power
« Reply #9 on: June 11, 2009, 11:25:31 am »
Oh Kathy, that was really funny, I picture your poor Father, kicked right out of his spot at the table by livestock, smiling.  Priorities, smiling, beautiful, I loved to hear that thing, talk to you later.  Have that wonderful and most beautiful day, lovin', livin' life, health.  Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline Brian D. Bray

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Re: Oooh, that incubator and the failure of the power
« Reply #10 on: June 12, 2009, 02:08:07 am »
Drunk drivers and power poles have a knack for disrupting incubators, I've lost 2 clutches of eggs that way.  That's why I decided to put solar power in my new chicken house.  All the lights and an inverter to run the incubator will will operate off the solar panels.  I still have to install the panels yet, but that's the last thing on my list.  This week is paint and trim, next weeks is the solar installaton.
No more power failures with a full incubator for me.
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Offline Cindi

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Re: Oooh, that incubator and the failure of the power
« Reply #11 on: June 13, 2009, 01:52:09 pm »
Brian, a wise man you are, solar panels are never-fail, that is good.

So, the hatch went remarkably well.  Despite the power outage the hatch was great, only 20 of the 71 were failures.  The hatch would appear that it was a day and a half late.  I have 51 new chicks, a muddle of Polish, Jersey Black Giant, Araucanas and Golden Laced Wyandottes.  They are very cute and are now 5 days old and having the time of their life.  I was very pleased, seems that I am getting the incubating knack down pretty pat, I am grateful for that.

Sissy, my Muscovy duck was sitting on 17 eggs.  As it turned out, 17 is too many.  We have had 100% hatches with the Muscovy ducks when they sit on 13 or 14, that three extra was just too much.  Nine of the 17 hatched and are booming.  The other eight were duds, and I mean duds.  Rotten to the core.  When I peaked into the nest when Sissy got off for a break, I took a bucket with me in case their were dud eggs.  Yep, yep.  The stench was overwhelming.  I felt horrible and wondered how on earth the baby ducklings and her could have stood the smell.  Maybe they don't perceive scents as the human nose does.  I took the stinking eggs out, one had broken and messed up the straw and feathers a bit, I pulled that out too.  She came back on the nest and was happy as happy could be.  She told me, smiling.  That is it for babies for now.  There is several other ducks that will probably go broody, their time will come.

 Enjoy the pictures, and have that wonderful day, to love and live, health.  Cindi



Muscovy duck Sissy's clutch



Just a cute picture of the Cochin chickens bending over to eat at the same dish



If a rooster could talk, he'd be saying "what?"



And, oh look, Ivan, the Light Brahma rooster is finally getting some bumps on his legs that will one day turn into those pointy spurs





Sometimes he likes to take a break and rest inside a nest box, he does work really hard all day long, smiling



There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline JP

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Re: Oooh, that incubator and the failure of the power
« Reply #12 on: June 13, 2009, 04:16:44 pm »
Whom would ever think that chicken butts would be that cute? Great pictures Cindi!


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Offline annette

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Re: Oooh, that incubator and the failure of the power
« Reply #13 on: June 13, 2009, 11:41:13 pm »
Everything that Cindi does is ""Cute"".  I also just love these photos and because I know how much you love these little creatures, and how much time and energy you put into them.


Offline Cindi

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Re: Oooh, that incubator and the failure of the power
« Reply #14 on: June 15, 2009, 10:35:01 am »
Annette, you say such cute things, smiling.

I have lost 8 polish chicks.  My chicken friend who I got the eggs from told me that the polish are a really slow to get going chick, almost like they are a weak breed.  I agree.  They just simply didn't take off.  Maybe I made the mistake thinking that they could get going themselves.  When you get baby chicks in the mail, for example, you must teach them to drink water by dipping their beaks.  I have never done this with incubated chicks, but maybe I should have.  They have always watched each other and have learned very quickly to eat and drink.  I think because they were a smaller chick, they just didn't have a chance.  Oh well, I have four left.  I don't think I want anything to do with this breed because they are obviously not strong and hardy, don't want that bother.  I may keep these four though, until a little older, they are expensive birds, $25 each as grown.   But I will probably sell them as month olds, time will tell, just not sure if I want them as mine, I actually don't think so.  The other chicks are doing GREAT!!!
 
Ken and I put the cochin family, barred rocks, etc. (the three month old chicks) in with the other chickens last night.  What a process to get them all into a new home.  Felt kind of bad, they wanted to go in their old house, but that is where we have the month old chicks and the week old chicks.  THey need their own little baby space.  We had built a new roost especially for them.  When all was said and done, they all roosted on their new roost, but they just didn't quite get that they had to move, it was quite an ordeal.  We also moved Sissy (the Muscovy duck) and her 9 new babies into the end coop, where Micky is brooding on 10 araucana eggs (blue egg layers).  That way she does not contend with all the chickens running over her babies.  Yesterday morning (thank my lucky stars Ken came out to help me) we went to let the chickens out and the couple-of-day-old Muscovy babies ran out first, with Sissy (the mother) in the lead, we had to keep the other chickens from running them over.  As it was Ivan stepped on one and booted one rolling away, in his hurry to get out, they have no patience when the door opens, smiling.  I think they are so soft that no damage was done, so that was good.  But a worry that I don't want also to bother with.  So they went into there, Micky’s brood pen.  It will be their home until the babies are large and can join the older duckling clans.  BUT....Sissy was very annoyed  and didn't want to be caged in there last night.  I couldn't believe what I saw her do.  She grabbed on with her Muscovy hooks that are on the end of her feet and climbed right up the wire outside wall all the way to the ceiling, then fell off onto the ground, she almost squished one of her babies.  JP, watch out!!!  THey can be nasty with those hooks, trust me, been there, done that, got some good gashes one time.....smiling that evil smile....She did this twice before she finally settled down.  I know the hooks are strong and sharp, but I never would have believed, if I hadn't seen it with my eyes, that she could climb 8 feet straight up a wire (poultry wire) wall, unfrickin' believable!!!  The babies have little hooks on the end of their feet, and can glomb onto anything.  I have seen that too, and have bore witness to that when picking them up, very sharp.  The babies can jump about 8 inches at birth and can grab onto stuff to pull themselves up, Mother Nature is very amazing.  She took them outside yesterday for the first time.  And they went EVERYWHERE, in the pond, up the driveway, in the field, infront of the apiary, everywhere, eating, and eating and eating.  I was watching them in the pond and they were eating stuff in there too.  Who knows what, but stuff, probably bugs that were so small I couldn't see them.  You know I have read that people "employ" Muscovy ducks for fly control (probably other type of bug controls too) around barnyards.  Weird eh?  It was funny, she was showing the babies how to eat the baby food that they have in their baby pen.  She would pretend to eat the stuff with her mouth very wide open and do this over and over, they got the knack of it pretty quickly.  The first time that I knew of that they actually ate the starter crumbles, and they were hungry.  Guess bugs just aren't enough for them, smiling.

A little country farmland story, to tell how things are, smiling.  Have that wonderful and most awesome day, to love and live, share, and great health.  Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline Natalie

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Re: Oooh, that incubator and the failure of the power
« Reply #15 on: June 15, 2009, 10:49:02 am »
Sorry to hear about the polish chicks Cindi. I don't raise the polish so I don't know about them being a weaker breed or anything but I have never heard of it.
I have always dipped all my incubated chicks' beaks in the water as I move them into the brooder, I don't know whether they will learn from each other or not but I just do it as I go along to be on the safe side.
Are these polish bantams? Bantam chicks are so tiny compared to regular chicks its crazy.
I hatched some bantams along with my standards once and I couldn't believe how small some of them were, they were no bigger than cotton balls and were the cutest little things.
They were also unbelievably loud.
I don't do bantams anymore though outside of my daughter's silkies.
I worry about them too much around the bigger chickens and I need the bigger eggs for my customers.
Those little banty eggs are cute for pickling though.
That is nuts about the duck's being able to climb like that, I never knew they had hooks on their feet.

Offline Cindi

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Re: Oooh, that incubator and the failure of the power
« Reply #16 on: June 15, 2009, 11:05:30 am »
Natalie, lessons learned.  No more incubation for me this year, but next year, I will remember to dip the beaks.  I just have never done it with all other incubations, and they all seemed fine.  Perhaps I would have even stronger chicks if I do dip beaks.

Hmmmm.  Bantam Polish.  Not sure.  I will ask my pal.  I saw her Polish, they are the white crested blacks.  THey seemed like they were an average size, smaller than the "regular" red layers, but not really that small.  I don't think they are bantam, come to think of it.  The eggs were of a bit smaller size than my brown regulars, so perhaps they are the bantam.  I will find out when I speak with her.  The Polish chicks in the clutch are not that much smaller than the others, so who knows.  Beautiful days, to love and live, health.  Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline Brian D. Bray

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Re: Oooh, that incubator and the failure of the power
« Reply #17 on: June 18, 2009, 03:09:07 am »
Got my solar power in the chicken house installed today.  Now I'm aching to try out the incubator.  I plugged the incubator and turner into the power inverter to test it out and things worked as well as hoped.

I've got too many chickens and turkeys right now so my wife would go balistic if I started the incubator.  All chicken housing is full.  Need to butcher some to make room.
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Offline Cindi

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Re: Oooh, that incubator and the failure of the power
« Reply #18 on: June 19, 2009, 11:18:14 am »
Brian, oh that is funny.  I picture your Wife freakin' out at you, and you just shakin' your head, she is very tolerant of your antics, hee, hee and smiling.  I remember you saying that she is that city gal -- and the things that you do on your little homestead, in the middle of that subdivision, well, no wonder she shakes her head at ya, smiling.  I love what you do at your place, I love all the animals and critters, I love that thing.  Do you still have the billy?  Bet he is beginning to really smell badly these days, as the rutting season must be coming nigh high now.

Ready a nice bird for her to cook for dinner, she will be happy that you keep your own stock, smiling.  Why don't you get one of your kids to take some pictures of your new barns and such for us -- then we could really see what you have been up to, not just having to use our imagination.  I would love to see some.  Can you do that?  Pleeeeeeeeeze?  Have the most wonderful day, to love and live, groove on life and health.  Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

 

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