Where in California are you?

I'm willing to donate mixed breed eggs from my southern California backyard flock of chickens, if you want them--but there would be some mutts in there. :)

Pics of my flock are here, on my site:

http://jackshenhouse.com/VSChickMeetMyFlock.htm

The Norco, Corona and Temecula areas in southern CA are likely prospects for eggs, also. If I think of any actual hatcheries around, I'll post.

Velvet ~:>

Also, what would become of the birds after the science fair?

Velvet ~:>

me and my partner for the science fair will probably keep the birds or give them to friends... and thank you so much i will definitely check your site!!

wow you have so many! cutie is absolutely adorable and i love her coloring!!
how big are your chickens and whats the smallest and/or largest youve gotten?

Do you mind if I inquire as to how old you are and what you are planning on testing?

I would be glad to send you some Pure Seramas, American Phoenix (Silver, BBR, Golden), Silkies, Old English eggs. These are all bantam varieties. When would you need them, how many, what breeds?

Are you in 4-H and if not would you like to join? It is a good information source from others that know how and some that are learning how to care for poultry and other animals. 4-H does not only deal with animals but with all kinds of things, arts, crafts, sewing, charity work with the elderly, disables and disadvantage individuals. It is a good thing to have on your Collage applications, too.

Sorry, sounds like an ad.'LOL'

You can E-mail me a vwseramas@mei.net

Brendan_of_bonsai ~
i am 13 years old. me and my partner are testing which egg hatches fastest, nothing more.
Seramas ~
i would like to have a set of 4 eggs. is there anyway you can check that they'll hatch before you send them? im not sure of the actual date quite yet that i wil need them. and im going to research breeds and talk to my partner about it today. how long do you think it would take from there to here, shipping?

also, can anyone recommend where i can buy an incubator that holds 2 duck eggs, 2 chicken eggs, and 2 quail eggs?

That sounds like a fine science fair project to me. Goodluck.

You might need veterinarian approval to do this project.

Many of the feed stores have them. I recommend the TURN-X TX8 Incubator for your application, they are the best-especially for the beginner. There is an auto turner for them (this feature almost doubles the price) that eliminate having to turn the eggs. They are in the $160 to $175 price range but are very dependable. The cheaper Styrofoam ones have problems maintaining humidity level for the beginner.

If the price is too much contact your County Agriculture Cooperative Extension Office (CACEO), may times they will rent them to teachers/students. Also your local 4-H leaders can be quite helpful with any problems you may have and they can be contacted through the CACEO.

Good Luck

Here is a link that might be useful: TURN-X TX8 Incubator

I will 1-day express them for free.

seramas, Do you incubate your seramas eggs in a regular incubator or do you have a special one because they are so small?

I have special 900 egg incubators that I made. Am getting new ones that are 100% electronically temp/humidity controlled. Also turns the eggs but they lay on their sides like eggs normally do. They are very expensive but will be worth it.

When it comes to the size of the eggs the incubator's size doesn't matter. It is the precision of Temp/humidity control that is most important-how well it ensures the conditions are the same through out the whole incubator. Many of the cheaper one are good for hatching in the center of the incubator-but a well designed one is consistent through out the entire area.

sydalicious, are you in northern or southern CA? If you are in so. CA and I could bring you some eggs, that way they'd be more reliable than shipped eggs (shipped eggs have a lower hatching rate). Or you could pick them up, whichever you'd prefer and would be more comfortable with--be safe online when meeting strangers and all that!!

If you plan on putting them all in one incubator, you might run into a problem. I don't know for sure, but each type of egg--duck, chicken and quail--may require different levels of humidity, I DO know they have different 'number of days to hatch'. Anyone know the answer to this? I'm too rushed right now to Google it. :)

If they DO require different humidity levels, and you still want to do all three, you might try those little 2-3 eggs incubators--search online to find them. I have no idea how reliable they are, however. I use a Little Giant still air tabletop styrofoam incubator, it holds around 50 chicken eggs.

seramas, you are too goodhearted for words. :)

brendan, I'm curious, why would a vet's approval be required to hatch eggs?

Velvet ~:>

Depending on the regulations surrounding the science fair any experiment that involves animals (especially vertebrates) might need a vets approval. I have no doubt that he would get it, he just needs it.

Seramas ~
unfortunately, $160 is a little pricey for a small project. i found this link, but im not sure how reliable they are. im just looking for the simple incubators that little 1st graders use in class, that type of thing.
http://www.hometrainingtools.com/catalog/life-science-biology/animals/cat_quail-eggs-incubators.html

Brendan ~
i dont think i need a vet approval because my science teacher has to give us permission to do the project even before anything else, so i think that would be all the permission thats needed.

Velvet ~
on the instructions for the project it says that this person found an incubator that could satisfy the needs of each specie, but i will google it anyway. :) also, you say you use a styrofoam incubator but seramas says they are unreliable... plus, i am in So. Cal. i dont think you coming here would be the best idea but maybe i could pick them up with my mom? depending on where you live and things liike that. also, how big do you chickens get??

EVERYONE ~
please keep in mind that my partner needs an incubator too, so it should be cheap enough and still be usable. i also need duck eggs if anyone knows where i can get some...

Do you have a Feed Mill anywhere close. Try putting up a notice on their board. People coming for chicken feed may be able to spare some eggs.

I lone the Automatic Turning #RX-2 Electric Incubators to the local school teachers last year I had 10 and could have used 5 more. This year I've 18 of them and still not enough.

Any incubator will work but you may not get the 100% hatch you are trying for. Don't open unless it is to turn the eggs or add water. Be sure to place your Thermometer/Hydrometer where they can be read easily without opening the incubator. Adjust your temperature a day or two before adding the eggs. Do not place incubator near windows (sunlight will increase the internal temperature and reduce the humidity) and/or an outside door/wall during cold weather. Indoor temperature should not fluctuate more than +/- 5 degrees F.

Duck eggs should be incubated separate for chicken and Quail. Incubation periods are different for each specie.

Ducks information from my notes:

Humidity consistency is very important. I've always mist the eggs after turning them starting about the 8Th day. According to my notes the humidity was 85% & Temp 99.5F from day 1 to day 25 there after increase humidity to 95% and drop temp to 98.5F for the last 3 days. Turn the eggs 3 x day first week, then 5 x day second week, then 7 x day to day 25-finish the last 3 days without turning.
When you candle the eggs at 28 days, you should be able to see 3/5Th dark 2/5 should appear light. The dark side should have an irregular shape and the bill should be pointing up into the lighter side. You should be able to see movement and hear peeping.

Quail:

Depends on the Breed. Incubation periods range from 17 to 23 days depending on the specie.

Chickens:

Depending on the consistency of temperatures/humidity is 19 to 21 days (some have even hatched at 24 days due to big swings in incubator temperatures.

brendan, that's interesting, I didn't know that! I wonder if it varies from state to state, county to county, etc. My daughter will be in 5th grade next year and will be doing the science fair thing, and I'm wondering if she'll want to do eggs/chicks. I'll have to find out if it's OK, thanks for the head's up!

sydalicious: you and your mom are certainly welcome to pick the eggs up, my daughter and I could meet you guys somewhere like a public park or something if you want. I'm a mom myself, so I know I'd want my daughter to be careful. Be safe when meeting strangers! :) I'm on the edge of Los Angeles and Orange Counties, if you email me privately (see the link to my chicken info site below, my email addy is there) we can discuss it further:

http://jackshenhouse.com/

My local feed store has both duck AND quail eggs for sale, I can bring some along if you want. I just called them and they say their eggs are fertile. I can offer both standard size and bantam eggs from my flock, although I've found that my banty eggs have a better fertility rate than my big girls do--I have to have a little talk with Phoenix, my big roo...

I'd lend you my incubators, but I've starting my own batch of eggs tomorrow so they'll be in use. :( Here's what mine look like, they run about $45.00 or so:

http://www.hotshotproducts.com/page/1/Product-Detail.jsp?groupId=307&prodId=33611

And yes, the styrofoam incubators can be iffy--but they are the model that is usually within the price range of most casual hobbyists. I even shelled out the money for an automatic egg turner unit, and got an even WORSE hatch rate, so I went back to turning the eggs three times a day by hand. I DID invest in a good hygrometer and digital thermometer last year, and saw an improvement in the hatch rate. I have a friend on another forum that had a power outage the last three days of her hatch and so no power to the incubator...so she kept the 4 Silkie eggs she was trying to hatch in her bra! One hatched, believe it or not! Of course, NOTHING beats Mother Nature, hens work best!

Have you looked into borrowing incubators from local 4H, agricultural colleges, schools, etc.?

As for chicken size, bantams are small--they average a pound or so. Standard birds weigh about 4-6 pounds. Depends on the breeds, of course. My chicken site has tons of pics of my birds so you can kind see how big they are.

Where ever you get your eggs, FRESH eggs will have the best hatch rate, so don't get eggs and then try and hatch them weeks later--get them just before you are ready to go.

Velvet ~:>

sydalicious: I'm an IDIOT. My local feed store has chicken, quail and duck eggs for sale, all fertile, if you want to skip the whole 'meeting strangers' thing. :) Here is their address--but they say GET THERE FIRST THING IN THE MORNING if you want eggs--they have people waiting at the door when they open to purchase their eggs and cannot guarantee you eggs otherwise. Here's their info:

Blacksmith's Corner
17647 Lakewood Blvd.
Bellflower, CA
(562) 531-0386
Near the 605 & 91 freeway interchange, Off the 91 freeway and Lakewood, big red building with a huge white rabbit on the roof!
Open 9-6 Mon.-Sat., open Sunday too (call them and check their hours though). Look for Scooter, their pet banty roo hanging around--he's a cutey.

They are an old-timey feed store, with lots of stuff (incubators!) and animals--check out their poultry in the back to see where your eggs are coming from. :)

Of course, you are still welcome to some of my eggs if you want, I could even meet you there. Whatever you want. Heck, I'm there all the time anyway! Come to think of it, they are getting in baby chicks soon--! :)

Velvet ~:>

thank you all so much these tips are amazing!
Seramas ~
thanks for the tips on the duck eggs. when you say the indoor temperature shouldnt fluctuate, do you mean the temp of the room im keeping them in? also, is there a specific reason as to why they cant be incubated with the chicken and quail? that is the point of the experiment. if they cant i understand, just wondering why. lastly, how do you "turn" eggs? how much do you turn them and why do you need to do it in the first place? i wont be able to turn them 3x a day, definitely not 5 or 7x a day because of school. does the turning have to occur at equal intervals? or can i just turn them maybe twice in the morning and them 3x during the afternoon when im home from school?

Velvet ~
thanks so much sounds great. i will talk to my mom about it but we might have found a place right in our neighborhood.. ish. haha well i will still talk to her about meeting you for the quail and duck eggs. if we do end up getting some of your chicken eggs though, i think the bantam would be most appropriate. and since you say they have a better hatch rate that would be the better choice anyway. and definitely no worries about the incubators, i will find some. the link you sent seems like such a good incubator. unfortunately it doesnt say the price... and i might ask if i can borrow from my little brother's school.

ONCE AGAIN thank you all so much these tips are so helpful! im so gratefulllll. :D

thank you so much i will definitely check it out! i will talk to my mom aghhh thank you all sooo much these tips were much needed!!!!!!

Wow, turning duck eggs SEVEN times a day?! Are duck mamas on crack, or something?! *L*

sydalicious, follow the instructions for your particular incubator + type of egg. Yes, eggs MUST be turned. You just reach in and GENTLY rotate the egg to turn them. Chicken eggs should be turned at least twice a day, at about the same time each day (say, 8AM and 8PM). I've found I get a better hatch when turning the eggs THREE times a day--I just turn mine at 8AM, 2PM and 8PM (like chicken mamas, I get to sleep at night!). Here's a link to my chicken site section on how I hatch eggs, it includes turning instructions and a pic of the egg turning chart I use:

http://jackshenhouse.com/VSChickHensBroodiesChicks.htm

The penciled X and O marks on your eggs are important, so you can tell if you've turned them or not. :) Also, if the incubator gets bumped you can tell at a glance which side should be 'up'. They also come in handy at hatch time, to help you see if the eggs are moving.

Here are what my incubators look like, the black thing on the right is a webcam pointed through the viewing port:
{{gwi:36722}}

I just post my egg turning chart on the wall next to the 'bators:
{{gwi:36723}}

Loaded and ready to go:
{{gwi:36724}}
The red numbers I put on there last year during our Chickam webcast, so friends could cheer on a particular egg. :) No, I didn't use that old thermometer that you see, I used a digital one.

Now: This bears saying--don't be heartbroken if you get little to no hatching, or if the chicks hatch but then don't make it. Hatching eggs seems pretty easy, but there are all sorts of ways things can go wrong when humans do it. If they don't make it, don't beat yourself up about it. Read all you can about incubation, talk to people on forum, learn all you can so you are prepared.

Make sure and have a brooder box ready and waiting for them after the hatch, and keep your quail, chicks and ducks separate--tiny quail can get trampled. Also, baby ducks do NOT need water enough to swim in right away, it takes a certain number of days for them to start producing and get their feathers coated with the body oil they make that repels water. Also, baby chicks and quail can easily drown in water dishes, so take care.

That said, hatching chicks is VERY exciting and fun. Have a great time! :)

Velvet ~:>

I havn't read all the posts, but in case someone hasn't mentioned it, duck eggs take longer than chicken eggs, and the humidity needs to be higher. I can't really remember the details, hopefully one of the others has touched on this. They certainly keep better notes than me.
Brendasue

I keep very detailed records on all my birds and incubation process, this enables me to get the optimum hatches. When I breed wood ducks for release every eggs was important. The instruction I gave are the from my notes of 20 years ago. When doing it this way I had 98.2% success. The Michigan DNR program was happy if they could get 70%.

Velvet ~
Thanks so much for the pictures. it helps a bunch!! :)
Again with the turning, i would only be able to turn them 1-2x a day because of school. i dont want to ask our house keeper to do it in the middle of the day because im afraid something might go wrong (she is 75 and a bit hard of hearing). the X and O marks -- are they for keeping track of which side goes up, or seeing which you've already turned? well i guess i will just check your site.
Also, thank you for giving me the address of the egg place, but my mom and i are going to her friend's house to get the eggs. Olga (the friend) has fertilized eggs and gets them from the same place every time. i am also going to candle them at her house instead of taking them home and doing it there. speaking of candling, how many times during incubation should i do it? or none at all??
And the brooder boxes. what do i make them out of? what should be inside to accomodate the chicks? how big should they be? different for each specie of bird? plus, what food/water should i put, if any.
Lastly, your take on incubating the ducks seperately??

~*THANKS SO MUCH. you are all amazing and i am so grateful for all your help!

bump

sydalicious, you really MUST turn the eggs at LEAST two times a day during the hatch. Three is best, but no less than two for sure. Otherwise you just aren't going to have a successful hatch--the turning keeps the developing chick from sticking to the inside of the shell and dying. You don't want to go to all the effort and then have nearly fully developed chicks that die in the shell just short of hatch, do you? Of course not. Just turn the eggs before and after school. It only takes a minute. :)

I personally don't candle my eggs, because my hens lay eggs with darker shells that are impossible to see through--also, I am concerned about handling the eggs too much and either dropping them or letting them get too chilled. So I just wait and see what comes out on hatch day. :) I figure if I'm already doing everything I can, and correctly, me candling isn't going to do me any good since I can't see through the shells. But if you get some light-colored eggs and want to candle, by all means try it--here is a site with candling info and great pics:

http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/b1166-w.html

I use great big cardboard boxes for brooder boxes, and just throw them away when I'm done with them. I've got info and pics on my site about how I do my brooder box setups. I just use a large piece of chicken wire for a top (unless you have small children, cats or dogs that might get to the chicks, then use something sturdier) that I can lift on and off. I also like to cut a window in the side of the box and hot glue a piece of hardware cloth over it so the chicks can see out--being n a box for weeks without being able to see out is BORING! And overcrowding and boredom in chicks can lead to pecking, which is a bad thing.

Basic brooder box setup:
{{gwi:36725}}
I use a couple of bricks to elevate my food and water containers, it keeps them cleaner by helping keep shavings out of them. Using either a quail waterer (see it in the pics, it has a smaller drinking ring area--or adding marbles to a chick waterer is a MUST--chicks can and do easily drown in water dishes. For heat I use a gooseneck desk lamp with a 75 watt bulb in it, and just adjust the head of the lamp up or down--if the chicks are huddled under it and peeping, they are too cold, if they are avoiding it in a big circle and gasping, they are too hot.

In action! :)
{{gwi:36726}}

Here it is from the outside, Millie my Belgian d'Uccle is visiting the chicks:
{{gwi:36727}}

You can easily use wire to partition off a large box:
{{gwi:36729}}
In this case I had three 3 week old chicks and was going to add newly hatched chicks.

Velvet ~:>

thanks sooooo much! i will talk to everyone about it. you have all been such a big helppp. :DDD