Harris Farms Nurture Right 360 Incubator is AMAZING!

[CluckNDoodle]

I had typed a response yesterday but I guess in my hazy fog forgot to hit post.

All 7 Bieles did hatch, however the last one had not absorbed the yolk at all. None of it. I did the chick in egg shell bottom into a deep cup thing, but it was too vigorous and fought too much to get out making a mess of things.
So, I ended up with 6- 4 girls and 2 boys.

Considering of the 11 shipped eggs and the shape they arrived in, that 2 weren't even fertile to begin with... and 2 were early quitters, 7 hatches seems pretty good. I am pleased.

Yay! That's a great shipped hatch! I'm sorry you lost one.

 

[SnapdragonQ]

Yay! That's a great shipped hatch! I'm sorry you lost one.

Thanks!

I think I owe much to having gotten this incubator over other types. In the hatch a long threads other people who have gotten shipped Biele eggs haven't had as successful of hatches with them so I was pretty nervous going into this hatch.

 

[Faraday40]

I've read this entire thread and I have learned so much, and I don't even own an incubator!

That said, I DO NOT want to get into incubating eggs. I've been raising chickens for 12 years now.

That also said, I will be breeding my Buckeyes and EEs next spring, neither of which is known for broodiness. I have one OEGB pullet who has yet to begin laying. When she's an adult, and presumably goes broody, the most she will be able to cover is 3 to 4 large eggs (I'm guessing).

So, here I am.

I see that I can order the incubator in question and have it delivered to my local TSC, not to mention I also have a 10% Friends & Neighbors discount that needs to be used.

Seriously, I don't want to get into this...I have enough irons in the fire. But it looks like I have no choice if I want to breed my birds. Ugh!

How bad is the smell after hatching begins? Can you compare it to something I might be familiar with? If it's really nasty I don't think I can tolerate it.

I wish I knew someone near me who could do the incubating for me so I could just go over and pick up my chicks when they were ready. But I live out in the middle of nowhere and I'm not particularly social!

If you've read this entire angst-filled reply, I thank you.

Wish we lived near you. My kids LOVE hatching, but we have a small chicken limit in our coop. Every time we hatch it's a gamble on whether we'll be able to sell the chicks or get stuck with too many beaks to feed.

The incubator doesn't have much of a smell during incubation. At the end when chicks are hatching there is a slight odor inside - but nothing like rotting eggs if that's what you're thinking. Think more of a brooder smell when the poops of the 1st chicks hatched begin. The odor is only detected when the incubator is opened to remove chicks, so again, it's not a big deal. Yes the bottom will look gross, but this incubator is not too difficult to clean.

 

[AltonaAcres]

I LOVE incubator smell...............I know, I'm weird It's really familiar to me and I enjoy it Sometimes I'll be walking around outside and be like "It smells like incubator right now!". I don't notice that the smell changes during incubation vs during hatching. It kind of smells like goat birth but not as strong. Kind of like a faint raw meat smell? Just remove eggshells asap and clean asap and it'll be ok.

 

[Willow2253]

I would describe the hatching smell as just a mild kind of damp smell, with a little bit of a sort of cooked egg smell. It’s not strong at all. I did my last hatch in my bedroom and it really wasn’t an issue at all. I just opened a window and it was unnoticeable.

 

[Willow2253]

I had typed a response yesterday but I guess in my hazy fog forgot to hit post.

All 7 Bieles did hatch, however the last one had not absorbed the yolk at all. None of it. I did the chick in egg shell bottom into a deep cup thing, but it was too vigorous and fought too much to get out making a mess of things.
So, I ended up with 6- 4 girls and 2 boys.

Considering of the 11 shipped eggs and the shape they arrived in, that 2 weren't even fertile to begin with... and 2 were early quitters, 7 hatches seems pretty good. I am pleased.

Where did you order your biele eggs from? I didn’t jump on that local seller fast enough and they took their ad down.

 

[AltonaAcres]

Good way to describe it @Willow2253 . I also have incubators in my bed room and it doesn't bother me at all. That way I can get up in the middle of the night when hatchlings are expected.

 

[Willow2253]

Good way to describe it @Willow2253 . I also have incubators in my bed room and it doesn't bother me at all. That way I can get up in the middle of the night when hatchlings are expected.

Lol I got up several times in the middle of the night. The first hatched at 1 am and I went to bed, then I woke up at 4 am to 3 hatched, and again at 6 am to 5 hatched. I wasn’t able to sleep after that.

 

[SnapdragonQ]

Where did you order your biele eggs from? I didn’t jump on that local seller fast enough and they took their ad down.

Ebay- Skywalker2136.
They have (or had) a lot of listings of the eggs. Initially I got into several bidding wars, but was not willing to pay too much for eggs (because I'm cheap) so I did not win those auctions. But I was patient and eventually got some at the beginning bid price without any competitive bids against me.

I did find several farms selling hatching eggs, but they were twice the general ebay prices and either sold out or not available until Nov.

 

[aart]

I don't notice that the smell changes during incubation vs during hatching.

When my foamie started to smell like hatching gunk during incubation is when I knew to was time to buy a new incubator, one with a smooth plastic base that could be efficiently and fully cleaned/sanitized.
Basically it smells like the dead tissue it is.