Incubation Temp. help please

[kbaabyyy36]

I have a Little Giant 9200. Its a still air incubator but i found a small battery operated fan at wal-mart for only 5 bucks and it fits perfectly in the incubator so it does have air circulation to an extent. Anyways I've read through a lot of these post and did a lot of modifications to the incubator to stabilize the temp. However im still having two problems. 1) My temp isn't completely stable. There are currently 31 eggs in the incubator so this worries me. But it isn't varying anywhere near as much as it was. My thermometer tells me what the high and low was for the day. For two days in a row my high has reached 102 degree and my low has been 97 degree. Any tips on how to completely fix this? Also will the eggs I have in the incubator be okay? Or has it already messed them up? 2) My humidity is WAY too high and i dont know how to bring it down. Its reading at like 65% which will drown my chicks if i dont figure it out soon right? Thats what ive read. So i need to get it way down quickly. I know i could just remove the water but thats a little difficult with 31 fragile eggs and an egg turner and fan in there. It would take way too long and disturb them too much im afraid. Any ideas are very much appreciated as I REALLY want to be successful with this hatch. I tried to hatch in this incubator last spring and got nothing. It was so discouraging and disappointing i put it away and haven't gotten it back out till now. I really want to learn about this and get it right!

 

[feedman77]

What day of hatching are you on.

97 to 102 is a wide swing but doable.

What is your avg. Temp.

Some of that swing could just be when the thermometer takes it readings.

Hens can get off the nest for an hour or longer daily while they eat and poo.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I have a Little Giant 9200. Its a still air incubator but i found a small battery operated fan at wal-mart for only 5 bucks and it fits perfectly in the incubator so it does have air circulation to an extent. Anyways I've read through a lot of these post and did a lot of modifications to the incubator to stabilize the temp. However im still having two problems. 1) My temp isn't completely stable. There are currently 31 eggs in the incubator so this worries me. But it isn't varying anywhere near as much as it was. My thermometer tells me what the high and low was for the day. For two days in a row my high has reached 102 degree and my low has been 97 degree. Any tips on how to completely fix this? Also will the eggs I have in the incubator be okay? Or has it already messed them up? 2) My humidity is WAY too high and i dont know how to bring it down. Its reading at like 65% which will drown my chicks if i dont figure it out soon right? Thats what ive read. So i need to get it way down quickly. I know i could just remove the water but thats a little difficult with 31 fragile eggs and an egg turner and fan in there. It would take way too long and disturb them too much im afraid. Any ideas are very much appreciated as I REALLY want to be successful with this hatch. I tried to hatch in this incubator last spring and got nothing. It was so discouraging and disappointing i put it away and haven't gotten it back out till now. I really want to learn about this and get it right!

I use a forced air 9200 as well. I would pull the eggs out, put them in cartons, dump the water and reorganize. With the styro bators they need to be in a room with a fairly constant temps, no drafts, away from windows and lights that give off excessive heat. The room's stability will affect the incubator. The steadier the outside SHOULD make for a steadier inside. Your changing humidity will also affect the temps in the bator. As the humidity goes down, the temp will go up.

I don't use the water wells normally for the first 17 days. I just add a wet sponge if it's too dry (too dry for me is under 25%-I prefer 30%) usually the sponge holds it about 30%. And I check my air cells to monitor their growth to know how to adjust the humidity.

Now, with all that being said, I still have fluctuations normally between 99-102. I average between 100&101. As long as it stays above 99.5 and under 101.5 I don't mess with it.

Do you have your vents open or closed?

 

[kbaabyyy36]

I hav

I use a forced air 9200 as well. I would pull the eggs out, put them in cartons, dump the water and reorganize. With the styro bators they need to be in a room with a fairly constant temps, no drafts, away from windows and lights that give off excessive heat. The room's stability will affect the incubator. The steadier the outside SHOULD make for a steadier inside. Your changing humidity will also affect the temps in the bator. As the humidity goes down, the temp will go up.

I don't use the water wells normally for the first 17 days. I just add a wet sponge if it's too dry (too dry for me is under 25%-I prefer 30%) usually the sponge holds it about 30%. And I check my air cells to monitor their growth to know how to adjust the humidity. 

Now, with all that being said, I still have fluctuations normally between 99-102. I average between 100&101. As long as it stays above 99.5 and under 101.5 I don't mess with it. 

Do you have your vents open or closed?

i have one vent open and one closed. I did finally find a way to remove most of the water. It took awhile but it dried out for the most part and is now reading between 25%-30%. So im happy with that. I fear that the humidity was already too high for too long though. My shells are kind of dark and im not real familiar with what to look for but no matter how hard i look i cant seem to distinguish an air cell. Is this reversable? This is day 3.

 

[kbaabyyy36]

What day of hatching are you on.

97 to 102 is a wide swing but doable.

What is your avg. Temp.

Some of that swing could just be when the thermometer takes it readings.

Hens can get off the nest for an hour or longer daily while they eat and poo.

im on day 3. For the most part it stays right at 100. I cant get it to stay on 99 for some reason. When i set it to that temp it always falls real low. I dont know why. But its pretty easy to keep it at 100 for the most part. It only goes to 102 sometimes and i check on it often so it doesnt stay that way long.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I hav
i have one vent open and one closed. I did finally find a way to remove most of the water. It took awhile but it dried out for the most part and is now reading between 25%-30%. So im happy with that. I fear that the humidity was already too high for too long though. My shells are kind of dark and im not real familiar with what to look for but no matter how hard i look i cant seem to distinguish an air cell. Is this reversable? This is day 3.

Day 3- nothing to worry about. Probably didn't make much of a difference. If you candle down into the egg from the fat end-where the air cell is, you should at least be able to make out the air cell as it should be more transparent that the rest of the egg. Depends on how dark it really is.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I'll share a candling pic and you can see the more transparent air cell. Of course, this is with a white egg, so very easy to see:

Right under my hand at the top you can see where the light illuminates the air space.

 

[kbaabyyy36]

I'll share a candling pic and you can see the more transparent air cell. Of course, this is with a white egg, so very easy to see: Right under my hand at the top you can see where the light illuminates the air space.

my eggs do not have that im afraid. Should i toss them or give them a few days? When i use the light i dont see anything at all.

 

[feedman77]

You won't see veins on day 3. Probably look like that at day 7 to 10.

What Amy was showing you was the air cell at the very top of the egg.

Give a few days and candle from the fat end.

Your temp swings that early in incubation process you have no worries your eggs are good.

 

[kbaabyyy36]

You won't see veins on day 3. Probably look like that at day 7 to 10.

What Amy was showing you was the air cell at the very top of the egg.

Give a few days and candle from the fat end.

Your temp swings that early in incubation process you have no worries your eggs are good.

even with the high levels of humidity? Thats what i was refferring too. I cant see an air sack?