Little Giant Incubation Experiment - Day 21 - Hatch Day!

[Sherry 928]

i am new at this....I have 26 chicken eggs and maybe 4 are infertile....i see movement in all but those 4 and it is day 20. I did my lockdown the end of day 18 and the humidity is at 61% to 64% and on the floor of my incubator is 98 degreeson one themometer and 100 degrees on another and my lg 9300 is set on 102 degrees and it is staying at 101.5 -101.6 degrees. Do I need to do something different for my temp. my little giant has no fan.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

i am new at this....I have 26 chicken eggs and maybe 4 are infertile....i see movement in all but those 4 and it is day 20. I did my lockdown the end of day 18 and the humidity is at 61% to 64% and on the floor of my incubator is 98 degreeson one themometer and 100 degrees on another and my lg 9300 is set on 102 degrees and it is staying at 101.5 -101.6 degrees. Do I need to do something different for my temp. my little giant has no fan.

Still air incubators should be maintained at 101-102F. The thing is with the 9300 is the gages are notorious for being wrong and most people I know have to set the bator 1-3 degrees higher to get the right temp inside. If the chicks hatch out late, make a note of that and next hatch adjust temp up .5-1 degree.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

x2. Do yourself a favor and get a good thermometer and hygrometer. And then don't even pay attention to what the LG says. I have to set mine 3 degrees higher than my target temp of 101.5.

 

[Sherry 928]

Thank you AmyLynn2374 and howfunkyisurchicken. do you think I have my temp correct if I have the incubator set at 101 degrees to 102 degrees and all my themometers on the bottom of my incubators are at 98-100 degrees. I will buy me a good themometer and hygrometer for my next batch. Thanks for your help.

 

[Sherry 928]

I would like to ask one more question.....AmyLynn2374 and howfunkyisurchicken ...you both are a lot of help so here is my question. You say that I need to maintain a temp of 101- 102 in my still air lg 9300 ....So if I keep it set at 102 and all my themometers inside my incubator read 99 to 100 and saying the inside themometers are correct....Is that the temp I need inside....or does my inside themometers need to read higher? Is 102 on the lg 9300 correct if I maintain a 99.5 to 100 inside? I hope I don't sound too dumb. Thank you both for your help!!!

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

You certainly don't sound dumb, we were all new at this whole hatching thing at some point And LGs can be tricky, hence the need for this thread!

You should be measuring your temperature at the top of the eggs. But, 99-100 at the bottom is probably just about right, if not a touch high.

I use a Brinsea Spot Check thermometer, its incredibly accurate and I can watch every little change in temp when the 'bator heats up and cools down a bit when it switches off. It has a probe I can stick down through the vent hole in the top of the 'bator so it can tell me the temp at the top of the eggs. I tape the unit to the lid and tape the cord in place so the probe stays where I want it. Then I stick at least one glass medical thermometer (the kind you stick under your tongue) on the floor of the incubator. If I were to rely on the read out the LG gives me, I'd never get anything to hatch.

You're close to hatch day, at this point I'd leave everything alone and take note of when hatching starts. If they're early, you're temp is a little high. If they're late, it was low. Keep an eye on when they hatch, and adjust your temperature on the incubator to compensate for your next hatch.

Best of luck!

 

[Sherry 928]

I put my eggs at about 11 pm on Sept. 28, 2015 so I have counted it to be Oct. 16, to be the 21st day....so at about 11 pm tonight should be the time for them to start hatching....but as of now no pips......I want so bad to open the incubator to see if my babies are still alive! would I kill them if I did?

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Tonight would be the start of day 21, so you still have time. If your temps were a tad low for the average you could see a slight delay in the hatch. Personally I would give them until tomorrow evening to do something before checking, but no, opening the bator isn't going to kill them. The theory of not opening the bator is during pipping/hatching and even then if you have adequate humidity the risk is low. What was your humidity for the first 17 days?

 

[Sherry 928]

my humidity was between 45- to 56 but it was 63 for about 3 hours once...and it is like 65- 67 now

 

[Sherry 928]

my humidity was 45- 56 first 17 days and now it is 61- 67 ....i see now movement in the incubator and no pips.