Shrink wrap with Sportsman 1502 Incubator

[jfrias]

Hello all! I am noticing some of my eggs are shrink wrapping in my sportsman 1502. Humidity is at around 70 sometimes higher. I am concerned that the fan is blowing a lot of air and could possibly be drying them out? I am currently only hatching buff orpington chicks.

A friend of mine told me I could leave the chicks in the incubator for 3 days but I think the chicks stomping all over the place and pecking everything could also be contributing to the issue. I hatch weekly and was wondering if the high humidity will kill the other eggs? I know the incubator is meant to do both though.

Can you walk me through your process so I can see if maybe I am doing something wrong? Thank you all in advance!

 

[ronott1]

Hello all! I am noticing some of my eggs are shrink wrapping in my sportsman 1502. Humidity is at around 70 sometimes higher. I am concerned that the fan is blowing a lot of air and could possibly be drying them out? I am currently only hatching buff orpington chicks.

A friend of mine told me I could leave the chicks in the incubator for 3 days but I think the chicks stomping all over the place and pecking everything could also be contributing to the issue. I hatch weekly and was wondering if the high humidity will kill the other eggs? I know the incubator is meant to do both though.

Can you walk me through your process so I can see if maybe I am doing something wrong? Thank you all in advance!

Welcome to BackYard Chickens!

I do not think the issue has to do with the incubator fan.
Did the chicks die in the shell or did they get stuck while hatching? Do you get a lot of chicks hatching with yellow from the yolk on them?
Were the eggs shipped or from your own flock?

The best way to get a good hatch is to work on flock health if the are eggs from your flock. Worming them, giving them good feed, making sure there are no parasites and etc.

The next step is the temperature in the incubator. The temp should average about 99F in the incubator. Contrary to logic, this is the most common cause of stickie chick problems. If the chicks to not have good vigor, they will take longer to hatch or die in the shell. Humidity at hatch will only slow down the drying out process but will not stop it.

Also, do not use the safety hole method. The hole will increase evaporation and making the inside of the shell dry out faster.

Best wishes for your future hatches!

 

[mcdze]

i agree with above, a main point being 'vigor' of the hatching chicks ..you dont want them slowing down and promote the easiest shortest pip/zip .. i definitely do not have it all figured out .. chicks that pip and zip fast, live, every time .. dont do things to disorient them at hatch time, or cool them off .. talking to them or chick/hen sound i think helps motivate them to move ... and final point, i think alot of incubators do NOT have enough fresh air exchange, ie stale air in an already oxygen challenged shell equals not ideal ..

 

[Mosey2003]

If you have tested and calibrated your thermometers/hygrometers and your humidity at hatch is truly 70%, your problem lies in the first 18 days of incubation. Is your temperature correct? Is your temperature fluctuating? Same for humidity. Have you checked it in each level of trays? I found my 1202 varied dramatically from the top to each different tray.

Unpopular opinion: they're probably running too dry before lockdown. Plus temperature variances.

Another unpopular opinion: they haven't updated the design (in any functional capacity) of the GQF cabinets in all these years, yet they are still one of the most expensive units out there. I don't think the design is that conducive to great hatches, honestly. I sold mine and got a Hatching Time and my hatch rate skyrocketed.