Styrofoam Incubators Club

[Duck Drover]

I don't know how to do the quote thing but you said "I want to get a thermometer we can use to measure the internal egg temperature because that is the target more than the air temperature."
I remember reading that you can get one of those dollar store water weasel kids toys (you know the ones that look like a water balloon tube that slides into itself in your hand) and stick a thermometer probe for a digital thermometer in it and it would simulate the internal temp of the embryos. I don't know how accurate that is but it might be worth a try. I'm only on my second hatch, 5 days in, so I'm far from an expert just passing a long a suggestion

When you reply you just need to use the quotation marks below the post and then choose "quote and reply" to get the quote coding in your message.

Our Dollar Tree does not have those but I have seen other ways to make them. We don't have a good thermometer, though, so I figure if I need to buy a thermometer I would like one of the ones that takes the egg temperature instead of the air temperature.

We built a cabinet incubator that I need to be able to test to make sure it maintains the correct temperature throughout a large space so it is time to invest in a good thermometer to see if there are hot spots and cold spots that we need to troubleshoot by forcing the air to keep consistent temps in all the eggs. The styrofoam incubators are heating a small area so we have never had an issue with hot pockets or cold pockets within that space. Then again, I focus on making sure it is doing its job more than I chase numbers on a thermometer or hygrometer. I like the fact that there is no number showing up on our incubators causing me the stress and worry it does for others who try to chase tiny temperature fluctuations.

Even our own body temperatures fluctuate throughout the day so I would be crazy trying to keep myself at exactly 98.6 at all times, especially considering that is not even my "normal" temperature. The number is only a number, it is the range that is important. Specifically you want to avoid causing a "fever" in your incubator so we are probably on the lower side of the range to buffer against warm weather heat spikes killing our embryos.

I think the manufacturers don't put sensitive thermometers in their incubators partly because they use cheap ones that keep the price lower but also because the temperature does not need to be as exact and steady as many people believe. There are actually studies that suggest a "cooling" period simulates the hen taking a break to eat and drink so it may help produce more viable offspring. The weather conditions also effect the egg temperature in a nest and all the hen has to do is feel cold spots on the surface of the eggs and warm them to her body temperature, whatever that may be at any given time of the day. She uses an inexact science to hatch her eggs so I don't get concerned over excessive monitoring and logging results either or it would be too stressful running so many styrofoam incubators.

 

[MeepBeep]

I think the manufacturers don't put sensitive thermometers in their incubators partly because they use cheap ones that keep the price lower but also because the temperature does not need to be as exact and steady as many people believe.

It's not a matter of the installed ones not being sensitive it's a matter of them being horrible junk that doesn't work or give anywhere near accurate results... Regardless of the window of temps the egg is 'safe' at the installed thermometers are not even good enough to dial in that window... My built in one was reading something like 6° too low out of the box, if I had dialed it in to 100° without checking (like many do) that would have been fatal to the eggs... Basically they are useless and it's all about the cost to the manufactures...

There is a safe window of temps that won't kill but not much on the high end, a few extra degrees can be lethal in short... Cooler temps are not as dangerous if they are temporary, but extended periods of cooler temps can cause birth defects and ill formed unhealthy chicks...

Even though there is a safe range the eggs can handle an accurate thermometer is essential if one is to monitor the temps properly and avoid issues...

 

[Duck Drover]

It's not a matter of the installed ones not being sensitive it's a matter of them being horrible junk that doesn't work or give anywhere near accurate results... Regardless of the window of temps the egg is 'safe' at the installed thermometers are not even good enough to dial in that window... Mine built in one was reading something like 6° too low out of the box, if I had dialed it in to 100° without checking (like many do) that would have been fatal to the eggs... Basically they are useless and it's all about the cost to the manufactures...

There is a safe window of temps that won't kill but not much on the high end, a few extra degrees can be lethal in short... Cooler temps are not as dangerous if they are temporary, but extended periods of cooler temps can cause birth defects and ill formed unhealthy chicks...

I don't like the ones with thermometers installed. The Little Giant incubators come with a disposable thermometer that sits on top of the eggs so you can use several to get a sense of the temp but then you put them away or throw them away once the temp is correct and your hatches are on time. I have not touched the temp adjustment knobs in years, lol. We get good hatches but I know alot of people like the expensive ones better.

I have been using the (old style) Little Giant incubators successfully for over a quarter of a decade. They work great on my own eggs from my flock but I have had problems with eggs from other people's flocks so maybe we just have eggs that are more hatchable. I have not spent more on incubators than I have to so I can't really compare mine with ones I have never tried. I can hatch far more eggs in the cheap incubators than there is room to hatch in the expensive ones so I would have to buy a cabinet and they are extremely expensive.

We recycled an oak cabinet (free), a second hand ceramic wall heater (came with a used thermostat), and used humidifier/fan (with programmable humidity level) so now we just need to do a trial to make sure it works. The entire project was about $80 so it cost as much as a new Little Giant still air incubator with egg turner ($40 each part new) and it will hold alot more eggs because it is about the size of an upright freezer turned on its side, but not as deep. The ceramic space heater is "cool" to the touch and it takes up a good portion of the back wall of the cabinet so the goal is to have a constant temp in a smaller area since the heater is intended to heat a small room without producing too much heat next to it. We just have to ensure that it will not cause uneven temperatures front to back with the fan circulating the heat in a circular current across the face of the heater panel.

I am hoping to get several thermometers that I can use to spot check the cabinet as well as take the egg temperature in the styrofoam incubators. I want to keep the cost low while still being able to monitor internal temps with the incubators closed. I also want a thermometer I can use like a candler to check each egg as we candle them to see what temp they are at in order to make sure they are not getting overheated in hot weather. I would love air conditioning to keep our house cool during extended periods of warm weather but that is a much bigger expense.

 

[throwntogether]

Question. I am doing a dry incubation. I had a broody hen get up from her eggs so I put one of the eggs that was developing into the incubator. It appears to be 4 or 5 days ahead of the eggs that were in the incubator, maybe more I'm just a noob going off of pictures from the internet. Can I raise the humidity without causing harm to the other eggs? I have only done dry incubation so I am not sure if I can raise humidity to help soften that egg and not cause issue to the others. Any thoughts other than buying another incubator, LOL, will be well received. FYI this egg is not important it will just be cool to see what it looks like because of the cross it is.

 

[MeepBeep]

Go ahead and raise the humidity for the initial hatch, a few days of higher humidity for the later eggs isn't going to hurt them...

 

[BusyBearMama]

Y

Go ahead and raise the humidity for the initial hatch, a few days of higher humidity for the later eggs isn't going to hurt them...

yes I agree this should be ok. Good luck to the tiny eggs.

 

[confusedturtle]

What are the effects (if any) of too high humidity in the first few days? I had my humidity up to 65% for the first 3 days and when I started marking air cells and candling on the 4th day I removed that water and it has been steady at 30%.

 

[BusyBearMama]

Up to 4 chicks and 7 are pipping!!

 

[LaPoulet]

Up to 4 chicks and 7 are pipping!!

That's great!

 

[beetandsteet]

What are the effects (if any) of too high humidity in the first few days? I had my humidity up to 65% for the first 3 days and when I started marking air cells and candling on the 4th day I removed that water and it has been steady at 30%.

Humidity is a much less precise science than temperature. The effects of too high AVERAGE humidity are too small air cells. Note I said average. If you're now back down on 30% , and are monitoring air cells, I wouldn't worry about it too much.