Styrofoam Incubators Club

[MeepBeep]

I'm inexperienced at incubation and hatching so I can't help you any except for what I've read/studied.  Did you run the turner while you were doing your tests?  It doesn't seem like the turner would generate much heat but seems I read *somewhere* that it affected the temperature a bit.  Maybe I dreamed it.  Best wishes for you hatch!!!!  It sounds exciting!!!

The little turner motors actually generate quite a bit of heat, when you consider they are confined to a foam box...

Most of the turner motors are about 3W, they are far from 'efficient' motors so we can estimate that they give off about 0.75W - 1W of heat, that doesn't sound like much but consider that the heating element in most foam incubators is only 25W - 30W to start with and that is being turned on/off on maybe a 50% duty cycle...

With a thermostatically controlled incubator it should not be much if any factor, but if you are using an incubator that does not use a thermostat, that constant 1W of heat given off by the motor, can raise the temp a degree or two...

 

[BlueBaby]

Is thread still alive? I have a Hovabator Genesis 1588 with the IncuTurn egg turner. I'm lining up for my first hatch attempt. I spent the last week fiddling with temp and humidity control and the last three days off and on reading all the posts in this thread. Thank you all for your advice and for sharing your expertise.

I did a salt calibration on the humidity monitor and it tested spot on, so I feel fairly good using that instead of the read-out on the incubator's control center. The difference in temp between the thermometers is 3 degrees. I currently have the control center set to 98 degrees, which gives me a reading of 100.4 F at egg level and 100.7 degrees on the floor of the incubator. I have a light throw blanket wrapped around the styrofoam that someone here suggested to reduce temp and humidity fluctuations.

I have determined how much water surface I need inside the incubator to maintain between 30% and 35% humidity, and how much I need to achieve 68% to 73% humidity.

Right now, the turner is off, the temp at egg level is 100.4 F and the humidity is 32%. Eggs arrive tomorrow.

Can I join the Styrofoam Incubators Club?

I am sure that the thread is still open. Many of us in the south where the temps have been really high are giving the hatching thing a temporary break. I know that I am. It's just too hot and hard on them for that right now.

 

[AllynTal]

.... Did you run the turner while you were doing your tests? It doesn't seem like the turner would generate much heat but seems I read *somewhere* that it affected the temperature a bit. ....

The little turner motors actually generate quite a bit of heat, when you consider they are confined to a foam box...
....With a thermostatically controlled incubator it should not be much if any factor, but if you are using an incubator that does not use a thermostat, that constant 1W of heat given off by the motor, can raise the temp a degree or two...

I did run the turner during my tests. I just turned it off today. Mine does have a thermostat, and yes, that's what I found, that the temp dropped almost a degree before the thermostat stabilized it

...Not sure where your incubating but as long as your house temp is stable you might not need the blanket.

I don't think the temp in the house is very stable, so I thought it best to wrap it. The only thing I don't have is a temp/humidity monitor with a min/max memory. I'll pick one up in the morning.

...During Lockdown I figured out how NOT to lift the lid to increase humidity.
I used a long 1" strip of J cloth & a cup of very warm water....

That is very clever. I will give that a try.

.... Many of us in the south where the temps have been really high are giving the hatching thing a temporary break. I know that I am. It's just too hot and hard on them for that right now.

Mississippi Gulf Coast here, so yes, it's been brutally hot and humid. I wasn't sure I'd be able to get the humidity low enough in the incubator, but that doesn't look like it'll be a problem. I know this isn't a good time to be trying a hatch, but I had the chance to get some eggs that I really really want and I'm going to give it a go. If it's a bust, I'll try again in a couple of months when the heat subsides.

 

[beetandsteet]

Is thread still alive? I have a Hovabator Genesis 1588 with the IncuTurn egg turner. I'm lining up for my first hatch attempt. I spent the last week fiddling with temp and humidity control and the last three days off and on reading all the posts in this thread. Thank you all for your advice and for sharing your expertise.

I did a salt calibration on the humidity monitor and it tested spot on, so I feel fairly good using that instead of the read-out on the incubator's control center. The difference in temp between the thermometers is 3 degrees. I currently have the control center set to 98 degrees, which gives me a reading of 100.4 F at egg level and 100.7 degrees on the floor of the incubator. I have a light throw blanket wrapped around the styrofoam that someone here suggested to reduce temp and humidity fluctuations.

I have determined how much water surface I need inside the incubator to maintain between 30% and 35% humidity, and how much I need to achieve 68% to 73% humidity.

Right now, the turner is off, the temp at egg level is 100.4 F and the humidity is 32%. Eggs arrive tomorrow.

Can I join the Styrofoam Incubators Club?

Yes the thread is still alive! Welcome to the club! I have been offline most of the later spring, since April when our house flooded--busy times. Please feel free to ask as many questions as you need. And good luck with your hatch!

 

[SavannahG]

I'm new to BYC, and this is my first post, so forgive me if its in a weird place. My nieces and I built an incubator and started with 9 chicken eggs. 1 was infertile, and one died early on. We are currently on day 12. I candled them today, and I'm concerned that one other is dead. What's the likelihood that the egg will burst if its bad? And I've kept humidity at 45-50%. Why are people shooting for 30-some%?

 

[danielkbrantley]

I'm new to BYC, and this is my first post, so forgive me if its in a weird place. My nieces and I built an incubator and started with 9 chicken eggs. 1 was infertile, and one died early on. We are currently on day 12. I candled them today, and I'm concerned that one other is dead. What's the likelihood that the egg will burst if its bad? And I've kept humidity at 45-50%. Why are people shooting for 30-some%?

Welcome aboard! I'm not sure the likelihood that the egg will bust open, but if it does, you'll be sorry. Hahaha...

I'm a newbie to incubating also. On day 6 right now. The 30% humidity levels are kept by folks who have found success with that level of humidity. As this is my first batch, I've got to figure out if the 48-50% I've maintained thus far works or if I would have better success with a lower humidity until the last few days. There are great threads on this site that will give a lot more info on dry hatching (think that's what it's called).

And good luck with the eggs!

 

[Victoria-nola]

I'm new to BYC, and this is my first post, so forgive me if its in a weird place. My nieces and I built an incubator and started with 9 chicken eggs. 1 was infertile, and one died early on. We are currently on day 12. I candled them today, and I'm concerned that one other is dead. What's the likelihood that the egg will burst if its bad? And I've kept humidity at 45-50%. Why are people shooting for 30-some%?

I'm new to incubation, have done 2 hatches now. I bought into the idea of the low humidity, but now I don't think I would do that again. I had a couple of problems with my incubator the first time, nevertheless I wound up with 10 live chicks out of 18 viable eggs. But there will almost always be failures in any hatch, so you have to expect that. I don't know what the exact recommendation is for removing eggs that don't seem viable along the way, hopefully someone will let you know.

The reason I would not choose to use the "low humidity" method again is that in my second hatch, which was just a couple of days ago of guinea fowl, the eggs were too dehydrated and I wound up having to help a huge number because they were alive and trying to get out but the low humidity had made the membranes too dry inside the egg (they were "shrink wrapped"). I think a nice middle ground would be keeping it more around 40-50% before raising it significantly at the end. That's for me personally, in future hatches. Others need to make their own choices, of course.

edit: I just found this short-form information about incubation, from the Learning Center part of BYC. Unlike some of the other files available, this one doesn't emphasize dry incubation, and it answers your question about nonviable eggs:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-to-incubate-hatch-eggs-just-21-days-from-egg-to-chicken

 

[SavannahG]

Thanks for the info. How can you tell if an egg is alive? Two eggs for sure have movement. Two are too dark to see into. And three seem to have an appropriate size of a dark spot, and a good sized air pocket, but don't move when candled, and all three have veins. However one seems slightly smaller and the veins seem to have "disintegrated" a bit. They aren't clear anymore. Sort of like a drop of ink that bleeds out on the paper. They are fuzzy. That's the one that I suspect is dead. Is there a chance that its alive?

 

[AllynTal]

... And I've kept humidity at 45-50%. Why are people shooting for 30-some%?

As I understand it, the idea behind the low/no humidity incubation period is to increase the development of the air cell inside the egg. If the humidity is low in the incubator, there will be increased evaporation of moisture inside the egg and the air cell gets bigger at a desirable rate. If the humidity is too high, the air cell grows at a slower rate. Once the eggs reach the 18th day, you bump the humidity up to 65-70ish percent so the membrane doesn't shrink-wrap the chick.

Because all of our environments are different, what works beautifully for one person is a tragic mistake for someone else. There's really no way to know what will work for you except to set up conditions that seem reasonable and then through trial and error you find what conditions work best in your environment.

 

[danielkbrantley]

Hello all,

Doing my first hatch. Using a still air LG. On day 7 and decided to candle, per the app that's keeping me updated on the developing chicks' progress.

Anyway, candled the eggs and had a number with obvious life in them - the chicks were moving around. Others, I saw veins all over. Still others, the eggs were so dark I couldn't tell if I was seeing nothing because of the egg or because there's nothing to see. Note: First timers may do better with white eggs. Hahaha...

All that said, I didn't notice much of an air pocket on any of them. Had my wife video the first egg we did. You can see (possibly) the embryo move around, but I don't see an air pocket. Maybe it's there and I just don't know how to see it. Maybe it's not supposed to be there yet.

If it should be there, should I let the humidity drop until day 18 - take it down to 35 or so in an effort to grow that air pocket? Been sitting on 48-50% humidity, temp between 99 and 102 (according to two thermometers in the incubator). Video is attached and help is appreciated.

Thanks...