2 bodged hatch attempts need advice!

[Carlswani]

i purchased a cheap Chinese 56 egg incubator with built in chandler which turns out after the first hatch attempt is running around 3 degrees cooler than the thermostat says. To combat this I’ve put my own thermometer (which also measures humidity) in and a second one for good measure. The second time around I purchased 18 eggs silkie and frizzle mixed and threw 2 eggs from my own chickens in (silkie x). I couldn’t get the temperature perfect it mostly sat on the desired 37.6 but I had to manually adjust it often so found it would sometimes get as high as 38.4 in the day (for no more than an hour at a time) and as low as 36.7 at night. I managed to hatch only one chick which also happened to be from my own flock. The rest developed normally and some started to internally pip but none externally pipped. Humidity was kept around 40% and raised to 70% during lockdown. Would it be plausible that my eggs are free range and being fed fruit and veg scraps making the chick a whole lot stronger than the purchased eggs that really come from a chicken farm (3x2m caged with 6 chickens & 2 roosters per pen) or was it pure luck that I got any chicks at all? I don’t know weather to try again or not :-/

 

[jane s chickens]

Humidity was too high. Try 25 then 60. Works better for me anyway.

 

[tuesdaze]

My vote is for always try again! I don't know if this was your situation, but like EggSighted4Life mentioned, ambient temperature fluctuation does affect the incubator temperatures. I have not used one of the cheap Chinese incubators, but for reasons unknown have wanted to give one a try. I started out with an old, used LG still air incubator and after a couple of hatches, installed a PC fan. I also have a used, original Brower Top Hatch incubator, which I think is a good concept, but I'm not impressed with it's performance. Maybe the newer version is better. If you're wanting to stay in the cheap range, the styrofoam incubators aren't too high, especially used. I would probably try to get one with an automatic turner and circulated air. I run dry hatches and increase humidity to 75% during lockdown. Some will say 75% is too high, but I am a meddler, so it makes recovery quicker. If you are interested in trying a dry hatch, there are a couple of good articles about it that I could get you the links to. People have also done reviews of the different incubators here on BYC that I have found helpful. And there are a lot of great people here who can offer answers to any questions you may have. Not all of them carry on like I do!

 

[Fairview01]

Use a vertical egg turner during incubation and 3 days before hatching transfer to an egg carton and hatch vertically. Makes a big difference.

 

[Rickba]

Glad I read this. I'm on day 14 of my 1st hatch. This will help me. Thanks.

 

[Carlswani]

Thanks for the replies I will try your tips just with my own eggs atm. I had the humidity down to 20-30% at the start but to my inexperienced eyes it looked like the air sacs were growing too quickly so I increased to 40%. We’ve just come off the end of winter so maybe now spring is here I won’t have so much fluctuation in temps...I also had the thermometer sitting next to the eggs during lock down so I’ll try have it level with the top of the eggs next time.

 

[triplepurpose]

Ugghh... I feel your pain.

this is why i will never use a cheap incubator again. When I figure in the wasted time and energy (both personal and electric), the wasted feed to produce the eggs or money spent on hatching eggs, the three hellish weeks of futile stress/anxiety/uncertainty, the frequency of weakened/deformed chicks, and the inhumanity of the suffering/mortality of the chicks, not to mention the lack of durability/warrantee/easy of use of the equipment... I just don't come out ahead.

Bought a brinsea maxi ii advance last year--and sooo glad we did! Now I know how nice it is to use a decently-designed, no-fuss machine! Now incubating is fun again (not to mention humane)...

I respect the skills of the occasional people who are able to hatch well with those cheapies. But in general I am convinced that they prove to be a false economy in the end, in more ways than one...

Sorry if that reads as a rant, but I feel it's worth saying!
i wish you luck, but my best advice would be to upgrade your machine...

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi, welcome to BYC!

Actually fruit and veg scraps diminish protein and nutrient values, my guess would be you got lucky with that 1.

Where the thermometer sets inside the incubator will make a difference in it's reading. I use 2 or 3 and there is always a couple degree difference depending on location. I use a styro foam incubator, which does fluctuate a little in temp. But I use blankets or other cloth items on the outside to stabilize the temp a little more because my house temp swings wildly, and it works great.

What I might question is on what day did you get internal pips. Did they drown after internal pip? And what kind of air flow holes does the incubator have? Oxygen is important.

Wish I could be more help. I haven't hatched silkies yet so I don't know if there are any special tips for them. You might consider trying to run a dry hatch with much lower humidity. Also, I might run a hatch with just my own eggs and see how that comes out before trying more purchased eggs. if they are developing at least you know they are fertile.

 

[ronott1]

You do have a choice--keep using the cheep incubator or buy a better one.

If you are hatching cheap local eggs then working with the cheap incubator is fine. I have seen the Chinese incubators have temperature spikes and fry embryos though.

Check your local Craig's list for used incubators. This is the time of year when people trade up or stop hatching eggs and sell of incubators. Genesis 1588 and Brinsea incubators are good options for smaller incubators. You might find some good deals on cabinet incubators too

 

[ronott1]