97.3

[waw]

I am on day 5 or technically 6 but my temp just dipped to 97.3 for about five hours are my eggs okay or not

 

[waw]

Just checked it is at 97.7 now but even my other thermometer was reading that

 

[sumi]

They will be fine. It takes quite awhile for the core temperature of the egg to drop and much lower temperatures than 97* to do any damage. Just try and get the temperature up to where it should be soon.

 

[waw]

Got it up to 99.5 for the last 2 hours approxametly

 

[tec27]

You can keep it at 97. it will do no damage at all. Your chicks may hatch a day late but thats probably about it. A couple degrees lower than the AVERAGE will yield no negative results.

 

[sumi]

You can keep it at 97. it will do no damage at all. Your chicks may hatch a day late but thats probably about it. A couple degrees lower than the AVERAGE will yield no negative results.

A single degree under the recommended incubation temperature for prolonged periods can delay a hatch by as much as 24 hours. Delayed hatches can result in weaker chicks and losses.

 

[tec27]

A single degree under the recommended incubation temperature for prolonged periods can delay a hatch by as much as 24 hours. Delayed hatches can result in weaker chicks and losses.

Its a recommended temperature and not an exact measurement. And every egg is different. Even at the "recommended" temperature chickens can hatch late/early. Severely delayed hatches can result in weaker chicks, however, delayed hatches like a day or two from the standard 21 will not result in weaker chicks. This is of course if the delayed hatch is due to delayed mitotic events and not because of pipping or hatching troubles. A few degrees will not make a significant difference in the embryonic development. Multiple papers have been published stating that the embryonic development, metabolism, and hatching process of chickens is only affected when the change in temperature is 5 degrees or more from the average of 99.5. These papers also concluded that the hatching process of embryos exposed to continuous lower incubation temperatures was significantly retarded, however their embryonic development and growth were strikingly similar to those of the control group that were incubated at the recommended temperature. Thus, lower or higher temperatures may in fact delay or speed up the hatching process but slight temperature differences will in no way affect the embryonic development of the hatching chick.