A couple of easy incubation questions

[unclejohn]

1- is it okay if i open the incubator 3 times a day to manually turn the eggs?

2-my temperture in my home made incubator is a little higher than 101.5. is it okay to bring the temperature down by drilling a hole in my incubator ? its a styrofoam bator,

 

[LooperChickens]

Yes it's fine to manually turn the eggs I open my incubator to turn them it's really more natural when a hen turns them she gets up to do it so why can't I. And yes I would drill a hole before the eggs cook and won't hatch if it gets to low cover up half the hole with tape or a coin is better.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Yes, its fine to open the incubator to turn your eggs. How would you turn them if you didn't?

Is your bator forced or still air? And how much is a little higher than 101.5? I'm assuming you have a still air since your incubating at a higher temperature. If the temp isn't too much over 101.5, I'd just leave it. If you must adjust the temperature, do it by changing the temp in the room instead of fiddling with or drilling holes in the bator.
Good luck

 

[unclejohn]

yes, its a still air incubator, the temps are about 107 right now. i am just trying to get it set up properly right now. i began collecting eggs on the 23rd, so im hoping by the 30th when i have enough eggs that my bator will be stable. I am going to town early next week so I'm going to buy a few different small bulbs and see if i cant hit the right temp.

when i use my cfl bulb its too cool, and when i use my other bulb its too hot!

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Ahh, gotcha!
107 certainly won't be good! What wattage bulb were/are you using? I somehow glanced over the fact that this is a homemade incubator. Have you already drilled holes in your incubator for ventilation? If you haven't, you'll definitely want to go ahead and put some in. If you can, adjust the temperature in the room to see if you can lower the temp in the bator some that way. Or, put the smaller bulb back in and raise the temp in the room to see how much higher it will go (depending how far off it is either way, obviously you don't want an uncomfortable room to deal with).

 

[unclejohn]

Ahh, gotcha!
107 certainly won't be good! What wattage bulb were/are you using? I somehow glanced over the fact that this is a homemade incubator. Have you already drilled holes in your incubator for ventilation? If you haven't, you'll definitely want to go ahead and put some in. If you can, adjust the temperature in the room to see if you can lower the temp in the bator some that way. Or, put the smaller bulb back in and raise the temp in the room to see how much higher it will go (depending how far off it is either way, obviously you don't want an uncomfortable room to deal with).

i have a few bulbs that im using, some cfls that are 23w and 40w. im going to buy some different bulbs and try to use a combination that
will get me the right heat. with just one 40c cfl im under temperature, and with a 23 and 40 together im sitting at 45C when i should be at 38.5. so i'm thinking if i go with a 40w and a 15w i might hit the right temp, or close enough that i can drill some holes.

There is one hole in it, i am using an icebox from an old rv. its a plastic cupboard type container that is styrofoam on the outside. as long as i maintain temperature and humidity i should be fine using this without a fan right?

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

If I were you, I'd put the 40cfl in and bump the temperature up in the room a tiny bit to make up for the difference (if you can, I don't know if your incubator is in your house or not, or if you heat with a wood stove, ect).

I would drill some more ventilation holes in it as well. My Little Giant, which is a cheapo styrofoam bator, has like 3 small vent holes on the top, 3 on the bottom and 2 more big holes on the top that have plugs. Ventilation is pretty important, especially towards the end when they're nearing hatch time.

I don't see a problem using the ice box as a still air, as long as it isn't air tight. I'd love to see a picture of it if you can share! I've been toying with the idea of building my own incubator and using my LG strictly as a hatcher. I'm just not sure how I want to go about it

 

[unclejohn]

If I were you, I'd put the 40cfl in and bump the temperature up in the room a tiny bit to make up for the difference (if you can, I don't know if your incubator is in your house or not, or if you heat with a wood stove, ect).

I would drill some more ventilation holes in it as well. My Little Giant, which is a cheapo styrofoam bator, has like 3 small vent holes on the top, 3 on the bottom and 2 more big holes on the top that have plugs. Ventilation is pretty important, especially towards the end when they're nearing hatch time.

I don't see a problem using the ice box as a still air, as long as it isn't air tight. I'd love to see a picture of it if you can share! I've been toying with the idea of building my own incubator and using my LG strictly as a hatcher. I'm just not sure how I want to go about it

i will take some pics tomorrow, if i remember. i got two small 15 watt bulbs today so we will see what they temps look like tomorrow, (just put them in). my thermometers are off by a few degrees, one will show 41C and the other 43. so does it make a big difference if you are sitting at 102F or 100F? what about 103? i will just use the middle of the two. one is in C and the other is a digital thermometer that can be set to either c or f. so i will try to aim for 38.6C which is 101.48. so ill get the temps to where one is 37.5 and the other is 39.5...should be okay right?

 

[unclejohn]

Alright, its kind of crudely made, as i dont have many tools. so i just used a drill to saw the hole for the window haha.