Airflow and still air incubator

[City Chicken]

My hatch rates have gone down terribly from 70-100% down to about 25%.
So I got a new digital thermometer... Temp is correct, humidity stays around 50. am thinking that the main thing is airflow. The new styrofoam bator I am using is covered in a plastic case. I think there is insuffience airflow.
I read to open the bator a few times a day to allow for air exchange....

But what about the last three days? In lockdown I am not supposed to open at all... So, then what? The red plugs are out, but im not sure thats enough.I have been having chicks die in their shells, mostly not pipping internally, although some did, but almost never externally.

I have a full bator with chicken and turkey eggs and i want to see them hatch!!! What can I do for air flow in the last few days?
Ideas?

 

[loveourbirds]

it sounds like you have bacterial buildup, what kind of incubator is it that you have?

 

[City Chicken]

I have a styrofoam incubator... Ill check on brand. I wash, bleach and sun bleach after every hatch. I dont put indqmaged or poopy eggs, i dontwash either, only cleaneggs go in
I have no indication of bacteria... No exploding eggs, I opened the eggs up, no foul smells from dead chicks .

 

[loveourbirds]

when I used Styrofoam I would soak in bleach water overnight (the whole incubator minus electrical) and wash with antibacterial soap. it still happened in about 6-8 hatches I would start seeing the drop. I used mine constantly, if you give them a rest in between hatches it seems to help.

the chicks would form, just several wouldn't hatch. the ones that did hatch were weak, with about a 25% loss.

I hate Styrofoam incubators for this reason, they are great for a while though. if your temp and humidity is fine, it has to be problems with the egg layers or with bacteria. one thing you could do is make a wooden box for your electronics, and move everything across.

a fan will help a little by replenishing the air. if you don't need an excellent hatch rate it is something to try. if hatching is something your going to stay with and do a lot of, I would go with a different incubator before I put money in your Styrofoam unit. -this is just my opinion, someone else may have found something better -
I hope this helps.

 

[ozexpat]

when I used Styrofoam I would soak in bleach water overnight (the whole incubator minus electrical) and wash with antibacterial soap. it still happened in about 6-8 hatches I would start seeing the drop. I used mine constantly, if you give them a rest in between hatches it seems to help.

the chicks would form, just several wouldn't hatch. the ones that did hatch were weak, with about a 25% loss.

I hate Styrofoam incubators for this reason, they are great for a while though. if your temp and humidity is fine, it has to be problems with the egg layers or with bacteria. one thing you could do is make a wooden box for your electronics, and move everything across.

a fan will help a little by replenishing the air. if you don't need an excellent hatch rate it is something to try. if hatching is something your going to stay with and do a lot of, I would go with a different incubator before I put money in your Styrofoam unit. -this is just my opinion, someone else may have found something better -
I hope this helps.

have you changed egg suppliers?

 

[ozexpat]

My hatch rates have gone down terribly from 70-100% down to about 25%.
So I got a new digital thermometer... Temp is correct, humidity stays around 50. am thinking that the main thing is airflow. The new styrofoam bator I am using is covered in a plastic case. I think there is insuffience airflow.
I read to open the bator a few times a day to allow for air exchange....

But what about the last three days? In lockdown I am not supposed to open at all... So, then what? The red plugs are out, but im not sure thats enough.I have been having chicks die in their shells, mostly not pipping internally, although some did, but almost never externally.

I have a full bator with chicken and turkey eggs and i want to see them hatch!!! What can I do for air flow in the last few days?
Ideas?

it could be humidity also

do the air cells look ok?

are you weighing the eggs?

when did you last calibrate hygrometer

were hatches better in winter?

 

[loveourbirds]

have you changed egg suppliers?

no, in that case it was certainly the incubators, when I switched to my new ones the problem stopped. the eggs came from my farm so I knew they were good.

one thing I learned quickly, the smaller the incubator, the worse the bacteria problem. with Styrofoam you cant sanitize it properly as it is semi-porous. In the OP's case though they did say it was plastic and that may make a difference. Styrofoam incubators where only designed to be used once or twice a year, if that's all you hatch they are fairly reliable units. if you run them constantly however, they go bad rather quickly.

I have a set of instructions that I have given several other people, I cant say if it will work for you; but its how I got my best hatches from Styrofoam. however when my hatch rates dropped, I cleaned them up, put them on a shelf; and gave them to neighborhood kids a few months later. at that point they would usually hatch pretty well again for a few hatches then the same problems.

 

[ozexpat]

this needs to be done outside

Empty incubators and hatchers may be fumigated using 70ml formalin plus 35g potassium permanganate per cubic foot of incubator (a styro bator is about 1 cu foot) suggested for incubators in which an egg has exploded, or in which disease has been causing problems.

• Close incubator vents
• Potassium permanganate powder is placed in an earthenware, porcelain or heat-tempered glass container inside the space to be fumigated elevated on another upside down bowl
• Add formalin solution.
• Shut lid immediately.
• Leave for thirty minutes.
• Remove container, leaving lid open for a few minutes to air out.

it will clean in fans and places bleach cant reach

in future hatches place copper pennies or copper sulphate in the water reserves as an anti bacterial

 

[loveourbirds]

this needs to be done outside

Empty incubators and hatchers may be fumigated using 70ml formalin plus 35g potassium permanganate per cubic foot of incubator (a styro bator is about 1 cu foot) suggested for incubators in which an egg has exploded, or in which disease has been causing problems.

• Close incubator vents
• Potassium permanganate powder is placed in an earthenware, porcelain or heat-tempered glass container inside the space to be fumigated elevated on another upside down bowl
• Add formalin solution.
• Shut lid immediately.
• Leave for thirty minutes.
• Remove container, leaving lid open for a few minutes to air out.

it will clean in fans and places bleach cant reach

in future hatches place copper pennies or copper sulphate in the water reserves as an anti bacterial

and that is why I switched to wooden LOL. I have never tried this, but have heard some people had good results with it. use a water based paint and paint the insides of the incubator, after you sterilize it. this seals the Styrofoam and makes it more cleanable. doing this is at your own risk though, like I said I haven't tried it myself.

 

[ozexpat]

Many commercial hatchers do this

They use half concentration with the eggs in the bator. It kills all bacteria on the eggs and increases hatch rates.

I am going to try it in my mega-bator next hatch