Am I doing this right?

[Chickycammy]

As of a week ago, I got my first incubator and I've had eggs in it from day 1! I've read a lot on here and on other websites but I keep hearing from others in my family/friends that I'm not doing it right.

Some info on my incubator:
I got it from the farmers market in my town, it's a Little Giant still air egg incubator 9300 and it holds up to 46 eggs.

Info on eggs I have in it:
I first put 2 Pekin duck eggs into it because my female duck lost all but those 2 due to stress from neighbors dog. She abandoned them and they died. I took the youngest 2 that were maybe 4 days into the incubation and put them in there. The others are younger and some are just now showing signs of life (seeing the ring inside and small blood veins). Rest are 6 more Pekin duck eggs, 12 mixed chicken eggs.

I read up on incubation before I started but I've been hearing a lot of different things and some very confusing. For example; my cousin telling me that the temp and humidity are too high at 100.2 f and 50%. Or that I'm not turning them enough/too much/wrong times of the day.

Please help me figure out what to do so that these little ones will hatch.

Also, a note: All eggs but 2 have bodies and blood veins. Some have heartbeats you can see through the shell (amazing!) and some have bodies that I can start to see limbs (the older ones have a head and feet!) Thank you!

 

[sylviethecochin]

Still air needs a higher temp, so you're right on track at 100.2. Humidity can be compensated--it's an average, not a steady source. Just make sure your air cells are on track and you should be fine.

The numbers above represent days of incubation. Sort of average out the turkey/waterfowl one--it's off by a few days for ducks.

As for turning, just make sure they're point-down or on their sides, and turn them an odd number of times a day so that they're lying a different position than they were last night.

You'll also need to think about lockdown--the last period of hatching which should have high humidity so that the babies can get out of their shells more easily (yes, this is necessary, if you don't already know.) If your eggs are hatching sufficiently far apart (more than a week, at the very least) you may be able to compensate for this period of high humidity by reducing the humidity afterwards to get your air cells back on track. However, you'll also have to worry about turning your hatching eggs during this time, which may reduce your humidity. A turning mechanism may present a safety hazard to baby chicks.

An ideal setup (and pretty much the only one, if your hatches are only staggered by a few days) would be to have a second incubator to put the eggs into for hatching/lockdown.

Good luck!

 

[Chickycammy]

Thank you. I was thinking about trying to get another incubation or make my own for lockdown. I believe my oldest eggs are around 9 to 10 days, which are much older than my 4 to 6-day old eggs.

I turn my eggs by hand and tend to do it at odd times. Like one day I'll do it starting at 10, 3, 7 and right before bed around 11. The eggs are all on their sides as I thought that was how it's done because the mothers had them on their sides.

The humidity is a pain with the incubator as it'll go down to as low as 48% and then jump to 60% and it worries me that it's either too low or too high. Other than adding water is there any way to keep it steady in there? Should I worry this will make them not grow right?

For lockdown which would be best, making an incubator or buying another?

 

[sylviethecochin]

Thank you. I was thinking about trying to get another incubation or make my own for lockdown. I believe my oldest eggs are around 9 to 10 days, which are much older than my 4 to 6-day old eggs.

I turn my eggs by hand and tend to do it at odd times. Like one day I'll do it starting at 10, 3, 7 and right before bed around 11. The eggs are all on their sides as I thought that was how it's done because the mothers had them on their sides.

The humidity is a pain with the incubator as it'll go down to as low as 48% and then jump to 60% and it worries me that it's either too low or too high. Other than adding water is there any way to keep it steady in there? Should I worry this will make them not grow right?

For lockdown which would be best, making an incubator or buying another?

Eggs can be on their sides, obviously--as you said, that's how mum has them. Just never put them on their blunt ends. That's not good. And do try to turn an odd number of times.

Humidity can afford to be an average. Candle your eggs and trace the aircells every once in a while, then compare to the eggs above. If the air cells are too small, reduce water or add some rice. If they're too large, add more water. (Wider containers mean more humidity, narrow containers mean less, and uncooked rice will soak up excess humidity.)

The only time humidity needs to be very steady is lockdown time. Since you're keeping the lid tight during that time, it's usually not as much as a problem.

You can make an incubator, and I personally would. Here's some recipes.

If you do make one, you might consider buying a thermostat (Here's a temperature controller). Here's a monitor of both temp and humidity. (Here's a cheap humidity and temp controller, with a mis-spelling in the title and no reviews, so buyer beware.) The great thing about the above is that they can all be repurposed and are fairly useful if you're any sort of hobbyist. (I am.) The bad thing is that you might as well buy another incubator if you spend sixty bucks. It is, as always, your choice, not mine. Remember--always use two thermometers so that you can compare readings.

 

[Chickycammy]

Eggs can be on their sides, obviously--as you said, that's how mum has them. Just never put them on their blunt ends. That's not good. And do try to turn an odd number of times.

Humidity can afford to be an average. Candle your eggs and trace the aircells every once in a while, then compare to the eggs above. If the air cells are too small, reduce water or add some rice. If they're too large, add more water. (Wider containers mean more humidity, narrow containers mean less, and uncooked rice will soak up excess humidity.)

The only time humidity needs to be very steady is lockdown time. Since you're keeping the lid tight during that time, it's usually not as much as a problem.

You can make an incubator, and I personally would. Here's some recipes.

If you do make one, you might consider buying a thermostat (Here's a temperature controller). Here's a monitor of both temp and humidity. (Here's a cheap humidity and temp controller, with a mis-spelling in the title and no reviews, so buyer beware.) The great thing about the above is that they can all be repurposed and are fairly useful if you're any sort of hobbyist. (I am.) The bad thing is that you might as well buy another incubator if you spend sixty bucks. It is, as always, your choice, not mine. Remember--always use two thermometers so that you can compare readings.

I candled and looked at the air cells in the picture and from what I can tell they look similar though I'll do the tracing later and see if that is a more true telling.

Thank you so much for the links. If it seems too costly to make one I'll just buy another incubator. The farm store here had many different ones, so I might be able to find a smaller sized one for the future hatchlings.

 

[sylviethecochin]

If you're just thinking another Little Giant-type one like you have, I would definitely just make an incubator. Styrafoam box (ten bucks? Max.), temp and humidity monitor (fifteen?) and a heat source (plug-in bulb bases are what, four dollars?) and you're good to go. The controllers are if you want all of the bells and whistles (or if you hatch in a non-temp controlled basement, like I used to before I had broodies.)

 

[Chickycammy]

If you're just thinking another Little Giant-type one like you have, I would definitely just make an incubator. Styrafoam box (ten bucks? Max.), temp and humidity monitor (fifteen?) and a heat source (plug-in bulb bases are what, four dollars?) and you're good to go. The controllers are if you want all of the bells and whistles (or if you hatch in a non-temp controlled basement, like I used to before I had broodies.)

Yeah, I guess it would be much cheaper to try and make it all myself. Hubby and I are not too great at DIY stuff but I could always make my sister come over and help.

 

[lazy gardener]

According to the information in "Hatching Eggs 101" (in the learning center), still air temp is 102, measured at the surface of the eggs, forced air is 99.5. I finished off my last incubation without my fan, so when I turned off the fan, I boosted my temp from 100* to 102*, and had a wonderful hatch. Please read all of that wonderful compilation of material. All of that literature is backed up with many scientific studies. So... I accept the knowledge and instruction of that material, I even find the literature that comes with many incubators to be unreliable.

BTW, hubby and I built both of my incubators. I turn eggs by hand, and have been very pleased with the results achieved in the last 5 years of hatching!

 

[lazy gardener]

You can make an incubator for around $15, if you scrounge materials. The most expensive item will be your thermostat. A digital is about $11.00.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Temperat...0812&wl11=online&wl12=582835616&wl13=&veh=sem

Scrounged materials: 2 light sockets, (2) 40 W bulbs, a computer fan, a 12V telephone charger, a sheet of glass, some silicone, duct tape, wire nuts, miscellaneous screws, nuts, bolts, a free styrofoam box from your pharmacy or pet shop, drill, screw driver, and a bit of yankee ingenuity. Check out Rush Lane Poultry for his excellent videos re: incubator construction and thermostat wiring.

 

[Chickycammy]

I wanted to give a small update.

The eggs are doing really well, all still growing and I've lost none yet. It looks like I have a few that will hatch out soon and this morning when I went to candle them I saw that the oldest duck egg has a hairline crack in it. Did something happen to it or is it trying to hatch out?

Also, it does worry me that the air cells are a bit small so I've started misting them to try and help get more air in there.