April 2020 Hatch-A-Long! All are welcome!

[Fatimetta]

I'm sorry your little belly button chick passed away.

And yay for the marans pips!

I go get my eggs today and will set them tonight. Eeeek!!! So excited!

The hygrometer shows 50% and temp is stable at 99.5. Are these all okay?

Now I just checked again and temp was 99.9 and humidity 54%

 

[MandaRae]

FUN!!! I set my Chicken Eggs on 4/2 if all goes well they should hatch on 4/22 Earth Day!
This is my FIRST EVER hatch myself!
My 5yr old is SO excited

 

[CindyinSD]

Now I just checked again and temp was 99.9 and humidity 54%

I think I'd aim for a bit lower on the humidity--say 45% more or less on avg unless you're doing waterfowl. The temp for an incubator with a fan should stay as close to 99.5° as you can manage.

Higher temp will speed up and lower will slow down development. Neither is ideal, but a little bit this way or that now and then will not kill or cripple. Try to put the incubator in a room with a stable temperature around 70-75°. That will make it a lot easier for you to maintain an even keel.

 

[Fatimetta]

I think I'd aim for a bit lower on the humidity--say 45% more or less on avg unless you're doing waterfowl. The temp for an incubator with a fan should stay as close to 99.5° as you can manage.

Higher temp will speed up and lower will slow down development. Neither is ideal, but a little bit this way or that now and then will not kill or cripple. Try to put the incubator in a room with a stable temperature around 70-75°. That will make it a lot easier for you to maintain an even keel.

Thank you! The temp is stable now at 99.5 exactly so thats good. However, my humidity now says 57%. I just got the hygrometer and am wondering if it's accurate. Its an incutherm with a probe so it seems like it should be. I'm afraid it will be inaccurate and I'll take out some water and then have it be too dry. I'm using a brinsea incubator... I wonder if when I put the eggs in that will change the humidity?

 

[K0k0shka]

Hello April hatchers! I just set my first ever eggs a few days ago. They're on day 5 now. Orpingtons, Barnevelders, and some mixed breed, 41 total - half are mine, and half I'm hatching for the person who let me borrow her incubator (a Little Giant). They're due to hatch on April 19. Here's my hatching thread. I'm enjoying following everybody's stories

 

[BluebirdHomestead]

BCM baby #1 is out!!! Yay.

 

[Alliesan648]

Hi everyone! Thought I’d join! set 7 of my eggs on March 31. My neighbor let me borrow her extra incubator, a Brinsea mini advance, it’s my first time hatching
They’ll be a mix of wheaten americauna /barnvelder/black copper Maran, all crossed with my copper maran roo.
candled 3 this morning and saw some veins so, looking good.
Turned the incubator down a tad because things were a bit high according to 2 of my external thermometers (104ish eek)
Wish I had a probe one but I don’t going off my fluke laser thermometer and my little remote house one. (Better to err on the side of cooler though right?)

 

[CindyinSD]

Thank you! The temp is stable now at 99.5 exactly so thats good. However, my humidity now says 57%. I just got the hygrometer and am wondering if it's accurate. Its an incutherm with a probe so it seems like it should be. I'm afraid it will be inaccurate and I'll take out some water and then have it be too dry. I'm using a brinsea incubator... I wonder if when I put the eggs in that will change the humidity?

Hard to say. When you open it to put in the eggs, that brings down the humidity drastically, and the humidity varies so much with ambient house humidity... I would *expect* eggs to increase it, but marginally.

If your humidity runs too high, put the water in a channel with less surface area; if too low, use one with more surface area or add a second channel. Filling a channel to its top makes the humidity last longer; it doesn't increase it. Only greater surface area does that. If you can't get the humidity up high enough (as for waterfowl or during lockdown), you can add pieces of damp sponge *in little bowls*. If you just lay them around, hatchlings can use them as pillows and drown.

 

[FortCluck]

I just got a dozen eggs that I'm putting in the bator tonight the quail should be coming soon... I hope

 

[Fatimetta]

I have another question for you all... so my brinsea holds 7 eggs with the automatic turner and I have an 8th egg and I'm really torn on deciding which one to "get rid of." Could I take out the turner and hand turn them instead and how often? I've heard 3 times a day to every 6-8 hours.. which I guess would be the same lol. Then if I have quitter I could place the automatic turner back in?