Beginner's Hatch-A-Long

[dutchbunny83]

I put eggs in the incubator from mail order 5 days ago.
I don't think it's keeping the temp very well, I just bought one of the cheap ones at TSC for like $45.
I tried candling this morning, but I don't know what I'm looking at haha.
A few I can see the black dot and veins in, the others just have massive dark spots, I guess the yolk?
Who knows!!!
We'll see in a couple weeks if anything actually hatches...
I let me kids pick out eggs on ebay to hatch (and of course they didn't want the cheap ones!)

 

[SA Farm]

it's lower this am but i think i am taking all water out and running dry it's so humid here that is jacking me up plus it got rainey afteri get humidity down then i'll add back slowly if i need to. i tried opening the vent and it made it MORE humid

If you can get it down to about 50, that's approximately where it's supposed to be. You could candle to see what size the air pockets are and go from there, maybe?

 

[SA Farm]

I put eggs in the incubator from mail order 5 days ago.
I don't think it's keeping the temp very well, I just bought one of the cheap ones at TSC for like $45.
I tried candling this morning, but I don't know what I'm looking at haha.
A few I can see the black dot and veins in, the others just have massive dark spots, I guess the yolk?
Who knows!!!
We'll see in a couple weeks if anything actually hatches...
I let me kids pick out eggs on ebay to hatch (and of course they didn't want the cheap ones!)

Well it sounds like you have some starters anyway!

 

[dutchbunny83]

by the way... is too much humidity bad early on???
my incubator is saying 80% the first 5 days.
I took some water out and it's staying the same.
Starting to think I should have spent more on an incubator....

 

[bigT88]

by the way... is too much humidity bad early on???
my incubator is saying 80% the first 5 days.
I took some water out and it's staying the same.
Starting to think I should have spent more on an incubator....

wooh, thts pretty high. how much water do u have in there. and are your vents open?

 

[dutchbunny83]

No I closed the vents because the temp kept dropping in the lower 90's.
Though honestly I have no idea what the temp is.... the one one top, the one it came with inside, and the digital one I used in my brooder are all giving me temps varying like 5-7 degrees. And at one minute it will be like 3 off and the next like 7 so I have no idea which is right, they're not staying a steady difference.
I've pretty much determined this hatch, if there is one, is going to be disaster!!!
My kids wanted to try, but I think I need to go back to pre-hatched chicks

 

[dutchbunny83]

Though there are holes all around the top punched in without the plugs and they are always open....

And there isn't much water....

 

[bigT88]

can i ask what brand of incubator your using. or is it a home-mader. and did u calibrate for at least a day before putting eggs in?

 

[Mamahumecky]

If you can get it down to about 50, that's approximately where it's supposed to be. You could candle to see what size the air pockets are and go from there, maybe?

i checked this afternoon and it was reading about 58 % so i am leaving it alone. well thats the external thermometer it's reading 58% and 102 and the one on the incubator is running says 50% humidity and 99.5 so i am just going to leave it i figure niether is going to totally trash the hatch so when i candle i'll see what to do.

 

[Manningjw]

No I closed the vents because the temp kept dropping in the lower 90's.
Though honestly I have no idea what the temp is.... the one one top, the one it came with inside, and the digital one I used in my brooder are all giving me temps varying like 5-7 degrees. And at one minute it will be like 3 off and the next like 7 so I have no idea which is right, they're not staying a steady difference.
I've pretty much determined this hatch, if there is one, is going to be disaster!!!
My kids wanted to try, but I think I need to go back to pre-hatched chicks

Did you run the incubator for 3 or so days before hand to check to make sure the temps would hold?