Biggest Incubation Mistakes

[R2elk]

Water don't use water till day 18 with any Styrofoam incubator

That is fine if your normal house humidity is 60%. It is a really bad idea if your normal house humidity is less than 20%.

 

[CaroleW]

FYI - I am a complete newby to incubating - only set 2 or 3 clutches in my incubators and I've even done a staggered hatch against all expert advice. This is what I've learned so far this past couple months...

Mistake One
What did you do? Helped one hatch after more than 24 hrs not yet hatched
What were the consequences? It couldn't walk or stand - I held it in another incubator for 3 days and it never recovered, hardly ate, just chirped and struggled to get up.
Did you fix it? How? No, can't fix, just truly committed to never help again.
What did you learn? Let them hatch on their own, if they can't get out of shell by themselves maybe there's a reason they should not hatch.

Mistake Two
What did you do? Power outage multiple times and no battery hookups for backup
What were the consequences? No or Very Low hatch rates
Did you fix it? How? Ordered battery hookups; In the mean time I plugged into my computer UPS until battery hookups arrived, covered with blankets.
What did you learn? "2 is one and one is none" OR always have a backup plan or 2.

Mistake Three
I have also dropped egg while candling -- it was not fertile so no big loss. Now I handle eggs more carefully.

 

[3KillerBs]

I have an incubator on my Christmas list so I'm here to learn.

 

[Cheery]

You're supposed to use distilled water? Huh.

I’ve hatched hundreds of chicks in incubators just use normal tap water.

 

[Billy Mahone]

Thank god you didn't have any more options as i ticked all

 

[BarnyardChaos]

Do NOT ever attempt to 'help' an egg pip, if it hasn't got a hole in it already. I was just lucky to have an open window within two feet of my 'experiment'. Should've listened to my hubby when he said, "mmm I don't think that's a good idea....."

 

[kurby22]

1. What did I do? I opened the incubator constantly to add water
2. What were the consequences? I had a lot of babies make it to the last day, pip and die
3. Did I fix it? How? Yes, I bought an incubator that I can add water to from the outside and had much much better success
4. What did I learn? Consistency is KEY and humidity really is important.

 

[Luv Ducks]

I made a homemade incubator. Styrofoam cooler, 40 watt bulb, cup of water. Adjusted lid to get the right temperature. Found cold eggs my Mallard Hen had abandoned, brought 4 inside, they were cold for at least 12 hours. Two of them hatched. Next time I tried it the power went out during the middle of the night. Again two hatched. Next time the bulb burnt out during the middle of the night. Every time the eggs got cold. They were all drakes and of course I was looking for Rouen Mallard Hens as that is where the eggs came from and I wanted eggs. I read on line if the eggs get chilled they will be drakes! It was true in all of my hatchings. I loved doing it but will no longer even though I was able to rehome the drakes. Two ran away from the first person and the others will go on the dinner table to the next guy. Drakes can have a rough life. Lesson learned.

 

[PippinTheChicken]

The writing in this thread looks awfully similar to the one in my mistakes thread? Wouldn't you say, @Kiki?

 

[PippinTheChicken]

Reading all the options in the poll actually made me realise all the things I didn't do while incubating. Distilled water? Salt test? I did use the incubator's thermometer but that didn't cause any problems.

1. I didn't use a hygrometer (there wasn't one even built in). You had to fill a part up with water and weigh the eggs.
2. The eggs lost too much weight and only 3/6 hatched (but they were ebay eggs so that was a success for me)
3. Well the damage was done but I was so happy with my 3 babies
4. I learnt that maybe I should get a hygrometer OR don't put too much water in.