Calibrating an acurite

[luvzmybabz]

I did the salt and water test I have 1 measuring 9% under and the other is 8% over does anyone know on an acurite if there is a way to set them or do I just need to add and subtract % as I am reading it?

Kasi

 

[jimnjay]

Isn't that frustrating? You have to add of subtract the points from the reading it gives you. How do the temperature readings compare?

 

[luvzmybabz]

the first reading was at 8 hours 83 on one and 66 on the other at 12 hours 66 and 73

I have have 2 hatches die in the last few days before hatch and I have eggs on the way if I kill another set of eggs I will have a chicken break down I had 1 out of 14 pip and start to zip then die 1 other was live in shell on day 24 when I pipped to check but did not make it unabsorded yoke and guts outside I am trying to figure out what could be making them develope at such different rates?

I am one of those people that i will pip and look at the eggs after 23 or 24 to see if I can tell what the problem was I had a couple that looked fully developed and then did not hatch I had some that were wiggling like crazy on day 18 and then stop these had a lot of excess fluid when I opened them and chicks looked a little less developed then I would expect even at day 18 but I know they were wiggling so I just have no idea what could be going wrong at this point. to me because the humidity was low there should have been less fluid maybe that is just after dead junk but?

Kasi

 

[Poison Ivy]

I did the homemade salt water test and it made mine have reading of 9% & 8% off. I then went and bought the humidity calibration tests bags from a cigar store. I left them in for 8 hours then 12 hours and took readings. It read correctly at 75%! I then tested all of them 6 different times in a 2 week period and all but one of my hygrometers read correctly at 75%. So I recalibrated my r-com 20 and this hatch the chicks popped out clean and with no trouble. I guess when I did the homemade test I didn't do something right and I then caibrated my incubator wrong. I just wanted to let you know to be careful if you made your salt water bag to test with. I would try to find a cigar store and buy one of their bags they run about $3. I bought mine offline when I ordered my temp/hygrometer from them. It made a big difference in my hatch.

 

[seminolewind]

It sounds like your temps are too low. If so, make sure they are 99.5 with forced air and 100.5 to 101.5 with still air. My 2nd and 3rd hatch were much better when I found that the thermometer was reading 1.5 degrees to high, so I never had the temp high enough and ended up the first time with alot of yolks and veins. The other thing I did was followed Cynthia's humidity and kept it 45 to 50 , then 65-70 the last three days, and I had nice clean babies.