Confused about incubating eggs.

[ohnoicantfly]

Hi! I was very recently given an incubator by a family member and plan to incubate some eggs in April or May. I've done a fair amount of research and feel pretty prepared, but there's a lot of different info on things like turning eggs, temperature, what size/shape eggs to use, etc. If someone could give me some pointers, that would be great.
I found this chart, but I don't really understand what controlling the air chamber means. And with the water container, when they say "full" they literally mean keep it full, right? That's such stupid question, but I don't want to mess anything up.
But everything on the chart looks correct, right? Thanks.

 

[NatJ]

I found this chart, but I don't really understand what controlling the air chamber means.

I would guess someone mis-translated from another language, and ended up with "air chamber" when we would say "air cell," and "control" when we might say to "check" or "candle."

It is common to check the size of the air cell when candling eggs on days 7, 14, and 19 (lockdown). The air cell gets bigger during incubation, and needs to be a certain size by the time the chicks hatch. If the air cell is too big or too small, you adjust humidity so it will grow faster (low humidity) or not grow so fast (high humidity).

The air cell can also be checked by weighing the eggs when they are set, and again on days 7, 14, and 19. But of course that only works if you have a scale that is sensitive enough to detect that size change. Big hatcheries weigh a whole tray of eggs, and then the same tray again later, rather than trying to weigh single eggs.

Here's one source of information:
https://www.brinsea.com/Brochures/BrinseaHandbook.pdf
On page 15, there is a diagram showing how large the air cell should be on days 1, 7, 14, and 19.

On page 11, it says
"the egg needs to lose 13 – 15% of its weight between the time of laying and pipping... Fairly wide tolerances in humidity are bearable although not ideal, as long as the chick ends up having lost the correct amount of weight by the time of hatching. Correction can be made in later stages for errors earlier."

 

[MysteryChicken]

Hi! I was very recently given an incubator by a family member and plan to incubate some eggs in April or May. I've done a fair amount of research and feel pretty prepared, but there's a lot of different info on things like turning eggs, temperature, what size/shape eggs to use, etc. If someone could give me some pointers, that would be great.
I found this chart, but I don't really understand what controlling the air chamber means. And with the water container, when they say "full" they literally mean keep it full, right? That's such stupid question, but I don't want to mess anything up.
But everything on the chart looks correct, right? Thanks.

The humidity is too high for the first 18 days. It should be between 35% - 45%, or 45% - 50% depending on your indoor humidity for chicken eggs.

For lockdown it should be no higher then 55% - 65%, also depending on indoor humidity levels.

 

[ohnoicantfly]

Very informative. Thank you
How many times a day should I turn the eggs, and how much should I turn them?

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

I highly recommend getting a thermometer and hygrometer
Calibrate both before starting
Keep them placed in the bator and the thermometer should be set height of the the top of egg
The bators are never correct and a little off can change hatch times
every Bator has cool and warmer spots so moving eggs around helps to keep it more even
I turn my eggs 3 , 5 or 7 times
Always uneven number so the longer night wait isn’t always on the same side
I agree 40-45 till lockdown then I run 60-65 for hatch this number will jump up to 70-75 after they start to hatch. Don’t worry about those jumps it’s fine
I weigh and mark my air cells once a week
That way I can adjust if needed like @NatJ has said

 

[ohnoicantfly]

I highly recommend getting a thermometer and hygrometer
Calibrate both before starting
Keep them placed in the bator and the thermometer should be set height of the the top of egg
The bators are never correct and a little off can change hatch times
every Bator has cool and warmer spots so moving eggs around helps to keep it more even
I turn my eggs 3 , 5 or 7 times
Always uneven number so the longer night wait isn’t always on the same side
I agree 40-45 till lockdown then I run 60-65 for hatch this number will jump up to 70-75 after they start to hatch. Don’t worry about those jumps it’s fine
I weigh and mark my air cells once a week
That way I can adjust if needed like @NatJ has said

Thanks for the info! Do I turn the eggs a full 180 degrees, or just 90 or something like that?

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

Thanks for the info! Do I turn the eggs a full 180 degrees, or just 90 or something like that?

I mark my eggs
X on one side
O on the other
This way I always make sure I don’t forget to turn one
Also helps to turn it the proper turn
180

 

[ohnoicantfly]

I mark my eggs
X on one side
O on the other
This way I always make sure I don’t forget to turn one
Also helps to turn it the proper turn
180

Thanks a lot!
One more question. How cold is too cold for 5-6 week old pullets/cockerels? Basically, if I started incubating next week the incubation process would take 3 weeks and then they would be in the brooder for a few weeks after that. That would bring me to early/mid May. Would an average daytime temperature of 10-15 degrees Celcius be too cold for 5-6 weeks chicks?