When do you pull out the hatched chicks? Do you wait for days then until the hatch is over and pull them out at once? I assisted a chick on my last hatch and no one else hatched...I have always wondered if it was my fault or the fact that they were scrambled and detatched from the go~
I have not read what type incubator you got, but keep in mind that if you stick a probe in the top of a still incubator---I will read higher---the higher up in the incubator the probe is also if the probe is close to the heating element. The probe needs to be at egg level to get a better reading. If you got a fan in that type incubator it will make the temp some more even but it will still be some higher in the upper section.
I use a smaller digital cheap Wal-mart thermometer($10 to $20) that also shows the humidity in my styrofoam incubator( I do not have a thermostat in my cabinet incubator) Using this type thermostat I set my styrofoam incubator---If my eggs hatch a day early or a day late I make a note on this thermometer with a permanent marker---if the eggs hatch early---on my next set I will set the incubator 1/2 degree less, if they hatch late I set it 1/2 degree more. I want most of my eggs to hatch late in day 20 to early in day 21 for regular chicken eggs. Keep in mind DAY 1 IS 24 Hours after You put the eggs in the incubator---not the same day you put them in.
Edited by PD-Riverman - Today at 4:57 am
I have a circulated air Hovabator I am questioning....I also have a Brinsea Mini which I am not worried about yet...
Thanks
I hatch alot of eggs. People feel Different about opening the incubator during Lock-down(day 18 and later) and I tell them do as you want---its Your incubator and Your Way------thats whats good about Raising our own---We do It the Way WE Want!!
One thing that some have a question about is Day 1. A "day" is 24 hours long---If you put your eggs in this morning at 8am---24 hours later is the next day at 8am---which is day 1---When it comes to hatching eggs---Do not let anyone tell you different.
Here is the way I do it.
After the incubator with the turner in it gets up to temp I usually run it for 24 hours to make sure them temp is staying right. I DO NOT try to readjust if the temp climbs a degree above or below the degree's I want---unless it stays there--I FEEL tweeking it to much leads to fried eggs.
I put my eggs in and I keep a check on the proper water--I light and remove any bad eggs on day 12 and re-check on day 18(when removing the turner)---no more, no less---nothing wrong with opening the incubator for a short period of time during the first 18 days.
I remove the egg turner on day 18, then I fill the second water slot and refill the smaller one I been using for the first 18 days. I use a flex straw and a turkey injector needle(because I had one) to add water after day 18, but I practice doing this some time during the first 18 days incase I need to open it to see what I am doing. My GQF styrofoam bater with the plastic liner in the bottom has 2 "trenches" that come over to one side(other styrofoam don't)---all I got to do to add water to it is have a hole on the side the trenches come to, just above them and just big enough to stick the needle through. You can put a piece of tape over these holes to close them off if you want after adding water--I do not feel that is needed.
Note--Once the egg turner is removed I usually have to slightly tweek the temp because of loosing the heat from the turner motor.
You must keep a check on your water. In the beginning I, my Mother and other friends that incubated eggs had a VERY Low hatch %. We open the incubator if we wanted during lock down----I hatched 1 egg out of 37 good eggs at day 18, I remember my Mom hatching 3 out of about the same amount. The second time my Mom hatched with a incubator full(forgot how many good ones at lock down) she Hatched Zero----NOW "I" NEVER open the incubator for NO reason till day 22(Twenty two) for regular chicken eggs Unless "ALL" the eggs have hatched before then. If a chick looks like he needs help---I will help him on day 22 if he is still alive or when all the other eggs have hatched. I will Not open early to help one at the risk of loosing alot of the others.
In the styrofoam incubators I usually hatch 75 to 99% of all the eggs that checked good and were left in the incubator on day 18---(last lighting) The big cabinet incubator/hatcher usually hatches 95 to 100%--closer to 100% most hatches.
One thing that is very important is keeping the incubator in a room/place where the temp stays close the same. If its 100 degrees during the day and 60 at night---you will probably have problems having a good hatch.
Anyone that feels this Is not the Proper way---Again you do it "YOUR" way. I am not trying to change the ways you are doing things---I am just telling the newbies that want help How "I" do it with Hopes that they can have a good/better hatch. Good Luck everyone on your future hatches!!
I want to add this---some repeating, I do not candle my eggs except for day 12 and day 18. I do not use a hydrometer, I do not even have a thermometer or a humidity meter "in" my 300+ egg cabinet incubator--it has a digital control that shows the inside temp but not the humidity. I just started this year using a humidity meter in my styrofoam incubators and I mainly done that just because I was curious.
I feel with your Location and your humidity you will have to adjust your humidity in your incubator for your location. Keep in mind the surface area of your water determines how much humidity you will have---not the depth of the water. I wanted to do a hatch in my hatcher with a slightly higher humidity----I increased the humidity by using a slightly longer/wider water tray. It seemed to help---so I am staying with that as long as its working.
Maybe someone that has alot more knowledge than I can add some more helpful info!!
