Diy styro incubator advice plz!? :D

[ourrune]

Thank you and I am more than willing to help if I am around.
I fairly well agree.

They do say you should always turn an odd number of days for this reason. (Not sure how I feel about the theory, but I usually turn either 3 or 5 times, depending how often I think about it.)

I totally agree with the rubber shelf liner. Most dollar stores carry it and I feel so much better having my eggs on a cushioned surface and my chicks on something besides screen when they hatch.
 Personally I don't like to see humidity over 45%, especially the styrofoam bators and I believe the smaller the bator (styro/cooler specifically) that higher humidity levels have and even higher impact on them. Some people have had the rice or unpopped popcorn work for them, others claim it doesn't do anything.  I've never had to lower my humidity.

As for candling. Yes I am an candling addict. I always spot check my eggs nightly by candling. I usually set a decent amount of eggs and I pull 4 or 5 (or maybe 6...lol) each night to check the development, air cells and because I just marvel at the formation of life inside those eggs.  My last hatch, you may have read, I set aside 6 eggs to candle every night to show that (if done right) candling does not compromise your hatch. (Plus I wanted progressive candling pics as well.) I set 21 eggs. The others I was only candling at days 7/14/18.  Around day 5 I had noticed one of the NON candled eggs had an oily look around the egg so I candled and found a small blood ring signifying it quit almost as soon as it began. The other twenty developed perfectly and all hatched healthy and happy and are now 7 weeks old.  Now, of course, the more you handle an egg the bigger the chances something could go wrong. I've read more than one person has dropped an egg during candling killing the embryo/chick. That's always a possibility. Bacteria is also a possiblility. I always wash my hands (I keep wipes by the bator.) before candling and am gentle with turning the eggs.  So I do acknowledge that there are higher possibilities of things happening, but I don't like seeing someone say that you "shouldn't" candle or that candling will compromise the eggs. Like everything else in hatching you take precautions and find what's comfortable for you. Don't let someone guilt you into changing your methods if they are working for you. We all do things differently and no one has the "only way" to do things.  I wouldn't be candling them multiple times a day, but I feel nightly (regularly) candling done right with precautions opens a whole new world, especially for new hatchers and young ones. Seeing the progression of life is an awesome thing.

Yes i feel the same way! I am excited to watch it all just the thought is so cool. My kids are going to love it i love to watch them with the pullets and chicks we have now. I replied with some questions to the other person who was also kind enough to help me out i was wondering when you have time what you think i should do about my temp and if you think i have already ruined my batch. Maybe i should just take it out of the mini fridge so it gets better venelation?

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I put the eggs in at 7 this morning after i finally got everthing seeming stable and wow did the eggs bring the temp up and its just been a over the place i feel i cant get a handle on it

i dont add any water since the humidity is so high in my home anyways and i had to dim the light down so much its been flickering and its really scaring me now i wish id put 2 15 watts in. At least i think that is why its flickering. I slept in today so when i put them in at 7 i went back to sleep i woke up about 8 or 9 and the temp was only 94 i thought that must have been because i had the lid off putting the eggs in and adjusting everything. Then i woke up again it was still low! So i turned it ip to get it warm then at 10 it was 102 so i took the whole lid off to let out the heat and then again it was 102 i took the lid off again. Do you think they will be okay? I read ot should be 100 and not to go over pr below .5 degrees and i have 3/4 thermometers all have different readings one low one med one high and im just not sire which to go by! I have been checking every 10 min to half an hour and i log everything. The humidity has been fine but the temp is driving me crazy 2 days ago ot was the opposite. I dont close the lid on the fridge all the way i leave it propped but because it got so hot and the light is dimmed too much i decided to leave the fridge door all the way open. Im thinking of trying to add more holes but will all this fluctuations affect them badly? I had the option to add 2 15 watts i wish i had done so now.i wpuld add at least 1 15watt but then struggling with the temp will start all over. I plan to wake up every half am hour to make sure the bulb doesnt shut off completely lol not sure how thats going to go for the next 3 weeks. Just wish id Bought the styrofoam incubator off of craigslist now at this rate it would have been cheaper lol the mesh is a good idea, that wont affect air flow? That is what i was worried about. Sorry about the long post but ive been worried i already ruined these eggs. What position would the be best at? Blowing down on the bulb blowing up on top of the bulb or blowing out over the top of the eggs above the bulb? I had it the last way and it made the front cooler than the back even tho it is so small of an area so i made it so it now blows down on top of the bulb. Maybe that is why it is so hot in there now? I thiught being in fl would be am advantage but now i am seeing its not. I think we have leaks around the house our electric is always high possibly why we have sp much humidity. Thank you for both of your time! I hope i dodnt hurt these little babies!

First off, I want to address your last sentence. Don't beat yourself up, no matter what happens. Most of us have had bad first hatches, many have a string of bad hatches before they get a good hatch and most hatches will have chicks that make it all the way to lockdown, fully formed and never make it. It does get hard sometime, but if you guilt yourself you will have a hard time incubating and hatching eggs. Just accept the outcome, no matter what and know that you've done your best, gain knowledge and go into the next one that much more prepared. Now for the questions....

Yes i feel the same way! I am excited to watch it all just the thought is so cool. My kids are going to love it i love to watch them with the pullets and chicks we have now. I replied with some questions to the other person who was also kind enough to help me out i was wondering when you have time what you think i should do about my temp and if you think i have already ruined my batch. Maybe i should just take it out of the mini fridge so it gets better venelation?

Ok, temps. If you have an accurate thermometer and the temps haven't gone above 102 then no, it shouldn't have compromised your hatch.As for being slow to get it up to at least 99.5 the first 24 hours is usually just trying to get the temp right anyhow. (Unless you sold a kidney and bought a Brinsea incubator.

)

I hatch in an older model lg (9200) and while for the most part I can keep it 99/100 I am just thankful if it stays above 99 and below 102. As long as it is in that range and candling shows good development and air cell growth, I try not to worry too much. Because I usually run warm for some of the incubation it isn't off for my hatch to start at day 19 (sign of slightly high temps) but so far all my chicks hatch healthy even being a couple days early.

I would go ahead and see how it does out of the fridge. If it messes with the temps and humidty too much you can always put it back in right? It might actually stabilize the temp with a little more ventilation. Worth a try. (As long as the temps don't fall to a real cold range for a long period of time or spike up past 103 you should at last get some hatchers providing humidity levels agree with the eggs.

 

[gpop1]

im going to give you some bad advice but its what I would do. I would get a smaller bulb and as long as I had somewhere over 80 degrees and under 95 to put the eggs (outside if I had to) then I would just remove them from the incubator and change the bulbs. having a bulb strobing isn't a problem until you realize it has to last another 23 days. Better to fix it while theres only a small risk to the eggs.
The eggs should be fine for a few hours. Once I have the incubator back up I would shoot for a low temp hatch that's aiming for 101 degrees max. I wouldn't worry if it fell to 95 and slowly cycles back up as long as it never goes higher than 102. Fridge incubating is slightly different from poly cooler incubating and I have no idea what happens if you use both.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

im going to give you some bad advice but its what I would do. I would get a smaller bulb and as long as I had somewhere over 80 degrees and under 95 to put the eggs (outside if I had to) then I would just remove them from the incubator and change the bulbs. having a bulb strobing isn't a problem until you realize it has to last another 23 days. Better to fix it while theres only a small risk to the eggs.
The eggs should be fine for a few hours. Once I have the incubator back up I would shoot for a low temp hatch that's aiming for 101 degrees max. I wouldn't worry if it fell to 95 and slowly cycles back up as long as it never goes higher than 102. Fridge incubating is slightly different from poly cooler incubating and I have no idea what happens if you use both.

Is it even necessary to remove the eggs in order to change out the bulb? (Asking w/o knowledge of the set up.)