Early hatch - temp ideas PLZ!!!

[fatcatx]

Ugh - went into lockdown and I've already got my first pip - almost 2 days ahead of schedule. I thought I had got my incubator calibrated correctly but Cleary not!
Can anyone tell me approximately how far off the temp would need to be to get a pip this early? I've just turned it down 1 degree trying to mitigate some of the overheating so they aren't stressed further. I'm already having horrible visions of what the feet/legs are going to look like.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Likely 1-2F high.
What are you using to measure the temperature? Just the reading on the incubator or other thermometers. If others, what brand are they?

 

[fatcatx]

I used two old-school mercury thermometers. I checked their calibration as well before using them. The incubator had hot spots but according to Brinsea's calibration guide, I'm supposed to take an average.

I also tried rotating the eggs around so a group wasn't in one spot they whole time. Maybe this egg just didn't get rotated as effectively?
Is decreasing the temp at this point the best thing to do? I already decreased it by 1 degree. Should I do more?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Hard to say without knowing the exact temperature.
The 1 degree drop was a good idea. If I know the exact temperature, I like to drop the temperature to about 99 even on day 21.
Rotating the eggs throughout an incubator with dead zones is also a good routine.

I have 3 thermometers I recommend.
The Thermoworks RT301
https://www.thermoworks.com/RT301WA
The Brinsea Spot Check
And my new favorite is the Govee H5074
https://www.amazon.com/Govee-Thermometer-Hygrometer-Bluetooth-Temperature/dp/B07R586J37

 

[fatcatx]

so far so good. I think what happened is these are some bonus eggs that I ended stacking on top for the first 4-5 days before they got rotated in. I would not have thought that many days would be enough to jump them that many hours ahead of the rest. I got lucky - lesson learned. Others are still hatching a little early but early tomorrow is day 21 so the rest are closer to the mark.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I'm not sure what you mean by that. (stacking for 4-5 days)
What I can imagine was if you had 2 layers of eggs, the ones on top were hotter because of the thermal stratification in the incubator. Hot air rises so the eggs on top would be in a much warmer zone.

Congratulations on the hatch.