egg questions (im new to this)

[nifftiness]

I just made a incubator after seeing someone elses on here. Its just a ten gallon aquarium with fan, dish of water, and humidity/ thermostat. I have a few questions about my chicken eggs

1 when I go to collect my eggs its hard to grab em when their warm. I check tons during the day but their usualy a little cooled off by the time I get them. Do they have to still be warm to incubate them? Im assuming so but thought id ask.

2 I tried using a flashlight and a candle and i dont see anything, my eggs dont go see through when im looking at them, lol. How do you do that, Any advice on candling would be great cause i seem to be challenged, :O)

3 I know this question opens a can of worms, but can people post their humidity at what stages without a huge expenation. I just want to look at what the majority of people are doing and go with the most common. I read past posts and it gets confusing with so many different views. I read someone kept it at 75 through the whole proccess but i think those were a different type of egg. Seemes easy to keep it at one tempature. Whats your temps?

 

[PunkinPeep]

Quote:
1. I usually collect my eggs and then put them in the incubator all at once, so i don't have a staggered hatch. In fact, many folks actually cool their eggs while they're waiting to incubate.

2. To candle, you need to be in a dark room, or i do. I use a plastic planter, with a hole in the bottom and turn it upside down over a lamp. I stick the whole thing in a linen closet where it's dark and then put the egg over the hole in the bottom of the pot. This article has a similar idea, so you can get an idea. 9611804837105417647568

3. Temp 99.5-102. I really don't worry if it fluctuates between those temps. Humidity: between 25 and 55 until lockdown, then 50-60. I got my instructions from the dry incubation post on here. https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=113681

 

[katheria]

Quote:
i really honestly believe this depends on what part of the united states you live in...and what your natural environment is like...... I try and keep the incubator temp as close as i can to 99.5......this dont happen often here....texas summers are brutal sometimes and even house A/C units cant keep up........... ive had my temp fluctuate from 86.9 to 103.5 the last batch i hatched....5 outta 6 chicken eggs and 34 outta 38 quail eggs hatched...........
there is not a exact science to this....its more of a trial and error until you find what works for you........

i have quail hatching right now and chicken eggs due friday are in the same incubator......i tried something a little bit different this time and just ran the humidity around 50% the entire time.......heck i even forgot to turn off the turner 3 days ago.for i didnt even do a lockdown..........i woke up this morning to 10 little bitty fuzzy butts (quail) running around. and i have atleast 20 other eggs zipped right now.....total 33 quail eggs in incubator
I candled the chicken eggs real quick and saw movement in all of them.....im not going to up the humidity and see how things go with the chicken eggs on friday....

yep i break the rules..

...i hatch chicken eggs and quail eggs in the same incubator at the same time...........so far i havent had any problems at all and have really good hatch rates.........