Finally incubating! Lots of questions

[CHlCKEN]

True, I could, didn't think of that.
I think I'm to impatient to incubate though to wait for another one....

*too
I don’t blame you. Incubating is something I’ve always wanted to do too, I would feel the same way. Maybe I’d buy that incubator from you

 

[CHlCKEN]

I'm really excited, like I said, I'm checking the bator every 20 minutes, and it doesn't' even have eggs in it! Lol! I don't know what I expect to see thats different from the last time. Lol!

Did you order your speckled Sussex hatching eggs yet?

 

[JCaseyHammond]

Hey guys! I got a Little Giant Deluxe incubator for Christmas, and am finally ready to incubate. I did want a Nurture right 360, and was slightly disappointed, but still excited none the less, I'm definitely not complaining. I'm incubating! Finally!
I am still getting eggs together for hatching, but am setting it up now to get the hang of it. So far, it seems like the Temp is off by a few degrees, but the other thermometer may still be catching up. The humidity hasn't stabilized yet either i'm waiting for it to level out. I read that Bantam hatching eggs need a 40 to 50 percent humidity, but that isn't an exact number, I want to double check on that.

The box says its includes fan kit, but the instructions are confusing and keep saying the fan kit is cold separately. I'm assuming that that is just for their other models that don't include the fan kit. So with a fan, what does the temp/humidity need to be for bantam hatching eggs? They actually may be mixed, standard hens with bantam rooster, but I haven't gotten the eggs yet.

I obviously have 0 experience lol! Questions- how do you lower the humidity if its to high? How do you know if the turner is working? Can I trust an automatic turner? Those are my questions for now, but i'm sure ill think of more. Thanks for your time and help!

Awesome, congrats! Just do your best with it, consider it a trial run! I’ll be rooting for you and learning along with you

 

[DucksAreBest]

I'm really excited, like I said, I'm checking the bator every 20 minutes, and it doesn't' even have eggs in it! Lol! I don't know what I expect to see thats different from the last time. Lol!

Yes, I also was like that when I was incubating for the first time.

 

[Weeg]

The friend of mine is bringing up a dozen eggs on Friday! There mixed, bantam Roo, and either possibilities of EE, and Asian black mothers! She will take the standard sized hens and extra roosters for meat, and we have a bunch of eggs, so enough left over if I loose some. I am also ordering Polish and Silkie bantam eggs as well, so very excited for my first hatch, yay!

Any tips on keeping humidity and temp even? I left for a few hours to take care of horses, and the temp seemed to be down to 96, I still have to calibrate thermometers, and humidity was at 60%. I can't seem to keep either of them at a stable level for very long. I'm afraid I'm gonna kill all of my expensive eggs! Lol! Any tips? I need some, that is my biggest issue. I can take a pic of humidity setup and thermometers if that helps at all.
Thanks so much for you help and support guys! @MGG @shawluvsbirds

 

[DucksAreBest]

Anyone have suggestions for the above?
I am also not sure if my temperature is correct. I have two thermometers in there, one reads humidity to. I have an aquarium thermometer, and a La-Crosse Technology thermometer, (the link is the closest one I could find to the one I actually have. Same brand though). I have both in there, and they usually read about .3-.5 degrees apart from each other.
I tried to calibrate the aquarium thermometer, but filling a cup with ice, then topping it off with water. Waiting 3 minuets, and sinking the probe an inch into the water. The reading woudltn stabilize though. I'd watch it, and it would go down to 33.3 degrees, then, I'de lad away for a moment, come back and its at 35 degrees. I'de stir the water around, then it would go down to 33, and 32, I'de walk away, come back, its at 38.
The reading kept jumping around, I didn't' want to trust it. So I gave up on calibrating that, and I couldn't figure out how to calibrate the other one. Any ideas? Do I need a new thermometer, or ideas on how to calibrate the La-crosse one? Thanks!

@MGG

 

[getaclue]

Make your Ice Water, and stick the tip of the La-Corsse in. You know what it should read. Even if it is off, as long as it's consistently off by the same amount, you can add/subtract, to adjust accordingly.

 

[Weeg]

I've been checking it about every 20 minutes this morning, I'm trying to get the hang of keeping the temp at 99.5 and the humidity between 47-48%. Its though, I don't know if its the incubator or what, but it seems like my humidity will be really low, I'll add a sponge that I squeezed a lot of water out of but still moist, check in a few minuets, its raising, check in 10 minutes, its at 60%. I then switched to a paper towel because I think the surface area of the sponge is to big. The paper towel is better, but the humidity still isn't super even. With the paper towel, if it gets to high, I will fold the towel into a smaller square to lower the humidity by surface area of the water. I feel like I'm making adjustments every 20 minutes, is that normal, or is there a better strategy for this?

The temp seems pretty stable at 99.3, but I raised the temp on the bator by 1, trying to get it to stabilize at 99.5.
Any tips are appreciated! @MGG @shawluvsbirds @KenjiQuacker?

 

[Weeg]

The friend of mine is bringing up a dozen eggs on Friday! There mixed, bantam Roo, and either possibilities of EE, and Asian black mothers! She will take the standard sized hens and extra roosters for meat, and we have a bunch of eggs, so enough left over if I loose some. I am also ordering Polish and Silkie bantam eggs as well, so very excited for my first hatch, yay!

Any tips on keeping humidity and temp even? I left for a few hours to take care of horses, and the temp seemed to be down to 96, I still have to calibrate thermometers, and humidity was at 60%. I can't seem to keep either of them at a stable level for very long. I'm afraid I'm gonna kill all of my expensive eggs! Lol! Any tips? I need some, that is my biggest issue. I can take a pic of humidity setup and thermometers if that helps at all.
Thanks so much for you help and support guys! @MGG @shawluvsbirds

Anyone have suggestions for the above?
I am also not sure if my temperature is correct. I have two thermometers in there, one reads humidity to. I have an aquarium thermometer, and a La-Crosse Technology thermometer, (the link is the closest one I could find to the one I actually have. Same brand though). I have both in there, and they usually read about .3-.5 degrees apart from each other.
I tried to calibrate the aquarium thermometer, but filling a cup with ice, then topping it off with water. Waiting 3 minuets, and sinking the probe an inch into the water. The reading woudltn stabilize though. I'd watch it, and it would go down to 33.3 degrees, then, I'de lad away for a moment, come back and its at 35 degrees. I'de stir the water around, then it would go down to 33, and 32, I'de walk away, come back, its at 38.
The reading kept jumping around, I didn't' want to trust it. So I gave up on calibrating that, and I couldn't figure out how to calibrate the other one. Any ideas? Do I need a new thermometer, or ideas on how to calibrate the La-crosse one? Thanks!

 

[Weeg]

Right now the Aquarium thermometer reads 99.7 and the Digital thermometer, (La-Corsse Technology) reads 97.6. Which one do I trust? I've been trusting the Aquarium thermometer more then the digital, since the aquarium thermometers are usually very arcuate. The incubator thermometer, reads 100.4 but I know those are never accurate.