first incubation...help!

[ChickenChik]

This is my first incubation and I am scared to death. What is the right temp. And humidity for the incubator?

 

[Backyard Farm]

temp.. 99.5 - 101 ish. ...but the hard part is getting reliable readings. Most digital are quite inaccurate. I would recommend a mercury thermometer... getting hard to find these days. Can use an old stype "people thermometer" but just need to shake it down to get new reading. You can make a small hole in the side of you bator for getting temp readings so you don't have to open and close each time. Or Lyons has mercury continuous reading thermos for about $18.

humidity - I try for about 40-42%. It is even harder to get accurate humidity readings than temp readings. A wet bulb set up from Lyons is good... must call them if you want mercury thermometers as their catalog and website only show "red spirit". Mercury thermos same price. ...or... adjust humidity by weight loss. need a $10 "jewelry scale" from ebay. I go for about a 13% loss over the first 18 days.

... and if things don't go so good the first time ... cry.... read and learn more... and try again.

 

[kathyinmo]

Quote:
Do you have still air or circulated air (with a fan)? Circulated is 99.5 and still air is 102. I think. I have no experience with the still air, but I have read and I think it is 101.5 or 102.5

 

[Ridgerunner]

The right temperature depends on the type of incubator you have. It is different for still air and forced air.

It is hard to get anybody to agree on what the right humidity is. I shoot for 40 to 45% for the first 18 days and 65% for lockdown with my 1588. When they start hatching, the humidity goes through the roof. Others have success using different humidities, even with this same type of incubator.

Did you get instructions with your incubator? If you did, I suggest you follow those instructions your first time hatching. The manufacturers really want you to have success so you will recommend their incubator to your friends and they know their incubators better than we do. Get a decent thermometer and hygrometer and calibrate them, keeping records of what happens. After your first hatch, access your unhatched eggs to determine how you might improve future hatches.

If you did not get instructions with your incubator, tell us what you have. Someone who has a similar one may be able to give you pretty good instructions.