First Incubator - Maticoopx30 - Practice?

[newchickychick]

Boy, do I feel like a dummy! I plugged it in, got everything set up... and the egg turner was not letting me test it! I had reset it to day 1. Turns out, it wouldn't let me test until day 5. I guess the egg turner just doesn't work too early in? Regardless, it was SUPER simple setting up. And so far the temperature and humidity have been PERFECT for day 1 for the past hour! We must have it in a good room. We're going to be keeping a close eye on it as we move in and out of the room, as it's a low traffic room but still sometimes we go in/out. Just to be sure humidity/temperature don't spike or drop drastically. How fun! I'm going to enjoy playing with it until we get eggs one day.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'm curious to know how y'all started getting ready for your first ever hatch?

First, read the operator's manual. For your first hatch, do what it says to give you a base.

Calibrate your temperature. Factory settings are not always that accurate. Make sure you are operating at the correct temperature.

Determine what humidity you will use during the incubation phase. Adjust and run the incubator to achieve that humidity. Determine what humidity you will use during the hatching phase. Adjust and run your incubator to achieve that humidity. I'm not familiar with how your incubator manages humidity. Often you need to let it stabilize a while if you spill water or such. But learn how to adjust the humidity up and down. Mine is totally different from yours.

Different humidities work for different people, even with the same model of incubator. There are different reasons for that, mainly we all have different conditions where we live and incubate. Some people do great at 30% humidity, some at 50%. Generally, for lockdown you want it higher, say 65% as an example. So learn how to adjust your humidity. My suggestion is to start with the humidity mentioned in your operator's manual and evaluate your hatch. My recommended hatching humidity was 45% but by trial and error I settled on 40% as best for me.

I've had a 100% hatch rate with shipped eggs, I had a 20% hatch. Both sets were from the same shipper. Some shippers do a great job collecting and packaging the eggs, some don't. Sometimes the post office or shipping company handles the eggs gently, sometimes not. There are reasons some shipped eggs hatch great while others don't. You are in Virginia. Maybe go to the Virginia state thread in the "Where am I! Where are you" section if this forum and chat with your neighbors, maybe somebody close has hatching eggs you can practice with. Or post an ad in the "Buy-Sell-Trade" section of this forum to try to find a supplier near you. Put your location in the thread title to attract the attention of the people you want to see it. Call your county extension office and see if they know anybody near you with fertile eggs to sell. You can use shipping eggs to go through your learning curve with your incubator if you want but they can be expensive and you never know how many will hatch.

It can take a few days to calibrate your temperature and learn how to adjust the humidity but it should not take that long.

 

[newchickychick]

First, read the operator's manual. For your first hatch, do what it says to give you a base.

Calibrate your temperature. Factory settings are not always that accurate. Make sure you are operating at the correct temperature.

Determine what humidity you will use during the incubation phase. Adjust and run the incubator to achieve that humidity. Determine what humidity you will use during the hatching phase. Adjust and run your incubator to achieve that humidity. I'm not familiar with how your incubator manages humidity. Often you need to let it stabilize a while if you spill water or such. But learn how to adjust the humidity up and down. Mine is totally different from yours.

Different humidities work for different people, even with the same model of incubator. There are different reasons for that, mainly we all have different conditions where we live and incubate. Some people do great at 30% humidity, some at 50%. Generally, for lockdown you want it higher, say 65% as an example. So learn how to adjust your humidity. My suggestion is to start with the humidity mentioned in your operator's manual and evaluate your hatch. My recommended hatching humidity was 45% but by trial and error I settled on 40% as best for me.

I've had a 100% hatch rate with shipped eggs, I had a 20% hatch. Both sets were from the same shipper. Some shippers do a great job collecting and packaging the eggs, some don't. Sometimes the post office or shipping company handles the eggs gently, sometimes not. There are reasons some shipped eggs hatch great while others don't. You are in Virginia. Maybe go to the Virginia state thread in the "Where am I! Where are you" section if this forum and chat with your neighbors, maybe somebody close has hatching eggs you can practice with. Or post an ad in the "Buy-Sell-Trade" section of this forum to try to find a supplier near you. Put your location in the thread title to attract the attention of the people you want to see it. Call your county extension office and see if they know anybody near you with fertile eggs to sell. You can use shipping eggs to go through your learning curve with your incubator if you want but they can be expensive and you never know how many will hatch.

It can take a few days to calibrate your temperature and learn how to adjust the humidity but it should not take that long.

I really appreciate all this info, thank you!

I've been checking it every 30 minutes and logging temperature and humidity so far since getting it set up about 7 hours ago! Both thermometers (I calibrated the extra one!) read at a steady 99.5%. This has not fluctuated at all yet.

The humidity started at 55% and stayed incredibly steady, but I've been toying with it to try to learn how to drop it. It's down to 53% from starting to toy with it about half an hour to an hour ago. I'll definitely keep working on how to figure it out! My husband was excited to come home to the incubator. I hadn't told him I was buying it yet. He told me to go ahead and order some eggs as we'd have time before they arrive to toy with it, but I'm worried anything short of months of preparation is too quick. I'm the worrier and over-preparer, he's the "got everything you need? only one way to find out: experience!" type. Ahaha! Though I'm quite happy he's on board with chicken math at least.

Finances aren't really an issue for us in the matter, it's more so me worrying if something goes wildly wrong I would hate to not know how to properly handle it - though I'm not sure how much more could go wrong with shipped eggs vs. gathered-in-person eggs. I do know the detached and saddled air cells can be an issue, but are there any other issues that are really specific to shipped eggs that would make us want to avoid shipped eggs for a first hatch? I'm about to dive headfirst into a night of nonstop educational videos on hatching (ones I haven't watched yet, anyways) before I let him tempt me with chicken, errr, egg math.

 

[newchickychick]

We do also have a generator though, so power outages won't be an issue (thankfully!) for our hatches ever. We had some seriously awful power outages over the last year (spent a whole week in the house with it being 10 degrees! Oof!) and we got a generator when we got chicks. So we do have that as a bonus.

Is it wise to have two incubators, or a second that's a different brand, in case something goes wrong with one? So many variables to take into consideration.

 

[newchickychick]

Oops, and another question! If I were to order eggs from two sellers for example, and eggs were set to get here on different days… it is safe to store the first batch a few days until the second one gets here yes? I read somewhere it needs to be decently cool with high humidity, as well as tipping gently from side to side after the first day of resting from shipping. How does one create the humidity and cooler temperature? And would they need to again be at full room temperature after being kept cooler before being put in the incubator with the second batch? Thinking of logistics to try to avoid staggered hatches in case such a thing were to come up.

 

[Ridgerunner]

are there any other issues that are really specific to shipped eggs that would make us want to avoid shipped eggs for a first hatch?

With shipped eggs you may get a great hatch, an average hatch, or a horrible hatch. You can also get the same hatch rates with gathered eggs but your chances of getting a really bad hatch are a lot less. Your purpose of the first test hatch is to determine if something is wrong with the incubator or your methods. If you get a bad hatch was it due to the shipped eggs or the incubator or your methods? You don't know. So gathered eggs remove one variable, the possible issues with shipped eggs.

Is it wise to have two incubators, or a second that's a different brand, in case something goes wrong with one?

If something goes wrong with your incubator, of course having a second one handy can be a good thing. Some people are more risk adverse than others. I only have one and I'm happy to only have one. Many people have multiple incubators. It's not about what I do or my preferences. It's about you and what makes you more comfortable.

You said money is no object. Nothing wrong with getting two, going through the prechecks, split the eggs, and start both incubators at the same time. I do something like that with my broody hatches. When I set eggs under a broody I give her half and start the other half in the incubator. That way, even if something goes wrong with one (almost never does), the hen still has chicks to raise.

When General Eisenhower was selecting which generals he wanted to use, he did not want a general that was right 100% of the time. He wanted a general that could make the right decision based on the information he had on hand and act because you never have 100% of the information. You do not need months to start incubating. If you take more than a week you are dithering. Ike would never put you in charge.

If I were to order eggs from two sellers for example, and eggs were set to get here on different days… it is safe to store the first batch a few days until the second one gets here yes?

I can tell we are totally different personalities. I like things simple, especially when I'm learning. Some people want things as complicated as they can get, like certain of my relatives. As much as they complain I think they thrive on the drama. Embrace who you are!

With shipped eggs you do not know how old they are or what conditions they were stored in before shipping or what conditions they saw while being shipped. The longer before incubation starts after they are laid, the more hatchability could possibly decline. You may be fine storing the first eggs until the second gets in, you may not.

I read somewhere it needs to be decently cool with high humidity, as well as tipping gently from side to side after the first day of resting from shipping. How does one create the humidity and cooler temperature?

The ideal conditions to store eggs is around 55 F and high humidity. A newly laid egg can go over two weeks in those conditions with no loss of hatchability. I don't know your circumstances or how you can create those conditions. I store my eggs on my kitchen counter in temperatures in the mid-70's F. Humidity is fairly low. But I only store them a week at most before starting incubation.

And would they need to again be at full room temperature after being kept cooler before being put in the incubator with the second batch?

Yes. You do not want the cold eggs getting condensation on them when put in a hot humid incubator. That could compromise the protective coating (called bloom) and allow bacteria to enter. That's why you do not want to wash the eggs before incubating.

Thinking of logistics to try to avoid staggered hatches in case such a thing were to come up.

You can read a lot of threads on this forum where people order from different sources and get problems with shipping times. The first time that happens I sympathize with them, they haven't had the experience to understand the potential problems. The second time that happens I figure they like the drama. That's being harsh though. Sometimes they really want two separate breeds and that is the only way to get them. It's worth the risk to them, though I'd consider a second incubator. As I said, some of us are more risk adverse than others.

I hope you get something useful out of this. You are embarking on an adventure. We do not know how an adventure will end. I wish you luck with yours.

 

[newchickychick]

With shipped eggs you may get a great hatch, an average hatch, or a horrible hatch. You can also get the same hatch rates with gathered eggs but your chances of getting a really bad hatch are a lot less. Your purpose of the first test hatch is to determine if something is wrong with the incubator or your methods. If you get a bad hatch was it due to the shipped eggs or the incubator or your methods? You don't know. So gathered eggs remove one variable, the possible issues with shipped eggs.


If something goes wrong with your incubator, of course having a second one handy can be a good thing. Some people are more risk adverse than others. I only have one and I'm happy to only have one. Many people have multiple incubators. It's not about what I do or my preferences. It's about you and what makes you more comfortable.

You said money is no object. Nothing wrong with getting two, going through the prechecks, split the eggs, and start both incubators at the same time. I do something like that with my broody hatches. When I set eggs under a broody I give her half and start the other half in the incubator. That way, even if something goes wrong with one (almost never does), the hen still has chicks to raise.

When General Eisenhower was selecting which generals he wanted to use, he did not want a general that was right 100% of the time. He wanted a general that could make the right decision based on the information he had on hand and act because you never have 100% of the information. You do not need months to start incubating. If you take more than a week you are dithering. Ike would never put you in charge.


I can tell we are totally different personalities. I like things simple, especially when I'm learning. Some people want things as complicated as they can get, like certain of my relatives. As much as they complain I think they thrive on the drama. Embrace who you are!

With shipped eggs you do not know how old they are or what conditions they were stored in before shipping or what conditions they saw while being shipped. The longer before incubation starts after they are laid, the more hatchability could possibly decline. You may be fine storing the first eggs until the second gets in, you may not.


The ideal conditions to store eggs is around 55 F and high humidity. A newly laid egg can go over two weeks in those conditions with no loss of hatchability. I don't know your circumstances or how you can create those conditions. I store my eggs on my kitchen counter in temperatures in the mid-70's F. Humidity is fairly low. But I only store them a week at most before starting incubation.


Yes. You do not want the cold eggs getting condensation on them when put in a hot humid incubator. That could compromise the protective coating (called bloom) and allow bacteria to enter. That's why you do not want to wash the eggs before incubating.


You can read a lot of threads on this forum where people order from different sources and get problems with shipping times. The first time that happens I sympathize with them, they haven't had the experience to understand the potential problems. The second time that happens I figure they like the drama. That's being harsh though. Sometimes they really want two separate breeds and that is the only way to get them. It's worth the risk to them, though I'd consider a second incubator. As I said, some of us are more risk adverse than others.

I hope you get something useful out of this. You are embarking on an adventure. We do not know how an adventure will end. I wish you luck with yours.

Thank you SO SO much for all this. This was a wonderful read! I do try to think of all the “what if”s and it absolutely does complicate things. I think I’m very much the type to blame myself when something goes wrong so I try to think of ALL the variables and how to prevent them. We’ve got all the space for lots of chicks, but if anything goes wrong I worry I’m a bad chicken parent and that I’ve failed them. So I possibly have been overthinking a lot of this in wants to be a good chicken owner.

This put me a lot at ease. So here we go! I’m going to give it a go and stop hemming and hawing about it. I’ve done a lot of research already and if there’s obstacles, I will face them as they come up and thankfully have this wonderful resource here full of experienced and kind folks!

Edit: For what it’s worth too, my husband said “why are you waiting on eggs? Go for it!” Last night too. I’m the meticulous prepper, he’s the adventure gung-ho one.

 

[newchickychick]

Thanks for posting twice, phone.

 

[AshVau22]

Out of curiosity what breed are you planning to hatch?

 

[newchickychick]

Out of curiosity what breed are you planning to hatch?

I went ahead with some surprises (standard breeds) and Polish! Fingers crossed they'll get here same day as I... really should have thought that one through. If not, this will be the first and only time I store eggs because it seems so stressful. It looks like some could arrive Friday or Saturday (if they get shipped tomorrow) but the surprise eggs will be shipped Friday for Monday arrival. The surprises had some neat breeds I don't have, and most of our chicken purchases have been 'surprise breed' batches anyhow. I like choices being made for me. And only one way to know what breeds we like best - trying them all!

Edit: The surprise breeds can be any of the following! (I didn't realize there were Bantam potential eggs in these... I was reading the listing too fast, aha! Thank goodness we already have Bantams);
Ayam Cemani, Altsteirer, Birchen Marans, Barbeziux, Copper Marans, Blue Dominoes, Silkie, Silverudds Isbar, Isabel Ameraucana, Crested Cream Legbar, Mosaic, Mille Fleur Bantam Cochin, Mottled Orpington, Novogen Brown, Olive Egger, Opal Legbar, Russian Orloff, Pavlovskaya, Swedish Flower, and White Bresse.

I only have Olive Eggers and Silkies, but none of the others in those variations! (We've got Bantam Cochins and Buff/Lavender Orpingtons but no Mille Fleur Cochins or Mottled Orps.