First time hatch started last night! ??

[realtreegirl]

Good morning...I started 14 eggs last night in an Farmer innovation with egg turner and fan. I had perfect temp of 99.5 on top of the egg turner using 2 thems. I put my 2 therms on the wire underneath because I figured with the egg turner moving the most stabile place was on the wire. The temp there read 101 back so i put it back on top read 99.5 again. So after the back in forth I decided to set my eggs and keep the therms on the wire botoom and keep the temp reading between 100 and 101.\ figuring the temp up top is 99.5 as it had read for 2 days. Humidity is holding good Like i said first time hatch and I am so nervous of screwing it up and killing all my eggs! What do you all think? Any help would be much appreciated

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

I think your eggs will be just fine. I keep my temp at around 101.5-102 (I have a still air), at the top of the eggs.

They're probably reading higher underneath because the turner is putting off a little heat. Happy hatching!

 

[realtreegirl]

Thanks for the reply I am sooo excited to hatch I am hoping for good results!!

 

[stacie2219]

Thanks for the reply I am sooo excited to hatch I am hoping for good results!!

I have the same incubator and set 24 cuckoo silkie eggs on Thursday night and this is also our first hatch. I have 3 thermometers in it all reading a degree apart and an extra hydrometer the bator was a gift to my eight year old daughter and I want her to have a good hatch!

 

[realtreegirl]

It is nerve racking lol. I have read and read so I felt pretty prepared but once you start I second guess everything. I wanted to stay up last night to make sure the temp and humidity stayed level, lol It is exciting though...oh boy it is like waiting for xmas! Good luck with yours!!!

 

[matlock585]

I set eggs last night too. I'll be following along to see how your hatch goes. I was glued to the incubator my first hatch and it was all I could think about. I definitely can relate to your stress. I incubate in a home made bator I put together 3 years ago. My first build it was in a tiny little cooler and I had the thermostat too far away from the fan. My temp would fall to 96 then rise to 104. I just let it go like that and I hatched 4/5. I used it one or two more times then rebuilt it into a big styro cooler. Moved the thermostat to above the light and my temp doesn't fluctuate at all now. I love it. I guess I've hatched around 200 or so in it. I normally do dry incubation, but this time I'm targeting 25% humidity.
Best of luck to you! I'll be looking for your updates.

 

[chickstarter6]

I set 24 eggs this morning. My first try. I'm so scared I'm going to mess them up. I ran the incubator all night last night and the temp stayed at 100 so I set the eggs this morning. Went to church and when I got home it was reading 110. I nearly had a heart attack. I'm hoping they aren't ruined. I was only gone maybe 3 hours and I got the temp down right away. It's been holding at just under 100 for several hours. Good luck to you all!!

 

[stacie2219]

I set eggs last night too. I'll be following along to see how your hatch goes. I was glued to the incubator my first hatch and it was all I could think about. I definitely can relate to your stress. I incubate in a home made bator I put together 3 years ago. My first build it was in a tiny little cooler and I had the thermostat too far away from the fan. My temp would fall to 96 then rise to 104. I just let it go like that and I hatched 4/5. I used it one or two more times then rebuilt it into a big styro cooler. Moved the thermostat to above the light and my temp doesn't fluctuate at all now. I love it. I guess I've hatched around 200 or so in it. I normally do dry incubation, but this time I'm targeting 25% humidity.
Best of luck to you! I'll be looking for your updates.

I don't understand how humidity can be so different? They recommend 50-60% humidity everywhere I read. But a lot of the BYC people do dry hatches with low humidity! How do you know what to use? I'm keeping mine at 50-55 and let it drop to 40 then add water again. I'm a first timer hatcher:-0

 

[matlock585]

Well, the humidity will really be measurable in the middle of your run. At the end of your first week your air cells should be about nickel sized. If you run too high humidity when your chicks go to hatch they will drown because the egg didn't lose enough moisture. If you run the humidity too low then the air cell will be way to large meaning not enough moisture (inside the egg)and they can get shrink wrapped and not be able to get their selves out of the egg on their own. You will just kind of fall into what you like. I usually use no water till lock down. My humidity stays at about 18-20% and I raise it to 50% for hatch. Once they start hatching it climbs quick and I try to hold it around 60%. BUT, with that pattern I usually have some shrink wrapped, so I'm going to try 20-25% the first 18 days on this run. Really you will know by 14 day candling. If the cells are too small then you can remove the water and get the humidity as low as you can and still have a good hatch. Also, if they are too big you can raise humidity and hatch good. You will see, it's not as complicated as you can make it out to be. You'll do fine, I'm sure.
Chickstarter- I wouldn't worry too awful bad about the spike in your temp. If you were only gone 3 hours it probably didn't do any harm. It would have been much worse though if they were farther along. Hopefully it will stay steady now and I'm sure you will be pleasantly surprised to see lots of veining when you do your seven day candling.

 

[stacie2219]

Well, the humidity will really be measurable in the middle of your run. At the end of your first week your air cells should be about nickel sized. If you run too high humidity when your chicks go to hatch they will drown because the egg didn't lose enough moisture. If you run the humidity too low then the air cell will be way to large meaning not enough moisture (inside the egg)and they can get shrink wrapped and not be able to get their selves out of the egg on their own. You will just kind of fall into what you like. I usually use no water till lock down. My humidity stays at about 18-20% and I raise it to 50% for hatch. Once they start hatching it climbs quick and I try to hold it around 60%. BUT, with that pattern I usually have some shrink wrapped, so I'm going to try 20-25% the first 18 days on this run. Really you will know by 14 day candling. If the cells are too small then you can remove the water and get the humidity as low as you can and still have a good hatch. Also, if they are too big you can raise humidity and hatch good. You will see, it's not as complicated as you can make it out to be. You'll do fine, I'm sure.
Chickstarter- I wouldn't worry too awful bad about the spike in your temp. If you were only gone 3 hours it probably didn't do any harm. It would have been much worse though if they were farther along. Hopefully it will stay steady now and I'm sure you will be pleasantly surprised to see lots of veining when you do your seven day candling.

Thank you for taking the time to answer my question. I will check out the air cells when we candle and go from there.