First time hatcher - Setting April 8 or 9 - Now what?

[tigercreek]

I plan to set mine Monday or Tuesday, in my homemade incy. Depends on when my shipped eggs arrive. I have been told that 1 week is optimum for age of hatching eggs, and that after 10 days the expected hatch rate deteriorates. I have a dozen plus, shipped Australorps coming, and picked up a mixture of other breeds while on vacation. I'll have Polish, Barred Rocks, Cuckoo Marans, Amraucanas, and Blue/black/splash Rocks. 55 or so plus extras in all.

Don't know what I will use for a brooder if more than 1/2 hatch!! This will be my 2nd hatch. I did a trial run with local eggs to verify that everything is working correctly.

.......stan

 

[Theo]

I hope to get my eggs on Saturday. This will be my first hatch. I am using a hovabator 1588. I have a question about adding water: do you use a small piece of sponge in the reservoir? or do you just pour in a small amount of water (1/4 cup??) I know I should probably break down and get a hygrometer ...

 

[PacsMan]

Quote:
According to the .pdf instructions (found here) it's the surface amount of water, not the depth (which would be more with a sponge).

"Add water every few days to the center trough only. Usually twice a week is sufficient. The amount of
moisture in the incubator is determined by the surface area of water exposed to the air. Under high
humidity conditions and for some species of birds, less humidity is required. (The humidity in the
incubator can be reduced by covering part of the water trough with aluminum foil and securing it
with tape) Whenever there are doubts about the level of humidity in the incubator, less is usually better
than more, except for the last two days. 2 to 3 days before the hatch, stop turning the eggs, and fill
both the center and the outer troughs with water.

Place top on the incubator and do not remove until hatch is complete*. Remove dry chicks as soon as
possible to a brooder that has food and water and temperatures of about 95oF to 100oF. Chicks can survive
up to 48 hours after hatch without food or water, but feed and water them as soon as possible to avoid
stress. Some cases may require moving chicks to brooder to dry.
* After hatch pull red vent plugs to help dry chicks if necessary."

=-=-=-

My egg supplier said he would have 70 eggs for me on Friday.
Wha...? ~gulp~ I told him I could only handle 42 for the hatch.
I told him to bring a few extra in case any cracked...

Good luck to all!
Marty

Edited to add:
I bought my set up from Incubator Warehouse on eBay . They did an upgrade on the (thermometer / hydrometer)

 

[wowmanacat]

Quote:
...I still have to get my Incubator build...

Have you hatched with a commercial incubator? I'd be afraid that I couldn't keep the temperature or humidity just right. I like the idea of set-em-and-forget-em...

I suppose if you had auto turners, it wouldn't be that hard to make an incubator. Is this your first attempt at making one?

Yes this is my first time making one, but the eggs that I am going to be using are eggs that I would be throwing away since the chickens are on antibiotics and I will not eat the eggs. The incubator is going to be a work in progress so this time I will not have a turner and will be doing it by hand. Hey we all had to start at one point in time and learn how to get it right for where we lived.

 

[PacsMan]

Alright!

Eggs should be here in 12 hours, on your marks.....

Get Set......

 

[PacsMan]

Ok, the bater is warming up.

Temp should be at 100º (or between 99º and 101º) and humidity should be between 40 and 42%.

Right??

 

[wowmanacat]

I just set my eggs and the temp was at a good level, but when I put the eggs in it went down and I knew it would having to open it to put them in. I am keeping a good eye on it since I am going to have to turn eggs by hand.

 

[PacsMan]

I set mine last night. Temp went down 20º when I put them in.

It looks like my temperature is between 97 and 99, and the humidity is 49 and 51%.
I still can't find where someone will say, this is the exact temp and humidity that it should be at.

Can anyone tell me for sure?

Marty

 

[1muttsfan]

hi pacsman,i just set 60-ish eggs in my bator on the 7th, so will join in too

Temp should be 99.5, humidity 50% until the last 3 days then 75%. You do not turn the eggs or open the incubator for the last 3 days. A hygrometer is Very helpful. If your humidity is too low, you can add a sponge (or a piece of one) into your water reserve to increase surface area.
Here is my bator:

 

[PacsMan]

Mutts,
Wow, are you turning all of those by hand?! I think I would get tired of doing that...

I think my digital thermometer is a wee bit off. The old fashion on laying on top of the eggs says just over 100, and the digital one hangs around 98. I think they'll be ok.