First time hatcher

[PoultryGirly]

Thanks! The temperature, now, is around 99.5-100 degrees. Is this okay for a still air incubator? Thanks!

 

[Knittycat]

101-101.5 (at the top of the eggs) is ideal for still air, but sightly lower all you'll do is delay the hatch a bit. Good luck!

 

[PoultryGirly]

Alright, thanks. I'll go turn the bator up right now!

 

[Knittycat]

Just a hair though!

 

[PoultryGirly]

Thanks, though! I'm so paranoid about this hatch!

 

[PoultryGirly]

So I have a "mercury" thermometer that came with my nova bator, and today, I just bought a digital 2 in 1 hydrometer/thermometer. On the mercury thermometer it reads 100.5/101 degrees, but on the digital, it reads 99 degrees. What is more reliable? By the way, the humidity is staying between 40-45%. Is this okay?

 

[Becci]

The top of the eggs reading 101 F is Ideal, however, it doesn't have to be perfect. In most cases, adjusting temperatures is what causes disasters. So unless the temperature is way off, I don't recommend you mess with it. If my temperature get's below 98 F *and stays like that for 24 hours*, I'll turn it up a notch. If my temperature gets above 102, I'll go ahead & turn it down just a tad - only because high temperatures are more disastrous.

Remember that when you add eggs, the temperature most likely will drop. Sometimes it drops for a while - that's okay, don't turn it up. It will eventually get back to where it was before you added the eggs.

Did you calibrate your thermometers? Chances are neither are reading accurately. I lost an entire batch of eggs a couple years ago to a bad thermometer, the eggs would have been fine had I calibrated and realized the thermometer was actually reading 10 degrees off.

 

[PoultryGirly]

How do I calibrate my thermometer?

 

[PoultryGirly]

Uh-oh... The temp read 102 degrees this morning on one thermometer (mercury; came with bator). But the digital thermometer/hydrometer, which is an Accurite, read 100 degrees. Oh, and yesterday when I put the batteries in the digital theremometer, it read 72 degrees in our house, which is what it usually says on our thermostat. Is this already calibrated? Which thermometer would be the best bet?

 

[Sally Sunshine]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-101 scroll down to calibration