First time hatching Emus, some fairly urgent questions

[Erka97]

Still set to 37 degrees celcius, and yet I'm getting readings of 90 and 92 degrees on the opposite side of the eggs. Is there anyone here that can tell me what's wrong or what to do? My eggs feel cooler now and I'm worried. It's currently day 17 and I'm not even sure they're alive anyway what with my incubator being unplugged for a while a few days ago.

As for the incubator's issue I'd like to know what can be causing it to fluctuate so much and how I can stop it? I've seen it go up to 99 degrees, and then for no apparent reason it goes down to closer to 90, all while still set at the same temperature because I've long since given up changing it. Like I said before I don't think it was doing this before since I just hatched over a dozen successful chicken chicks in it a few months ago.

 

[mich9510]

Wish I knew what to tell you. Maybe get a new incubator? If it's only 92-93 degrees I would recommend increasing your incubator temp to 38 or 39 degrees Celsius. Wrap the incubator in towels to help insulate it but make sure you still have air flow. Try some heat sinks. That's the best advice I know to give you.

 

[Erka97]

Currently I've covered the front side of the incubator with a blanket, since the air intake is through the back. My thermometers are now reading 94 and 93 on the opposite side of the eggs from the heater [it's a bit warmer on the closer side] and if they aren't up to 95-97 by morning I think I will increase the temperature a degree. I've read dad emus incubate their eggs at lower temperatures like these and simply wait a few extra days for chicks, which I'm fine with doing, I'm just concerned because I don't want them to get too cold and die.
In other news, they seem to be on track for humidity this week, and I will soon be getting a temperature gauge for reptiles to better determine their temperature as well as a stethoscope so I can attempt to determine whether anything is alive in there.

 

[mich9510]

Don't be discouraged if you don't hear anything with the stethoscope. I have the trained ear of a registered nurse and I didn't hear anything the whole time. (Not for lack of trying). Still had a healthy baby girl hatch.

 

[Erka97]

... And now the incubator gets too hot. It was up near 100 this morning, so I ended up turning it down two degrees. 35 degrees Celcius, I'm still not sure what the problem is or why -if it was having so many problems then too- the chickens I hatched in it were mostly fine.
It's day 20 today and I've noticed the eggs seem to have a warmer spot in the top middle of the eggs. It may just be that this is the highest point on the egg and therefore gets the warmest air, but I hope it means my emus haven't died. I expect being from Australia they can take temperatures that are a few degrees too high -what's an emu dad to do if it's too hot out?-, but then again I'm not that familiar with temperature patterns in that area of the world.
My 9 hour chilled chicken egg has died, which is concerning, but then again it's nearly hatch day and that does happen even to normally incubated eggs.
Also, is the "rocking" of the eggs of particular importance with emus? One would think the parent bird would not know to be so particular about turning directions, and my experiment has indicated it's not so much of an issue with chicken eggs, but I wanted to know since I have others turning my eggs while I am at school how worried I should be about mistakes being made.

 

[briefvisit]

'I expect being from Australia they can take temperatures that are a few degrees too high -what's an emu dad to do if it's too hot out?-, but then again I'm not that familiar with temperature patterns in that area of the world.'

[There's a fine wild breeding-pair down at the fig tree this second. Number One and The Cheepers are off somewhere. There's a track now worn all the way around the fig tree.]

I assume that the feathers keep the hot out as well as in . . . but your question is a reasonable one, and I've thought at length about all this:

the 'range maps' claim that emus exist far into unbelievably hot country. But range maps are rubbish. (You can disprove massive amounts of academic material on emus, and pat your head and rub your tummy at the same time.) But . . . I have found accounts of hunting emus from aboriginal tribes in certain desert areas -- that's good data.

I spent so much time observing Boy Emu in 2013 that I almost froze myself. He would stand perhaps a half a dozen times a day, to push the eggs around with his beak, and sit down facing another direction. So, here in mid-cold country, the male hardly moves from the nest. But in hotter areas, does the male get off the nest? to enable cooling? Does that assume a nest in the shade?

Okay. Start again: just spoke to Gane, the owner of the Western Australian Reptile Park. He also thinks that the male's feathers keep the heat out, and he suggests that the plumage of the birds in the hotter areas is lighter.

 

[Erka97]

That's an interesting adaptation, and rather sad that their research is wrong so often. I wonder how much one could cool a nest in hotter areas just with shade and feathers.
Still, thanks for the information. It's always interesting to know what the real emu parents do with their eggs.

 

[Erka97]

Weights for the past two weeks:
week 2:
A:525
B:573
C:563

Week 3:
A:518
B:566
C:543

Egg C seems to be almost exactly on track for losing 15%, the others are pretty close according to my math. At least that's going well. I've thought I might be hearing something with my stethoscope, but it's too early to tell definitely and it may just be noise from the room or me.

 

[birdeo]

... And now the incubator gets too hot. It was up near 100 this morning, so I ended up turning it down two degrees. 35 degrees Celcius, I'm still not sure what the problem is or why -if it was having so many problems then too- the chickens I hatched in it were mostly fine.
It's day 20 today and I've noticed the eggs seem to have a warmer spot in the top middle of the eggs. It may just be that this is the highest point on the egg and therefore gets the warmest air, but I hope it means my emus haven't died. I expect being from Australia they can take temperatures that are a few degrees too high -what's an emu dad to do if it's too hot out?-, but then again I'm not that familiar with temperature patterns in that area of the world.
My 9 hour chilled chicken egg has died, which is concerning, but then again it's nearly hatch day and that does happen even to normally incubated eggs.
Also, is the "rocking" of the eggs of particular importance with emus? One would think the parent bird would not know to be so particular about turning directions, and my experiment has indicated it's not so much of an issue with chicken eggs, but I wanted to know since I have others turning my eggs while I am at school how worried I should be about mistakes being made.

Do you have the incubator in a controlled climate or sitting outside somewhere? The ambient temps. and humidity can affect those parameters INSIDE the incubator.
Drastic fluctuations are not good for during the incubation period...hope you do well with them.

 

[Erka97]

It's just in my room, with the window open for better air flow since I know the big eggs need more air. I'm thinking of turning the fan on soon too.
I had guessed the room temperatures or something may affect it, but it didn't seem to when I checked.., That said, a blanket over the front of the incubator -where the vents aren't- seems to help. I think some part of the issue could be that there's a small break in the bottom of the door seal.
Anyway I think the eggs are doing okay, I think I'm hearing a bit of a swishing sound when I listen to them with a stethoscope, and I feel a warm spot around their middles when I take them out to weigh or listen to for a few minutes. I know later on it's supposed to be the smaller end of the egg, but my theory on that is they're still in the middle and pretty small since it's only day 24.