First time incubating help

[Vanessa1260]

Hello everyone im new here. Over this past weekend we lost a rooster due to dog attack. We took the eggs the hens laid because they werent sittimg on them amd decided to incubate them ourselves. We made a diy incubator. The ony problem i have is keepimg the humidity up. Amd ideas? Right now i have a bowl filled with water and a sponge in there but nothing humidity is at 16%

 

[wynn4578]

Do you have a picture of your incubator.

 

[Vanessa1260]

I have been watching YouTube videos andd a lady put a water bottle in hers so thought id try it. Also been watching the holes if the temp gets down too low ill cover them. I also had to go out and buy a 25W light bulb. We did have a 38W in there but the temp was too high

 

[wynn4578]

Are those squares near the top vent holes?

 

[Vanessa1260]

Yes because the first light bulb we had in there made the temp too high

 

[wynn4578]

Do you have a temp controller?

 

[wynn4578]

Trying to regulate the temperature manually is going to wear you out. You need to get a temp controller. Since you need one quick I would recommend the Stc1000. Search pid temp controller on eBay or amazon. One of the brands it's under is inkbird. Sometimes they're sold as wilhi.

The bottle you have in there is to help stabilize the temps but without the controller it's going to be a never ending battle to keeps the temps in range. After you get a controller you need to close up some of those vents. They're letting all of your humidity out.

Also I don't see the eggs but they need to be out of direct line of the bulb. Put your thermometer on or very near your eggs and try to hold the temp in the 99 to 100 range much higher or much lower for very long will damage them.

Lastly don't get frustrated this is your first attempt.

If you have the means being this is your first try you should go get a cheap styro incubator ( forced air if you can) they're about 40 bucks around here and available at any farm supply store.

 

[Vanessa1260]

I have not put the eggs in yet still trying to stabalize the temp and humidity. Thanks for the info ill see what i can do!

 

[wynn4578]

Btw. Your hens will lay fertile eggs for some time. The fertility will taper off over the next few weeks and though I recommend incubating within 3 days if possible you can hold them for up to 10 day and still be successful so you have some time. Just don't put them in anything until you're sure it's ready. Once you start the process you can't stop it.

 

[wynn4578]

Lastly. Don't wash the eggs.