First Time Incubating! SO EXCITED!!

[AmyLynn2374]

Lol.....I can imagine!! I will probably be checking on them every 5 minutes......sounds like a "crazy chicken lady" to me!! Lol

Now you sound like me...lol

 

[dorpersheep]

Now you sound like me...lol

X2!!!!

Sounds like it is all going really well, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you this week. My 5 cents worth for what it's worth - don't open the incubator during lock down if you can at all help it and don't panic if they don't all appear right on time on day 21, our first ones didn't appear until day 24/25. Our second batch I got the temp of the inc working better and we hatched day 21/22.
Of course the extra waiting is a total pain though!

 

[StephensonC]

Yes, I'm thinking they will be a day or two late because I had issues with the temp. the first few days. And the embryo's seem a little smaller than other candling pics that I've seen on corresponding days. Should I still go with lockdown on day 18? Will it affect them by not turning them if they go past day 22 or more?

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Yes, I'm thinking they will be a day or two late because I had issues with the temp. the first few days. And the embryo's seem a little smaller than other candling pics that I've seen on corresponding days. Should I still go with lockdown on day 18? Will it affect them by not turning them if they go past day 22 or more?

From what I understand, no. Of course if you are really worried you can push your lockdown back a day,(my sister always locked down at day 19 anyway..lol) but I personally would commence at day 18 with lockdown. I read at one point they could stop being turned before that, but I would stick with the 18 days.

 

[StephensonC]

Another question: When I woke up this morning, the humidity was at 70%, with NO water in there. I haven't had to add any the last several days. It is the beginning of day 16. Isn't that way to high? I opened the lid for a minute and let it come down to 45%. Is 70% going to hurt the eggs? I don't know how long it stayed that high, The last time I had checked it was at 1am and it was fine then.

Thanks, I'm so glad I have you all!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Another question: When I woke up this morning, the humidity was at 70%, with NO water in there. I haven't had to add any the last several days. It is the beginning of day 16. Isn't that way to high? I opened the lid for a minute and let it come down to 45%. Is 70% going to hurt the eggs? I don't know how long it stayed that high, The last time I had checked it was at 1am and it was fine then.

Thanks, I'm so glad I have you all!

Most everything goes by average so will it hurt them if it was high for a night. No. But you should keep an eye on the air sac to make sure they are are loosing enough moisture and the air cell is growing enough. Are you sure your hygrometer is correct would be the next big question and is it really humid where you are? Is the bator in a place where it's getting high humidity? My last hatch I did dry and w/no water at all the first 18 days, my hygrometer read between 45-50 average. I don't know for sure if that hygrometer is accurate, but I kept an eye on the air cells to make sure they weren't loosing too much moisture and getting too big. and And yes, 70% is too high (as an average). If you have your plugs/vents closed in your bator and it is keeping those levels I would open the vents/take out the plugs. (I leave mine out for the whole duration.) And you are getting close to lockdown

YAY! So exciting!

 

[StephensonC]

Most everything goes by average so will it hurt them if it was high for a night. No. But you should keep an eye on the air sac to make sure they are are loosing enough moisture and the air cell is growing enough. Are you sure your hygrometer is correct would be the next big question and is it really humid where you are? Is the bator in a place where it's getting high humidity? My last hatch I did dry and w/no water at all the first 18 days, my hygrometer read between 45-50 average. I don't know for sure if that hygrometer is accurate, but I kept an eye on the air cells to make sure they weren't loosing too much moisture and getting too big. and And yes, 70% is too high (as an average). If you have your plugs/vents closed in your bator and it is keeping those levels I would open the vents/take out the plugs. (I leave mine out for the whole duration.) And you are getting close to lockdown

YAY! So exciting!

OK thanks! I think I figured out a minor problem. I'm not sure if the temp. in my house will affect it, but my DH had turned the heat down to 69 in the house last night and I didn't realize it till this morning. I usually run it on 71. That's the only difference that I know of. It hasn't been really humid here in a while, so I'm almost positive it's not the weather. I haven't pulled the second plug out yet, but 1 has been removed during the whole duration.

I know!! I just wish it would hurry and be done. I'm nervous about the hatching part. I have no experience what so ever!! I hope I've read enough to be prepared for everything, but I'm sure I will be even more paranoid. It has been such a learning experience and is so exciting!! When I first set the 21 eggs, I figured I would goof it up somehow, but was hoping for atleast 2 or 3 chicks. The incubator was a spontaneous purchase, and I wasn't very careful in selecting the eggs that I used. They were all from my backyard flocks.Some were small, large, and porous. I didn't even know they had to be turned during the resting period...lol I haven't had any early deaths, only clears and I accidentally broke 2. At this point, I still have 15 live embryo's, including the twins. I realize the twins are a long shot though.

And now, I'm already searching around to buy some more hatching eggs to go in right after these hatch. LOL

 

[AmyLynn2374]

OK thanks! I think I figured out a minor problem. I'm not sure if the temp. in my house will affect it, but my DH had turned the heat down to 69 in the house last night and I didn't realize it till this morning. I usually run it on 71. That's the only difference that I know of. It hasn't been really humid here in a while, so I'm almost positive it's not the weather. I haven't pulled the second plug out yet, but 1 has been removed during the whole duration.

I know!! I just wish it would hurry and be done. I'm nervous about the hatching part. I have no experience what so ever!! I hope I've read enough to be prepared for everything, but I'm sure I will be even more paranoid. It has been such a learning experience and is so exciting!! When I first set the 21 eggs, I figured I would goof it up somehow, but was hoping for atleast 2 or 3 chicks. The incubator was a spontaneous purchase, and I wasn't very careful in selecting the eggs that I used. They were all from my backyard flocks.Some were small, large, and porous. I didn't even know they had to be turned during the resting period...lol I haven't had any early deaths, only clears and I accidentally broke 2. At this point, I still have 15 live embryo's, including the twins. I realize the twins are a long shot though.

And now, I'm already searching around to buy some more hatching eggs to go in right after these hatch. LOL

LOL. It is very addicting. I homeschool and my son is in 1st grade this year and our first science unit we decided on Oviparous animals. My sister has been raising chickens for years and is only an hour away so she offered us some eggs and her incubator to do a hatch for science and she would take any chicks that hatched back....lol I only had one hatcher and fell in love! Of course I babied him and decided he wasn't going anywhere and we talked it over and decided to raise a few ourselves for the eggs. So my second hatch we ended up with 12, but I believe 6 are roos, so four of them are going to a new home if that's true. Now I am contemplating doing an Easter hatch, but I really really want to find some 9th gen or higher showgirl eggs to do that hatch.

I've heard different things about turning the eggs when you store them and before I get to that myself I'll have to research it more. I've seen people say that you only have to turn them if you store than more than 'X' number of days. But I've seen people say you need to turn them from day 1, so that's one I'll need to know in the future.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Oh, and I told my sister she may never see her incubator again and if she needed eggs incubated she could bring them too me...lol

 

[aart]

Can't wait to see if the double yolker hatches out...great video.


Not sure if you can pull out your hygrometer to test it but it might help to know its accurate before you start worrying:

Hygrometer calibration

To calibrate a hygrometer you will need:
1/2 cup table salt
approximately 1/4 cup water
coffee cup
hygrometer
large re-sealable freezer bag
1. Place 1/2 cup of salt in the coffee cup, and add the water. Stir for a bit to totally saturate the salt (the salt won't dissolve, it will be more like really wet sand).

2. Place the salt/water mix in a re-sealable plastic bag, along with the hygrometer, and seal the bag. Note: make sure none of the salt/water mix comes in direct contact with the hygrometer.

3. Let this bag aside at room temperature for 8-12 hours, in a location where the temperature is fairly constant.

4. After 8-12 hours, check the reading of the hygrometer. It is best to read it while still in the bag.

The relative humidity in the sealed bag with the salt/water mix should be 75 percent