First time Incubating

[Jeff L]

I have had my incubator set at 100 degrees and its day 10. My issue is that my humidity is at 50% no matter if I open the 2 air holes on top. My outside humidity is 80% this time of the year. Should I expect a decent hatch OT am I wasting time. I have 40 eggs inside so should I maybe open it up and check the eggs with a light? Just afraid that I wasted 40 eggs. Thanks for any input in advance!!

 

[CrowWing Native]

I am not an expert, but I have been incubating 60 eggs without really adding any moisture. I do not check the humidity, but would guess it is lower than 40 even. Yesterday on day 14 I floated them and 56/60 showed viable and MOST were moving. I am sure your chicks are developing fine, as long as you are turning them. You nothing to lose at this point, the eggs will already be bad, so you might as well wait it out. Good luck!

 

[Invision]

Well I've got my incubator set right now at 99.5 to 100 and the humidity is at 22%. I am doing a dry hatch run to see if it makes a difference, I did it on my last batch and seemed to work fine. but I won't know if anything is successful until Aug 3...

 

[CrowWing Native]

Well I've got my incubator set right now at 99.5 to 100 and the humidity is at 22%. I am doing a dry hatch run to see if it makes a difference, I did it on my last batch and seemed to work fine. but I won't know if anything is successful until Aug 3...

That is what decided to do for my first hatch. I read an article about a study done in Brazil that tested hatch rates with different humidity levels. Dryer had the highest hatch rate.
http://www.lrrd.org/lrrd21/3/roma21038.htm

 

[kingmt]

Your hydrometer may be of. Most are. I have a $150 one that is off 10% of the other 5x$150 ones.

I don't worry about it until hatch day & only then when I remember it. It might be different if I lived in a dry state but it is always humid here.

 

[kingmt]

Well I've got my incubator set right now at 99.5 to 100 and the humidity is at 22%. I am doing a dry hatch run to see if it makes a difference, I did it on my last batch and seemed to work fine. but I won't know if anything is successful until Aug 3...

Quail at least Coturnix incubate at 99.9°F so you range should be more like 99.9° to 101°F. I had to bump my incubator up to 100.4°F to get it to hold 99.9-100.1°F.

 

[Invision]

Well if we want to get technical, they should be incubated at 102... Birds body temp, but then you have to put into consideration ground temp and whether or not it's a hi or low pressure in your area, wind chill, and not to mention the dew point and UV intensity... Also leaving the nest for 15-30 minutes for a snack and bathroom break daily

But for hatching sake it really is based on personal preference, I guarantee you it's not going to be at 99.5 in your incubator for 16 -18 days... best way to tell is if you candle the eggs daily and check progression... (wash your hands)

 

[kingmt]

I don't disagree. I actually like mine to run a bit warm. I never had a real good way of controlling the temperature until now so keeping it a little hot I got better hatch rates & a day or two early most of the time. The new incubator with a fan is doing really good about holding exact temperatures tho. 99.9-100.1°F is what mine is staying at checked every 30 minutes. I really trust the sensor I'm using. I have checked it with 6 others I really trust. The one that came with the incubator is very close itself. Once I figured out where to locate it. Lol

Adding the fan made a big difference.

In going to try a few hatches at the suggested temperature to see how it does.

 

[Jeff L]

My set up has a egg turner and a fan so we will see. I'll let everyone know how it works out

 

[CrowWing Native]

I don't disagree. I actually like mine to run a bit warm. I never had a real good way of controlling the temperature until now so keeping it a little hot I got better hatch rates & a day or two early most of the time. The new incubator with a fan is doing really good about holding exact temperatures tho. 99.9-100.1°F is what mine is staying at checked every 30 minutes. I really trust the sensor I'm using. I have checked it with 6 others I really trust. The one that came with the incubator is very close itself. Once I figured out where to locate it. Lol

Adding the fan made a big difference.

In going to try a few hatches at the suggested temperature to see how it does.

Besides the couple of times I messed with the eggs to get the bad ones out, mine has stayed between 99.3 and 100.4. Most of the time it reads right at 99.5. These temps are checked by two thermos. Little Giant with fan set in the middle towards the front. Dial for temperature with no built in thermos.