First time incubator questions.

[FridayYet]

I just unloaded my truck from a lot of stuff for my garden lol. I love the heat. My temp gauge is right beside my eggs so it's showing the temp at the middle of the eggs. The only bad part about this weather is I'm having to wet the sponges in the incubator every few days lol. No i haven't marked the air cell on them. I know it bigger than it was, but also more clear. Last time I handled the eggs to candle them was day 18. I'm not liking this incubator right now lol. These eggs are for my boys. They want to raise them as pets like their PaPa did. I afraid if I mess with the eggs right now I'll hurt the babies.

I wouldn't mess with them now, either. Really hoping they will hatch for you and the boys!

I just like to follow this chart to see if the eggs are losing the right amount or if I need to adjust the humidity:





So all my eggs have circles on them.

 

[DesertBrahma]

If i remember correct my eggs air cell looks kinda like the bottom ring on there. I told my husband we'd leave them in until day 27 but i don't want stinky eggs in the house. My boys started rolling when i said that lol. If this doesn't work I'm going to try to get some Turken chicks for them to go with my 11 brahmas. My rooster will be in hog heaven having a few more girls lol

 

[DesertBrahma]

I still haven't messed with the eggs but today is day 22. I'm starting to really worry i did something wrong. I told my boys if these eggs don't hatch we're going to have to shut down the incubator and clean it before we can try again. They're a little upset but i explained that we would try again. So they're taking it better than I thought they would.

 

[kissofcrimson]

I hope your little eggs hatch! I know for me as a first time hatching mommy it was an exciting, excruciating long wait to see if it work or not.

I'm on the fence about my second egg also but I see movement in the egg so I know it's still alive. When you candle can you see any movement or feel any tiny kicks? Sometimes it takes several minutes before you see any sign of life. Also I did a lot of reading last night just to get a better handle on hatching eggs and the guide said if they don't hatch at 21 days, to keep them until 25 days, just in case. I was ready to give up on my little egg until I read that.

Also I know people say to not handle your eggs at all after day 18 but I handled mine a few times just to check for signs of life. I always washed my hands and only candled them for 1-3 minutes. I was extremely paranoid lol

 

[DesertBrahma]

I candled them last night and didn't see any movement. Sometime between day 18 and 22 they died. So I pulled them, sanitized the incubator, and am now getting it set to do another batch. The hardest part was telling the boys the chicks weren't going to hatch. So now they're excited about starting a new batch. I'm looking at getting an egg turner and putting it in to make it easier, and hopefully make the temps more stable without me constantly opening it. The temp i now have between 102 and 104, and my humidity is high while I'm getting it stable. I'll wait until the humidity is staying around 50% before I put this next batch in.

 

[FridayYet]

One thing that will help a styrofoam incubator is to use "heat sinks" to help stop temperature fluctuations. Some people fill their water channels with sterilized stones or use sterilized flat river rocks underneath the wire. The rocks store heat and help even out the temperature swings.

Some people use closed jars of water, too.

 

[chant]

One thing that will help a styrofoam incubator is to use "heat sinks" to help stop temperature fluctuations.  Some people fill their water channels with sterilized stones or use sterilized flat river rocks underneath the wire.  The rocks store heat and help even out the temperature swings.

Some people use closed jars of water, too.

What a great idea!

 

[DesertBrahma]

That is a good idea. The outside temps are starting to stabilize, and warm up. I'm looking at getting a different incubator. It's more expensive, but it has everything built in to it. I can always put the temp and hygrometer i have now into the new one as a secondary make sure kind of thing. It has an egg turner on it, and it's made of hard plastic instead of Styrofoam.

 

[duluthralphie]

One thing that will help a styrofoam incubator is to use "heat sinks" to help stop temperature fluctuations. Some people fill their water channels with sterilized stones or use sterilized flat river rocks underneath the wire. The rocks store heat and help even out the temperature swings.

Some people use closed jars of water, too.

What a great idea~!

I am going to do this now~!!

 

[chant]

That is a good idea. The outside temps are starting to stabilize, and warm up. I'm looking at getting a different incubator. It's more expensive, but it has everything built in to it. I can always put the temp and hygrometer i have now into the new one as a secondary make sure kind of thing. It has an egg turner on it, and it's made of hard plastic instead of Styrofoam.

which one are you looking at? I've been contemplating the 7 egg brinsea. However, I did get the fan kit for the little giant I have, going to set 1 more batch to see if that helps or not. If I can get better results with the fan, great. If not I am seriously considering spending the ridiculous price they want in order to have a better success rate.