First time incubator questions.

[FridayYet]

I hate to hijack the thread, (well, not really for this)..

These are my chicks that hatched last night. I still have 20 eggs in the hatcher. I do not subscribe to the "lockdown" you read about on here. Hens do not sit on the nest for three days straight. I had 27 eggs in the hatcher, if I do not remove them to another incubator they get over crowded in the little incubator.


I try to keep the humidity in my hatcher at around 40%. Do not worry if it goes higher. When the eggs start Pipping, the humidity will rise. I try to not let it fall below 30-35 in last three days. I use sponges on the bottom of the incubator and add water either through the air holes in the incubator cover or when I open it I put it on the sponges. I use a turkey injector syringe about half full when I add water so I do not get too much. I take the needle off and attached a plastic hose so I can add water right to the sponge without getting the eggs wet.






Now here are the pictures:

First 2 are my Speckled Sussex.. Third one is my White sport, a double recessive white gene Cream Legbar. I think he is a rooster!

Really cute! Especially the CL sport. I never had a white one and I think they are so pretty!

 

[duluthralphie]

Really cute! Especially the CL sport. I never had a white one and I think they are so pretty!

They are a recessive white, so this is the second of my breeding stock for a flock of white sports...

 

[DesertBrahma]

That's the diagram I'm using. Our humidity has been down around 20% here. I'm worried about them shrink wrapping in the shells. I don't want to raise it too much but not wanting it too low either. I've been keeping it around 30 to 35% and these are acting a lot better.

 

[FridayYet]

That's the diagram I'm using. Our humidity has been down around 20% here. I'm worried about them shrink wrapping in the shells. I don't want to raise it too much but not wanting it too low either. I've been keeping it around 30 to 35% and these are acting a lot better.

35% is a good number for my hatches. If you want, you can put in a small piece of damp sponge and raise it to 35-40%

Windy and dry here - our humidity is down to 13% right now. My hair is full of static!.

 

[DesertBrahma]

35% is a good number for my hatches.  If you want, you can put in a small piece of damp sponge and raise it to 35-40%

Windy and dry here - our humidity is down to 13% right now.  My hair is full of static!.  

I keep accidentally shocking the dog, cats and my boys lol. The wind hasn't picked up here which is a good thing, but the static is unbelievable. I keep 2 sponges in the incubator. That's how I keep my humidity up. Putting water in the channels doesn't work well. I think that's why my other hatches didn't work. So this time around i used sponges. I can keep them damp and they work better. I've been having to rewet them every couple days. Today will be day 17. Then tomorrow is lock down. Can i put some clean dish rags under the eggs when i take them out of the turner tomorrow, or would that not be a good idea? I don't keep paper towels in the house because they're too expensive, and messy. I can clean anything with a rag, and rewash and reuse it. I really want this batch to hatch. I have thought about putting 1 of the sponges in a small bowl of water to help raise the humidity some but then through that idea out because it would probably raise it too much. I'll just leave the sponges a little more damp than usual.

 

[FridayYet]

I like to use the bumpy, rubbery shelf liner. You can get it at the dollar store. Gives the hatchlings something to grip but still provides good air flow. It's washable and reuse able, too.

 

[chant]

That's a great idea!! Thanks!

 

[chant]

I tried to go by that diagram, and still am, but my cells are all over the place. I don't really want to move the eggs around this late in the hatch because the temp is actually staying steady so I am afraid to dink around in there. This morning the humidity was at 25% according to the hygrometer I put in and 40% according to the LG temp pad. With a turkey baster, via the top holes, I adding 1/2 of the baster of water and they're both reading 40%... the LG temp pad located on top of eggs towards the back of Bator center, and the other hygrometer just left under the fan kit. It's getting EXCITING! lol

 

[chant]

I keep accidentally shocking the dog, cats and my boys lol. The wind hasn't picked up here which is a good thing, but the static is unbelievable. I keep 2 sponges in the incubator. That's how I keep my humidity up. Putting water in the channels doesn't work well. I think that's why my other hatches didn't work. So this time around i used sponges. I can keep them damp and they work better. I've been having to rewet them every couple days. Today will be day 17. Then tomorrow is lock down. Can i put some clean dish rags under the eggs when i take them out of the turner tomorrow, or would that not be a good idea? I don't keep paper towels in the house because they're too expensive, and messy. I can clean anything with a rag, and rewash and reuse it. I really want this batch to hatch. I have thought about putting 1 of the sponges in a small bowl of water to help raise the humidity some but then through that idea out because it would probably raise it too much. I'll just leave the sponges a little more damp than usual.

lol Seeing your dog raise your chicks would be awesome! We have Bichons. A baby bird fell out of a tree and as we went to grab it to put it back in its nest my youngest grabbed it and shook it's neck. Needless to say we don't let the dogs anywhere near baby anything, I don't trust him after that.

 

[DesertBrahma]

He's a pretty mellow goofball. Don't get me wrong, he can get hyper but he's pretty mellow. If i bring an animal to him and tell him it's mine he tries as hard as an almost 2 yr old 95lb lab can to be gentle. He was pretty gentle with the chicks i got from TSC last year. He just wanted to smell them and lick them all the time lol. When i had to bring Skye in he was pretty gentle with her too, but she was 9 months old, and poor chicken had a bad neck wound. Jake was just a bit pushy wanting to smell her all the time. She took it in stride like she does everything lol. I would love for her to go broody. She's the smallest of my Brahmas. We have a pregnant cat right now and he's really gentle with her. He let's her do things he won't let any other cat do to him lol. He's El Prego's protector lol.