I currently have 10 eggs in a DIY incubator. They are on day 7 and I just candled them for the first time. Judging by different candling pic guides here on BYC it would seem that 9 of them were either infertile (I kinda doubt that, as I bought the eggs from a person who sells chicks and eggs for a living) or did not start developing at all and one died. (blood ring)
Now I'm hoping maybe the good folk here on BYC can help spot where I went wrong.
The incubator is a DIY foam cooler version. I'm using a 20W plant heating mat on the bottom and a 20W halogen light bulb covered with aluminium tape as a secondary heat source. I have a thin layer (1/2 inch) of garden pebbles on top of the heat mat to act as heat sink. The heat is being maintained very precisely in the 37.5C range (99.3F - 99.7F)
The humidity has been in the 30%-20% range. I was trying the dry incubation method.
I have an egg turner (https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D2kocGXXQAAuaKe?format=jpg&name=small) that tilts the eggs (-45 to +45 degrees), every 15 minutes.
Here's a small clip: https://twitter.com/letmeimprovetht/status/1110409213166145536?s=20
I have a fan that is running on very low speed, pulling air out from the top of the incubator. There are ventilation holes where fresh air gets in located around the heat sources to mix cold air with warm as soon as it enters.
Now, I picked up the eggs on the May 18th. Brought them home and kept them in the basement (roughly 53F - 55F) for a day while I finished calibrating the incubators heating control. Early morning on the 20th I brought the eggs inside, to warm up to room temperature. At around noon that day, I placed the eggs in my incubator and I did not open the lid until about an hour ago.
I was fully prepared to have low hatch rates on my first go. But zero success rate? I must have done something catastrophically wrong here. Wish I could see what it was.
Now I'm hoping maybe the good folk here on BYC can help spot where I went wrong.
The incubator is a DIY foam cooler version. I'm using a 20W plant heating mat on the bottom and a 20W halogen light bulb covered with aluminium tape as a secondary heat source. I have a thin layer (1/2 inch) of garden pebbles on top of the heat mat to act as heat sink. The heat is being maintained very precisely in the 37.5C range (99.3F - 99.7F)
The humidity has been in the 30%-20% range. I was trying the dry incubation method.
I have an egg turner (https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D2kocGXXQAAuaKe?format=jpg&name=small) that tilts the eggs (-45 to +45 degrees), every 15 minutes.
Here's a small clip: https://twitter.com/letmeimprovetht/status/1110409213166145536?s=20
I have a fan that is running on very low speed, pulling air out from the top of the incubator. There are ventilation holes where fresh air gets in located around the heat sources to mix cold air with warm as soon as it enters.
Now, I picked up the eggs on the May 18th. Brought them home and kept them in the basement (roughly 53F - 55F) for a day while I finished calibrating the incubators heating control. Early morning on the 20th I brought the eggs inside, to warm up to room temperature. At around noon that day, I placed the eggs in my incubator and I did not open the lid until about an hour ago.
I was fully prepared to have low hatch rates on my first go. But zero success rate? I must have done something catastrophically wrong here. Wish I could see what it was.
