Getting ready for lockdown Questions

[lamoka]

Ok We set eggs evening of April 16th so if I am counting correctly this evening will be time to go into lockdown. This is the first time for me incubating eggs so I am a little nervouse about doing everything correctly. I am using a Brinsea Eco Octagon unit with turner. Throughout incubation I have had temps between 99.5 and 99.8 and Humidity was between 40 and 50 percent. Here are my initial questions I will probably have more.

1) During incubation I have had the egg dividers in and eggs have been upright with small end down, should I hatch with eggs laying flat or in a carton upright like they have been for the past 17 days?

2) Brinsea recomends filling both chambers with water and closing vent down to about 1/3 does this sound reasonable to get to the 65% humidity for hatching that they recomend, and is this the correct humidity?

My biggest concern is getting the correct humidity level the Air sacs seem to be sized correctly for this stage of developement so I think I should be ok with it around 65% for hatching but I have read many conflicting things on this and it is making me second guess myself. Any advic would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Ridgerunner]

Ok We set eggs evening of April 16th so if I am counting correctly this evening will be time to go into lockdown.

Correct. Your lockdown is the 4th and hatch is the 7th. You might read this thread, especially my post. It might help.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=464226

1) During incubation I have had the egg dividers in and eggs have been upright with small end down, should I hatch with eggs laying flat or in a carton upright like they have been for the past 17 days?

People do it both ways and usually have success. The instructions I got with my incubator said lay them flat so that is what I do. Some people think that the chicks rolling the unhatched eggs around causes problems, yet others get 100% hatch rate that way. Some that use cartons have reported they think the cartons interfered with hatch, yet others get 100% hatch that way. At the end of the day, I think it matters more to the human than the chick. Both methods work.

If you go with the carton method, trim out the bottoms to give better air circulation.

2) Brinsea recomends filling both chambers with water and closing vent down to about 1/3 does this sound reasonable to get to the 65% humidity for hatching that they recomend, and is this the correct humidity?

My biggest concern is getting the correct humidity level the Air sacs seem to be sized correctly for this stage of developement so I think I should be ok with it around 65% for hatching but I have read many conflicting things on this and it is making me second guess myself. Any advic would be greatly appreciated.

Oh, the humidity dilemma. The reason you get so much confusing information is that the same thing does not work for all of us. Humidity percents that work great for some of us cause disasters for others. I don't have a Brinsea but they are a good incubator. What I suggest is that you follow the instructions that came with the incubator. Since you don't know what your prime conditions are, that probably gives you the best chance of success. After the hatch, analyze your unhatched eggs and try to determine if you need to tweak the humidity for next time.

Good luck with the hatch. Sounds like you are progressing well.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Ridgerunner covered it pretty well. There really isn't any consensus on matters of humidity, laying the eggs flat or using cartons, or much of anything else beyond keeping the eggs as near to 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit as you can manage.

Humidity in particular is a thorny issue because your local climate and altitude along with the type of eggs you are hatching and where they were produced all play roles yet they are seldom mentioned in the posts from the folks talking about how well they do or how poorly. Until you have good reason to know better I agree with staying with the manufacturer's directions.

 

[lamoka]

Thanks for the advice!! I have to laugh at myself I have hatched several batches of chicks under broody hens and never worried at all, I just let nature take its course and left it up to momma to do the right things, this setting eggs in an incubator is new to me and to top it off I have my 6 and 5 year old daughters realy putting the pressure on me to have a succesful hatch!! Thanks again to everyone this site has helped alot even if some of the posts have made me a little "edgy". lol