Half my batch is gone

[BirdsBeesTrees]

So, I was thinking and since you had some success without that plastic piece I decided to try it. And voila! The incubator is now reading within one degree of the thermometers. I mean. Omg. Still not sure about humidity but it should be pretty good since we are in the south and it is in a bathroom.

What plastic piece? What does it look like?

 

[bbond]

You know the clear plastic sheet that the thermometer is attached to that will allow it to sit on top of the eggs? I took that away.

 

[WVduckchick]

i was going to ask the same question about the plastic thing.

I bought a cheap styro to use as a hatcher for staggered hatches and it worked fine for a little while. I agree with @Mosey2003 I think some luck out, and some don’t! But I would never trust one straight out of the box, without checking it all out first and then hovering over it like a mad woman. I’d also have extra heating element and extra thermostat and extra turner motor on hand, if I was going to rely on one. Those things can crap out in an instant and ruin a hatch!

 

[bbond]

Well it has held fairly steady since I “fixed” it. I really really really want to get some silverudds blue eggs from a lady near me. She had already started collecting for me when all my drama started. If temp holds through this afternoon I will go ahead and do it. What do you want to bet that with the Low temps all the embryos currently in the incubator are male??

 

[Mosey2003]

Well it has held fairly steady since I “fixed” it. I really really really want to get some silverudds blue eggs from a lady near me. She had already started collecting for me when all my drama started. If temp holds through this afternoon I will go ahead and do it. What do you want to bet that with the Low temps all the embryos currently in the incubator are male??

Actually, if you believe in that sort of thing, it being low should skew to female

There's a lady not too far from me with Silverudd's, but she never advertises pure ones, just olive egger crosses. I wonder if she lost her rooster? She used to advertise pure ones a few years ago.

 

[bbond]

Oh that would be FANTASTIC well not that the boys were offed, but, you know. Girls are always easier.

 

[Mosey2003]

Oh that would be FANTASTIC well not that the boys were offed, but, you know. Girls are always easier.

Right. I have a use for males and I still get excited about pullet-heavy hatches.

I've informally tracked the getting the eggs cold to kill males thing, and while that Australian study shows it really does happen, I haven't found it significant enough to give it much consideration. I sat eggs last February or the one before that had been very cool for probably 8 hours and I still got plenty of males.

 

[bbond]

I’m sure if it were 100% reliable, hatcheries wouldn’t have any extra males.

 

[Chickassan]

Well holy crap, that is great! I took it off because it was dumb and served no purpose and I thought about chicks getting on it throwing the temp off.
I had no idea it might make it actually work right, kind of makes sense though.

So, I was thinking and since you had some success without that plastic piece I decided to try it. And voila! The incubator is now reading within one degree of the thermometers. I mean. Omg. Still not sure about humidity but it should be pretty good since we are in the south and it is in a bathroom.

@WVduckchick Just because I trusted it straight out of the box does not mean I don't hover.

 

[Shamo Hybrid]

Always check the temp with another thermometer, best to get a ballpark between 2 readings then 1 being way off (especially if it reads low and actually cooking your eggs).