Hatcher temps not stable?

shelleyd2008

the bird is the word
11 Years
Sep 14, 2008
23,381
193
351
Adair Co., KY
I have 9 of my own hens eggs due to hatch in about 5-6 days. I have a hatcher that I made, but I can't for the life of me get the temps stable. It is either too high or too low. It stays pretty even through the day, but at night it gets cold, so I turn it up, which makes it too hot in the morning. (night temps in the 80's, morning around 104+)
Questions:
#1-What will this do to the eggs that are to hatch?
Before, I have taken the turner out of my bator, so the chicks would not get caught after they hatch.
#2 Should I just do it like this?
I still have a few days to try and tweak the hatcher, but I have been working on it forever, and still can't get it right.
 
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Can you drape a towel, or something, over the top to help hold the heat in at night?

I read a post a bit ago that stated the person used a lamp near the bator to mediate temps. don't know if they use a timer or something. Might be worth a try.
 
Ok I am getting into the now or never situation. I really would like some info on this. I need to set them in the hatcher no later than Wednesday. I don't really have any room in my bator to hatch them, and i have more eggs due next week, chicken and quail.
I could take the turner out and just do it that way, but that would mean opening the bator to turn the eggs while the others are hatching.

Can anyone help me?? Will it hurt them for the temps to be low during the hatch (days 18/19- hatch), or will they just hatch later?
 
I don't know.....I have been using an old big sweater on my LG bator and it has helped. We are on wood stove and we have been trying to keep our wood pile for dead of winter so my house has been 55 to 90 degrees depending on night and day. We do dishes and laundry and cooking during the day and pretty soon its nice and toasty. But soon as night comes temps drop fast. I draped the sweater across half so there still is some air flow. Its been staying 99-101 pretty consistently now.

I saw others use baby jars and such filled with water (and a lid on so it doesn't effect humidity) to help reduce the swing. Have you tried that?

Good luck!!
 
I understand about the room temps changing the temps in the incubator. I have been keeping a strict eye on mine, its about all I can do with the room flucuations! If I was going to have to leave it for any length of time, I would have to relocate it to a different area of the house.
Do you have a room you can put the bator where the temps are more stable?
 
It is a homemade hatcher, and it is in probably the most stable of places. There are no open windows or vents. The problem I think is that we are not running heat or air atm, so there is no way to really regulate it, other than the dimmer.

By the way, the eggs have pipped already, two days early again! I went ahead and moved them, and I hope they are all right. I was hoping to have the hatcher stabilized by then (thursday), but I guess I will just have to take my chances. I had 3 pips last time I checked.
 
What about using a small space heater for that room? My cools off over night too but not as severe as your. I plan on using the space heater on low when it does really cool off. Good luck with the temps & more pips Shelley!
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Well, so far there is 1 chick out, and 3 or 4 more pips, not sure!! There are 9 eggs total, so there is a ways to go yet. I just know that it will cool off at night. It usually is around 95 or 96 in the morning when I get up. Sometimes it gets lower, but I'm not sure. I am thinking it will just maybe make the hatch more drawn out, but I'm not sure?
 

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