HELP!!!! I only have two days to figure it all out before lockdown!!!

[WeTheWeys]

Incubating duck eggs in a Janoel12, all is well so far. Three pekins, two white crested, two blue runner. We are on day 23 now.

I NEED HELP!!!! I have so many questions!!!!

@RubyNala97 @WVduckchick @ChickNanny13 @HappyDancin'

THIS WILL BE LONG BUT I REALLY NEED HELP!!!!! READ IT IF YOU'RE HAVING TROUBLE SLEEPING!!! THANK YOU IN ADVANCE
what this post addresses:
1. air cell size??
2. ventilation
3. humidity
4. tempterature
5. humidity again because I'm incompetent
6. WTF IS A WET BULB AND DRY BULB?!
7. Hatching tray?
8. Incubator set up​

Any advice is more than appreciated!!! Here are my billions of questions!

let me start by mentioning that my eggs are in a real incubator right now, but i want to switch them into this "hatching incubator" so that i can observe them through my little peep hole (no pun intended ) so all of the issues with this current incubator.... they are not currently effecting my eggs BUT COULD BE SOON AND THAT'S WHY I NEED YOU SMART PEOPLE TO HELP!!! I'm clueless here!

1. I am afraid that the air cells are not big enough, will they grow in the next couple days prior to hatching? The embryos are filling nearly all of the shell part that is not an air cell... I would say they look like this... (excuse the drawing and no they are not blood rings, its just the little bit of space i can see between the embryo and the air cell...)
is this large enough for day 23? Is it too large? I am so scared!!!

2. How much ventilation does my incubator need, and how do I tell how long it takes for the air in the bator to fully replace itself? I read somewhere that the ideal time is 1 hour. This is a hole on top that i cover and uncover... I will include a picture of the entire thing. Besides the one hole on top w black tape, the other "holes" are actually covered from the outside with glass so I can watch the hatch.

(^that straw thing is my way of adding water to the largest water tray in order to control the humidity without having to lift the top off)

3. I can't get my humidity above 54% no matter what I do. I have added water galore, not depth wise, I mean surface wise. I keep adding little water containers throughout the bator to increase the surface area for the humidity to increase but nothing is working!

4. I have a mini fan in my incubator.... With it the temp is 35ºC, without it the temp is 39ºC. So far I have not been able to get a solid 36/37 (which is the ideal hatching temp right?)

5. Can the humidity be as high as I want or is there such thing as "too high" during lockdown? What would be considered too low at lockdown?


6. WTF IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A WET BULB THERMOMETER AND A DRY BULB THERMOMETER?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! I have read sooo many things and I just don't understand. Idk what kind mine is but here is a picture....

7. Do I need a hatching tray? I assume that means an egg carton with the bottoms cut out so that the eggs don't get knocked over by each other... but will they be okay without the tray if they are on the rubber mat? What do you suggest? I am nervous to use a carton tray because I have read that the ducks could pip on the wrong side and end up suffocating.


8. The way the bator is set up is like this:

Large styrofoam cooler. 25W incandescent bulb inserted through left side of the cooler. Beneath the light bulb are four small holes with straws in them, leading outwards from the bator. These are part of my ventilation and air circulation attempt. In front of the light bulb is a mini fan which I can turn on and off without opening the incubator. Next to the fan on the floor of the bator is a little mini tray with water in it, which is refilled from my straw contraption on the side. A peep hold covered with a piece of glass is about one inch in diameter and is facing directly at the water tray, so that I know when it needs a refill and when it is about to overflow if I add too much. Above all of this is a diamond shaped hole that I can cover and uncover with the attached piece of duct tape. There is a baking drying rack covered in a stretched rubber shelf liner, vertically separating all of this from the hatching zone. You can see it sticking up in the full view picture. In the hatching zone, there are two view windows covered with glass, one above and one on the side. There are six straws towards the top of the cooler wall intended for ventilation. The only thing in this section (besides a horizontal cooling rack covered in rubber shelf liner, is the thermometer stuck to the side of the wall. I put it kind of low, so that it can be at the same height as the eggs.


AM I INSANE?!?!?! should i just leave them in the current bator and hope for the best? I can't see inside of their current one at all. If you need to see more pics of my homemade incubator in order to better understand all my blabber, please let me know and I will post right away!!! I only have two days until lockdown, I really want to get this right!

THANK YOU FOR READING ALL THE WAY DOWN HERE I REALLY HOPE YOU CAN HELP OR THAT THE ADVICE PPL COMMENT ON HERE CAN HELP YOU IF YOU ARE AS ANXIOUS AND CLUELESS AS I AM!!!!!

​

 

[Chicken Whisperers]

I am so sorry: you did not mention me and I know nothing of duck eggs, but a lot about chicken eggs. The air sac looks big enough (we hatched eggs about a month ago under a hen and candles them day 20, and the air sac was really small and I was worried but Peaches is as healthy as ever, running around with mama and sis). Also you could ask @casportpony or @speckledhen. They have been around BYC for a long long time and know a lot of stuff

 

[WeTheWeys]

I am so sorry: you did not mention me and I know nothing of duck eggs, but a lot about chicken eggs. The air sac looks big enough (we hatched eggs about a month ago under a hen and candles them day 20, and the air sac was really small and I was worried but Peaches is as healthy as ever, running around with mama and sis). Also you could ask @casportpony or @speckledhen. They have been around BYC for a long long time and know a lot of stuff

i just mentioned a couple people who have replied in the past but totally not limited to just them!!!! I sooooo appreciate your response!!! thank you thank you im so happy that you all are so willing to help

 

[ChickNanny13]

Lets get some "duck" people here ... We've been glued to waiting/watching a double yolk/twin hatch ... Think your humidity needs to go higher, wet sponge may help ... Air cell looks good ... No clue on the thermometer ... Hope the more experienced are around

@BantyChooks @WVduckchick @casportpony @KikisGirls @oldhenlikesdogs
Thank you all in advance for any help here.

 

[ChickNanny13]

i just mentioned a couple people who have replied in the past but totally not limited to just them!!!! I sooooo appreciate your response!!! thank you thank you im so happy that you all are so willing to help

I do the same thing, got a list of who have responded and what they seem to know more about. Sorry can't help but hopefully someone with more experience will show up.

 

[WVduckchick]

If the air cells are like your picture, I think that’s plenty big enough.

Don’t worry about wet bulb, it’s a whole different kind of measuring. More scientific and more accurate, but uncommon.

You don’t need a hatching tray. Lay the eggs on their sides, right on the rubber liner. Candle first and lay the lowest side of the air cell dip facing upward.

Too high humidity would be if you get a bunch of dripping condensation. As long as everything isn’t all fogged up and dripping, it should be fine.

Good luck!

 

[WeTheWeys]

If the air cells are like your picture, I think that’s plenty big enough.

Don’t worry about wet bulb, it’s a whole different kind of measuring. More scientific and more accurate, but uncommon.

You don’t need a hatching tray. Lay the eggs on their sides, right on the rubber liner. Candle first and lay the lowest side of the air cell dip facing upward.

Too high humidity would be if you get a bunch of dripping condensation. As long as everything isn’t all fogged up and dripping, it should be fine.

Good luck!

I'm not sure exactly what you mean by the lowest side of the air cell dip... could you explain that to me please! thank you!

 

[WVduckchick]

The air cell usually will slope to one side (when held upright with the air cell on top), not always, but most times. So when you lay it down, the lowest point should be laid on top.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Thank you WVduckchick

 

[RubyNala97]

With duck eggs if you think the air cells are to small you can mist them once or twice a day with warm water in a spray bottle. This will increase the size BUT the size in the pic looks good! As far as hatching and temps...during the last couple days the temps don’t need to be as accurate. Some people even lower the temps during hatch (I don’t but it’s fine if you do). So just get the temps around 99 and you should be ok. I commend you for making a homemade bator. I dont think I could do it. So I can’t give much advice as far as that goes. But try adding the sponges to get the humidity up. I hatch around 70-75%. And I don’t use a wetbulb just a digital hygrometer. Others hatch lower around 65%. But I tend to open the incubator to take out shells and remove chicks and check on eggs. Lay them flat right on that liner, just like WV said. And one more thing...if you hatch in the homemade check and see how quickly your temps and humidity recover if you do open the lid. Just in case you see an egg or duckling that needs help you’ll want to know if it’s safe to open it quickly. Oh and make sure the ducklings can’t get into any of the water containers that you’ve added once they hatch. As soon as the ducklings hatch they seem to flail around a lot until they get on their feet and you don’t want them to accidentally fall into any water and drown.