Help with incubator!!

[Pyxis]

Have you been going by only the display as far as temperature goes, or did you check it using another thermometer that you know to be accurate? I ask because the temp displays on the cheaper incubators, like this one, are often not accurate, and your temperature could have been off the entire time.

Yes, the temperature in a still air incubator should be 101.5 F, measured at the top of the eggs. If you haven't checked that your display is accurate and you don't really know what the temperature is in there, I personally wouldn't mess with the temperature now, since you'd have no way of knowing what it really is. Looks like you've got a pip. I would just make sure your humidity is increased to 65% and do nothing else, unless you did verify that your display was correct, in which case I would increase the temperature to 101.5, which is what it's supposed to be. But again, not unless you know for a fact it's correct.

 

[Rose Quartz]

so should i raise the temp?

Not knowing 100% what the actual internal temp is, i'd leave it alone this go round.

 

[H@tcher]

Have you been going by only the display as far as temperature goes, or did you check it using another thermometer that you know to be accurate? I ask because the temp displays on the cheaper incubators, like this one, are often not accurate, and your temperature could have been off the entire time.

Yes, the temperature in a still air incubator should be 101.5 F, measured at the top of the eggs. If you haven't checked that your display is accurate and you don't really know what the temperature is in there, I personally wouldn't mess with the temperature now, since you'd have no way of knowing what it really is. Looks like you've got a pip. I would just make sure your humidity is increased to 65% and do nothing else, unless you did verify that your display was correct, in which case I would increase the temperature to 101.5, which is what it's supposed to be. But again, not unless you know for a fact it's correct.

Agreed, I wouldn't do anything at this point.

for future hatches, look for a caliberIV hygrometer. It's the best I've found.

 

[Skipper81]

I hatch a lot with the little giant and during lockdown 101.5 is best temp
My hydrometer inside incubator will read 99.5
Honestly I would raise it to 101.5
Congrats on the pip !!!

 

[Pyxis]

I hatch a lot with the little giant and during lockdown 101.5 is best temp
My hydrometer inside incubator will read 99.5
Honestly I would raise it to 101.5

The problem is, they probably don't have the same hygrometer/thermometer you do (and even if they did, thermometers and hygrometers of the same brand can also read differently from each other), and their display is also not necessarily calibrated the exact same as yours. So just because your display seems to be accurate and your hygrometer is wrong, doesn't mean that the OP's display is also accurate. If it's wrong and they raise the temperature, maybe it will be fine, or maybe it will kill the eggs. Since the eggs are now hatching, best to leave it alone for now. Next time they can compare the display to a thermometer they know to be correct and see if it's accurate or not and set it to the correct temperature. This time, best to leave it alone and not risk ruining the hatch in progress.

 

[aart]

My hydrometer inside incubator will read 99.5

This is very confusing.
HyDrometers measure liquid density.
HyGrometers measure humidity.....which 99.5% would be too high for hatching.
Maybe you meant thermometer should read 99.5°F?

@Chixky2 hang in there!!
For future incubation's, test your thermometers and hygrometers before setting eggs:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...incubator-thermometers-and-hygrometers.73634/

 

[Ms Clucky]

We incubated bantams and put the humidity at around 80 and then we incubated turkens and other bigger ones and put the humidity up around 90.

 

[Chixky2]

So the little peep hole is not getting any bigger but she is pipping a lot. The humidity is not going too high (63). What should i do??

 

[Pyxis]

We incubated bantams and put the humidity at around 80 and then we incubated turkens and other bigger ones and put the humidity up around 90.

Are those wet bulb readings or percentages? As percentages they would be way too high and would drown the chicks before they could hatch by preventing the eggs from losing enough moisture. I wouldn't even put humidity percentage that high during lockdown.

For comparison, when I incubate, during the first 18 days for chickens I keep the humidity at 30%. Any more, and they wouldn't lose enough moisture and the air cell wouldn't develop properly. This will vary from location to location, but generally never needs to be higher than 50%.

 

[Pyxis]

So the little peep hole is not getting any bigger but she is pipping a lot. The humidity is not going too high (63). What should i do??

They will take a while from the time of the pip until when they zip, sometimes as much as 24 hours. 63% is probably going to be fine, but if you want to get it higher, you could add a wet sponge or paper towel to the incubator (not touching the eggs, of course).