Hovabator - what am I doing wrong?

[CohoCatahoulas]

Aggghhhh! So I have a Hovabator now... which I was very excited about. Got the temp set up and stable at 99.5 degrees. Followed their instructions for humidity. Put 35 eggs in it on an egg turner. Took the egg turner out at 18 days and left them alone. All but two eggs were fertile and started growing but they died at various stages and ages. Finally 1 hatched 4 days late. Nobody else even tried. I don't get it. I had a homemade styrofoam cooler incubator set up before and I could never get the temp right or stable and could only fit about 10 eggs but I always got 7-8 to hatch. I hand turned the eggs 3 times a day then - if I remembered. What to do... I feel like there's not as much air circulation in this bator... could that be the problem?

And to make matters worse... I just might strangle this one little chickee that hatched if he doesn't quiet down (not really though - lucky for him, he is kind of cute). If only these guys understood that Sundays mean we can sleep in... if we aren't waking up to screaming chickees at 3 am. Poor guy is probably lonely since none of his friends made it and he's too small to get thrown in with the bigger chicks.

 

[Whitehouse Quail]

Are you talking 4 days after day 18? If so, you probably will get more. I know with my forced air hovabator, I always, ALWAYS get one to hatch on the set day, and the next 3 days are filled with tons of chicks.

Hopefully, you'll be able to wait it out!

Andrew

 

[CohoCatahoulas]

Oh sorry... 4 days after Day 21... So the one chick hatched on Day 25. It's Day 27 now and not a pip

 

[Whitehouse Quail]

Quote:
Did you have the correct incubator temperature? My thermo was off a degree, and they all hatched way late. Could that be it?

 

[ziggywiggy]

Quote:
Did you have the correct incubator temperature? My thermo was off a degree, and they all hatched way late. Could that be it?

Interesting you should mention that the thermometer could be off. I have 4 thermometers in my incubator and they all have a different reading. I don't know what to do so I'm going with an old Bower mercury thermometer. Hoprfully, it's accurate. I definitly think there is something to paying a little more for a good thermometer. These $6.00 wal-mart thermos don't seem to be cutting it.
Anybody reading this with any suggestions will be appreciated.

 

[bigdawg]

your bator does have a fan, if not the temp should have been 101.5 were the eggs shipped? air flow is very important. what kind of thermo do you have. temp could have been way off brinsea spot check is the most accurate one on the mkt. mine is super.

 

[mstricer]

I love my hova-bator. Mine has a fan. I'm asking the same questions as bigdawg, do you have fan or is it still air. Those thermometers from walmart are always off you have calbrate them.

 

[ziggywiggy]

Quote:
How do you calibrate them? You can't put them in ice water. It will ruin them and boiling water will melt them. I advise not buying them. I just read about the Brinsea spot check and that sounds like the way to go.

 

[CohoCatahoulas]

Huh... There is not a fan on this hovabator. Oh I hope that's the problem. So if I raise the temp to 101.5 I've got a better shot? I have three thermometers in there and they all read 99.5. The eggs were not shipped. They were collected over 5 days from my backyard hens and stored wide end up in a cabinet out of the light and then all put in on the same day. Most are full sized eggs but I had a few bantam eggs mixed in. The one that hatched was full sized. Thanks so much for all of your help in figuring this out. Wish me luck on the next batch (and if you have any other tips/suggestions keep them coming)!

 

[mstricer]

Then the thermometer is fine. I you haven't yet shut it down bump up the temp and see what happens