I have a Hova-Bator 1602N still air incubator. I put 5 goose eggs in five weeks ago and only one made it to hatch. Two must not have been fertile, one looked like it had started developing then stopped around two weeks and another had a blood ring around that same time. I've followed incubating instructions as much as possible but there is SO much conflicting information that it's hard to figure out what to really do. I'm putting three eggs in today and I would like some tips to improve my hatch rate. I've had the temp around 99.5 with about 60% humidity, turn them twice a day, then at day 25 go on "lockdown". I don't know how much of a difference it makes, but they are Chinese/Sebastopol crosses. Any advice would be helpful. TIA.
First off, still air incubators are run at 101.5, not 99.5. Geese have a slightly lower optimal incubation temperature, I think, so maybe run 101.2? 60% is much too high for incubation. Drop it to 30% and adjust for air cells. Also, 3x per day is pretty much minimum for turning.... 5x is better but it's hard to do with a work schedule. ETA: Make sure you're measuring temperature at the top of the egg.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/491013/goose-incubation-hatching-guide-completed/0_20 https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/incubating-w-friends-helpful-notes-links-informational-post-links There is good info in these two links.
