How important is a closed incubator?

[nuthatched]

Well I have a heater that actually keeps my room at a constant 80 and can be set higher. That could be used for heat in the room the chick stuff are in. But yeah humidity is one I can’t attest too and the thermometer/hydrometer I have in the incubator is rarely accurate (I have a couple and they all read different even when they’re in the same room or area)

Are you willing to have your room constantly at 100 degrees for 3 weeks? Your heating/electric bill would be

 

[Birdinhand]

80f is a long way from 100f. 80f is inadequate. All things being equal, sure, an open room should work. That’s said, in a room without a fan would develope a thermocline, a layering based on temperature thresholds. 100f up high might be 75f down low, so if you have no fan circulation, you’d need to perfectly position the egs where they are at the ideal temp, ideally using a laser temp gun to monitor the precise temp for the eggs. A mother hen precisely, within a degree or so, manages the temp by adjusting the quills of her feathers to retain or release heat.

 

[NatJ]

Are you willing to have your room constantly at 100 degrees for 3 weeks? Your heating/electric bill would be

The original post asked about putting eggs there on day 18 (lockdown), after using a normal incubator until that point. In less than one week, the eggs will either have hatched or be hopeless.

If they try putting the hatching eggs in the incubator and other eggs in that room, it can still be for a short time, because the hatching eggs get done and the others can go back in the incubator.

Probably still expensive to heat, but not for 3 weeks.
Expense will also change depending on the time of year (like if outdoor temperature is 30 degrees vs. 90 degrees.) OP did say they live in North Carolina, so they should have warm/hot weather in the summer and maybe spring and fall.

 

[ComradeQuedtions]

So what I did, and I’m honestly not sure if it was a good call but I put a container in there so the ones that still need to be rotated can and the ones that hatch can hatch. Which seems to be working but now that I have more hatching than my first attempt I’m concerned on space if that’s something to worry about? I attached a photo and circled the one that has already hatched in case it’s not that visible. The three eggs closest to the front in that box are also starting to hatch

 

[NatJ]

So what I did, and I’m honestly not sure if it was a good call but I put a container in there so the ones that still need to be rotated can and the ones that hatch can hatch. Which seems to be working but now that I have more hatching than my first attempt I’m concerned on space if that’s something to worry about? I attached a photo and circled the one that has already hatched in case it’s not that visible. The three eggs closest to the front in that box are also starting to hatch

That is probably a good way to deal with the situation.

Do keep an eye on them, in case the chicks find a way to get themselves into trouble (like maybe climbing halfway out of the container and then getting stuck there.) It can be hard to predict which things will be fine and which will not.

I think they probably do have enough space.

 

[ComradeQuedtions]

That is probably a good way to deal with the situation.

Do keep an eye on them, in case the chicks find a way to get themselves into trouble (like maybe climbing halfway out of the container and then getting stuck there.) It can be hard to predict which things will be fine and which will not.

I think they probably do have enough space.

Awesome, thanks for the help man

 

[ComradeQuedtions]

So I can’t seem to find anything online but one egg has greenish stuff coming out of it, I can’t get a good pick cause one of the chicks turned that egg over and i dont know if its fine to remove it for observation or a photo, or if it’s necessary. Is it concerning? It’s one that it’s trying to hatch

 

[NatJ]

So I can’t seem to find anything online but one egg has greenish stuff coming out of it, I can’t get a good pick cause one of the chicks turned that egg over and i dont know if its fine to remove it for observation or a photo, or if it’s necessary. Is it concerning? It’s one that it’s trying to hatch

Greenish sounds concerning.

It is usually best to just leave the incubator closed and leave the egg alone. But sometimes you will have a situation concerning enough that it is worth opening the incubator and messing with something.

In this case, I think I probably would open the incubator, look at the egg, maybe take a photo, and then put it back. Oh, sniff the egg while you have it out. If it really stinks, do not put it back in, because it is probably rotten.

If you can see a hole with a beak moving inside, then you know it has a live chick, so the best thing is to put it back and see if it can finish hatching properly by itself.

I would normally expect "greenish stuff" to mean a rotten egg is starting to leak. If an egg is rotten enough to leak, it usually does not have a live chick inside (either the chick died and then started to decompose, or the bacteria caused the chick to die.) If it smells really bad, that is another sign that it is rotten, and you don't want that in your incubator!

 

[Huntmaster]

So I can’t seem to find anything online but one egg has greenish stuff coming out of it, I can’t get a good pick cause one of the chicks turned that egg over and i dont know if its fine to remove it for observation or a photo, or if it’s necessary. Is it concerning? It’s one that it’s trying to hatch

Is it actually coming out of egg or is in just on the egg? With one hatched it may have pooded and first poos can be greenish. But I would find out for sure because if it is a bad egg it could explode/leak contaminants in incubator harming other hatchlings and eggs.

 

[Huntmaster]

If you do check on egg, I would remove any hatched chicks and put in warm brooder.