How long to give them? Bator eggs.

[Susan Neff]

I had mine at 99-101 for temp and humidity was between 55-60. Mine didn't move until the day they hatched. You should take them out of the turner on day 18. Then just let them sit in incubator until day 21 they should be good. If you have humidity to high you will drown them and to low they will cook.

 

[PD-Riverman]

Do you use a turner? Do you change the humidity before lockdown?

Yes and For Sure. I run a low humidity for the incubation----30's and a high for the hatch---70's to 80's. Works good for me.

 

[Alex R]

So if no one else hatches by Thursday I'm going to discard them. Maybe I'll try again another time.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Be sure to calibrate your thermometer before you try again. I seriously think it is running a little too cool.

You can try the float test before you discard them. I do not consider this a standard routine test you can safely do any time but it's a desperation measure. Put the unhatched unpipped eggs in a basin of water. If they float and wiggle around on their own there is a live chick in there. Put the egg back in the incubator. If the egg does not float or wiggle on its own there is no live chick in there.

 

[Alex R]

Thank you. I'll have to buy a new thermometer before I try again. Ifbtheres still some lives ones in there, put them back and wait another 3 days maybe?

 

[Alex R]

I think I'm going to get this thermometer for the next run

http://www.brinsea.com/p-394-spot-check-digital-incubator-thermometer.aspx

 

[Ridgerunner]

With your forced air incubator that should work fine, but I'd still calibrate it first. I don't trust any thermometers unless they have been calibrated, I've seen too many that were not that close.

 

[cmom]

Yes and For Sure. I run a low humidity for the incubation----30's and a high for the hatch---70's to 80's. Works good for me.

Same here.

 

[cmom]

Whenever you purchased a new thermometer and about to use it for the first time, you need to calibrate it. Thermometers will also need to be calibrated whenever they are dropped or when going from one temperature extreme to another. Thermometers are a critical measuring equipments for temperature to ensure good hatch rates.

There are two methods that you could use to calibrate thermometers -

Ice Point Method - Fill a container with crushed ice and water. Ensure that the container have enough crushed ice to provide an environment of 32 degrees F, so you may need to add more ice into the container during the process. It will takes about 4 to 5 minutes for the mixture of water to stabilized. Then insert the thermometer which needs to be calibrated into the appropriate immersion depth. Hold the thermometer away from the bottom and sides of the container to avoid error. If your thermometer is not accurate at 32 degrees F, adjust the thermometer accordingly.

Boiling Point Method - Fill a container with distilled water and heat it up. After the temperature in the water has reached the boiling point, insert the thermometer . Be sure to leave at least a two inch gap between the thermometer sensing element and the bottom and sides of the container to avoid error. If your thermometer is not accurate at 212 degrees F, adjust the thermometer accordingly.

There are some thermometers that are not meant to be put in water and water may damage them. This is what I do for these types of thermometers. I fill a glass with crushed ice (NO WATER) and put the thermometer probe around halfway down into the ice and cover with a washcloth. I let the thermometer set in the ice for about 15 minutes. At that time it should read around 32ºF.

 

[Alex R]

Thanks for the advice!

I'm gonna check eggs tonight and toss them if none are alive. Unfortunately my 3rd chick died today. I'm super upset about this whole hatch but at least I have 2 healthy thriving chicks. It's kinda putting me off on every trying again