I NEED ANSWERS, everything I research for Incubating chicken eggs gives me different answers!!!

[Rose Quartz]

Okay Thanks Rose, so with that said do I remove one plug as of day 4 or just keep them off altogether?

It's up to you. the reason I said day 4 was I read some where that lack of oxygen in the first 3 days had been shown to make stronger chicks. But I have never closed off my oxygen supply. That doesn't seem logical to me even if scientists say it's the right way to go.

(I really wish I had saved links to all these articles I read)

 

[Rose Quartz]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hatching-eggs-101.64195/
this gives a ton of info on hatching. It's what I used when I was first starting. give me a min to read your post and I'll see if you have any specific questions.

 

[JaeG]

Unless they had pipped externally there's no harm in opening the incubator. The eggs need good ventilation when hatching especially so plugs need to be removed for lockdown (some people leave them out permanently) and I would remove one from the start.

The overall average temperature is what counts. Brief spikes won't hurt the eggs as it takes a long time for the whole of the egg to heat up enough to kill the developing embryo. If loud noises hurt chicks I'd never have any hatching! Not with our two kids.

Fertility may not be great for your birds due to the time of year and that would be why some didn't even start.

I hatch quail and I hand turn all of them. I don't think turners are necessary.

Incubation really is a bit of an experiment to work out what works for you in your climate. We're you candling the eggs regularly? Do you know around what days the developing chicks died? Had they pipped internally yet?

It's never easy to lose babies, especially when you've been looking forward to them throughout incubation.

 

[NewChickielady]

Humidity- very subjective topic. It is very area dependant. Personally I low humidity incubate. Keep 20 to 30 for 18 days. Raise to 70 plus for hatch. It took several tries hatching before I found this is what I got my best results with. In central Mo. That usually 2 I don't put any water or very small amount in til lockdown. I have had some hatch when I mis marked days or they were early before I ever got the humidity raised. And the came out fine.

So do you think I should rise or lower my humidity? I had it at 35% while it was 60+ in my home? These next days are going to be sunny in the 70's i plan to start my 2nd batch on Monday. I don't want to give up just yet, would just hate to waste what could be perfectly good eggs.

 

[NewChickielady]

Relative humidity in your area plays a major factor. I run my incubator at 10% - 20% humidity for days 1 -18. otherwise my aircells don't get big enough. But I live in NS where local RH is usually between 85%- 95% even in the winter.

I had mine at 35% from days 1 to 18 while the humidity in my home was at 60+ how do you think I should adjust

 

[NewChickielady]

Thank you, Im not

Thank you!

Meant to put, Thank you, I'm not ready to give up!

 

[NewChickielady]

Start your incubator without water get it to temp desired. See what your humidity gauge reads while dry.

Thanks, as of this morning I've been running it with water. I will empty it and run it dry.

 

[NewChickielady]

Thank you, Im not

I can't answer your questions specifically on that incubator but I can give you some of what I've learned.

First, no matter how perfectly you have everything calibrated and stabilized before your eggs go into the incubator, your temperature and humidity will drop when you open it to put them in. DON'T PANIC....this is the stage where most people freak out and start adjusting and readjusting, then they never can get it back to that ideal environment they had before, simply because they've "overfiddled" with the settings. Remember that it takes a few minutes to get the eggs in, get them situated, and that they have a cooler total mass than the incubator is currently showing and they need time to come up to temperature. Put them in, leave them in, and leave your settings alone for several hours. The eggs will be just fine and will warm as the inside of the bater warms. Then if you need to adjust, do that in small, almost imperceptible increments.

I also preferred hand turning, even though it meant opening the incubator. I had a better hatch rate (and anyone who knows my back story knows that I wasn't doing so good before!) with hand turning. Mom gets up off the nest from time to time to shift eggs around too, and they are outside in cooler temperatures than your incubator will be in. This also gave me the opportunity to check more closely for eggs that might be seeping stuff that indicates it's time to get them the heck out of there!

Your chicks won't instantly die inside the eggs if you have to open it to add to the humidity or turn them. Again, they have an internal mass that doesn't cool off or dry out the second the door is opened. Be sensible, keep it as closed as possible as much as possible, but don't be afraid to tend them and do what you have to do.

Most incubators have cool spots and hotter spots. When you turn the eggs, it doesn't hurt a thing to shift eggs from place to place as well. Find those spots, and work within those parameters. Under a broody, the eggs that are at the very edge of her "warming cone" when she first starts incubating them usually still hatch, because when she turns them or gets up for a bite to eat or a drink, they shift positions slightly with her movements.

Shipped eggs typically don't do as well, so expect that if your eggs are being shipped. The embryos have been jostled around and air cells can become loose or even totally detached. So wait a couple of days before you put them into the incubator, without touching them, and some of those cells may well firm back up.

That's all I can think of for right now......enjoy your adventure!

Thank you!

 

[NewChickielady]

I generally start with no added humidity. and check the aircell size on day 7. if it matches the chart(which can be found in that link) I leave it. If it's too big I add humidity usually try to keep it below 40% though, too small I just learned you can add a small container of rice to absorb humidity (I've never used it though) and then on day 14 check the air cell size again and see if it's still matching the chart, or if it's back where it should be. if it's still not cooperating, you can make some larger changes and check again on day 18 just before lockdown. if on day 18 you find your air cell is too small you can leave your humidity down another day as long as youre watching pretty closely and after a day up your humidity or as soon as you hear chirping. The aircells keep growing after day 18 even with the humidity up quite significantly, and by day 20 - 21 it draws down really far on one side. (The incubator I made I can access the inside without loosing humidity so I've gotten to candle in incubator after lockdown)

Okay Thanks Rose, so with that said do I remove one plug as of day 4 or just keep them off altogether?