I think my kids see me as a failure 😢

[LaFleche]

My incubator is a R-com King Suro and it never ever in more than 10 years had any glitches or issues whatsoever.

Depending on the particular condition of the hatching eggs, I will vary the settings and that is all.

You could explain to your children that only fresh, undamaged and fertile eggs have the chance to hatch a chick, and that depending on the condition and health of the parent stock, some eggs although fertile, just don't make it.

Failure to hatch does not always have to do with the incubator or your handling.

 

[RubelliteRose]

I already commented on this but the more I think about it the more I think you need better secondary thermometers/hydrometers. They are barely a centimeter apart and have different readings. Now hydrometers are a bit notorious for being inaccurate in part because of how long it takes for them to give an accurate read but the thermometer... is concerning. I don't think you can calibrate the type of thermometers/hydrometers that you have. Consider getting a probed one that supports calibration.

You should follow the instructions that come with it; however, the basics are as follows. Put ice into a cup and fill with water waiting 10min then put the probe in adjusting it until it reaches 32F/0C. For the humidity mix 1/2C salt with 1/4C water in a cup and put the cup and hydrometer in a plastic and tightly seal it. Allow it to acclimate for at least 12 hours before calibrating it to 75%.

This! I looked at thermometer/hygrometers like your recently, but decided not to purchase them after seeing several reviews showing 7 to 10 of them grouped together but all of them had a different reading. There were also complaints that they were inconsistently off so they could not even be calibrated.

 

[Katanahamon]

Get Gail Damerow’s book “Hatching and Brooding Your Own Chicks.” She can’t tell you how to get the best success from an incubator, and valuable information about all things eggs, hatching, and brooding..

Wow..I need to proof before hitting post..that’s CAN tell you ..all that stuff..sigh..

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I use the NR360.

I have the same incubator as the one you have pictured and it killed every egg I had in the patch that was fertile. Hydrometer was horribly off (saying that nearly 100% was only 30s) and the temperature was reported lower than it actually was. Had one egg out of a full batch make it to day 15, everyone else quit around day 7