IM incubator. Temp fluctuating

[rachel2015]

Got my temp perfect for 24hours now it's dropped, should I turn it up ? How do you manage the fluctuating temps?

 

[Ridgerunner]

What kind of incubator do you have? Still air or forced air? Make and model? How much has the temperature dropped? For how long? Has anything changed about the environment the incubator is in? How much do you trust your thermometer?

Probably most important, is the incubator positioned where it is not going to be affected by changing conditions? The incubator should not be by an outside door where the temperature around it changes whenever that door is opened. It should not be in sunlight or where it can be affected by an air conditioning or heating vent. Most incubators are not going to put out a lot of heat. It will be a slow steady heat that very gradually builds up. And they don’t have a way to cool off other than just leave the heater off until it cools. They need to be in a stable location.

If you open the incubator and let the heat out, it normally takes a while for it to recover. It’s not going to be instantaneous.

Not all thermometers are created equal. Do not trust the one that came with the incubator unless you can calibrate it. Even then it is best to have a decent quality thermometer that reads in the tenth of a degree that you have calibrated to assure it is reading right. Bad or uncalibrated thermometers cause a lot of problems.

Rebel’s Thermometer Calibration
http://cmfarm.us/ThermometerCalibration.html
Rebel’s Hygrometer Calibration
http://cmfarm.us/HygrometerCalibration.html

Welcome to the forum. Glad you joined us. And thanks for putting your location. That can help with a lot of questions.

Good luck!

 

[rachel2015]

My incubator is Im auto 12, fan forced. Don't trust temp gauge so have a new one coming hopefully here today. The incubator is in a dark spare room, temp doesn't change much in the room.
If temps are fluctuating lower slightly will it affect the chicks?

 

[rachel2015]

Oh any dropping as low as 37....

 

[Ridgerunner]

I’m not familiar with that specific make and model but at that cost for only 12 eggs it should be good quality. Still, definitely confirm that the thermometer is working correctly before you trust it. You may need to do some tweaking.

The “ideal” temperature for a forced air incubator is 37.5 C or 99.5 F. 37.0 C is only a half of a degree C off. That’s not too bad. The instantaneous temperature is just a measurement of the air temperature, not the temperature in the middle of the egg. Because of the differences in density of the egg and air, it takes a while for the center of the egg to match the air temperature. So how long it is at 37 makes a difference.

The other thing is that the average temperature is what counts, not an instantaneous temperature unless you get ridiculous about how long it is at that strange temperature. If it stabilizes at 37.0 instead of 37.5 for an average temperature, your hatch will probably be a little late, maybe a day or so, maybe not that much.

Very few eggs actually hatch right at 21 days. For a lot of different reasons they are usually either a little early or a little late. Heredity, humidity, how and now long they are stored before incubation starts, and just basic differences in the eggs like size, porosity, thickness of the egg whites, and many other factors. One really huge difference maker is the average incubating temperature. If the average temperature is a little high, they can be quite early. I’ve had eggs pipping when I went into lockdown and they hatched OK. If the average temperature is a little low they can be late. If mine hatch within 24 hours either side of the 21 day target I consider them right on time, but even under a broody hen I’ve had eggs hatch a full 2 days early.

You should try to get it as close to 37.5 as you reasonably can, but if you are fluctuating between 37.0 and 37.5 I think you are doing pretty well.

 

[rachel2015]

Thanks. Great help.