Incubation temp question

[Avonshire]

OK so my last batch of eggs did not do too well and I believe my temp was too low. I had the therm that comes with the Little Giant incubator on top of my eggs and I kept the temp steady at 99.5. That is what the incubator says to set it to but from what I have read, this is too low. Then once my only chick hatched it knocked the therm off the eggs. The therm fell to the bottom of the bator onto the wire. Then the temp said 92. That seemed WAY too cold. So now for the new hatch. I am using the LG incubator with an egg turner this time. I have the egg turner in my bator and I have plastic eggs in there to simulate the eggs. I have the same therm on top of the eggs. I have also added a therm/hygrometer to the mix and it sits on the egg turner because it is too big to fit on top of the eggs. It is digital and pretty bulky. So when the digi's temp says 100 the mercury therm says 104. When the Digi says 99 then the mercury says 102. Soooo of course this time the eggs are up higher because of the egg turner which will be removed for lock down. Then for the last 3 days my eggs will be much lower in the bator and much cooler. What temp should I go with? During lock down will I need to up the temp? I got a third thermometer and a fourth one too! lol! One is a fish tank therm that is small, hard to read and won't stay stuck to my egg turner so it keeps falling. The other is a hygro/therm combo but it is not digital. However it is HUGE! I have been to Walmart and Lowes and this is what I have found so far. Any suggestions???? Thanks in advance!!

 

[Rainbows Chicks]

I would think the best thing to do would be to put all four of the thermometers in the bator with nothing else in it and compare all four. This way, if three of them are reading the same (or very close to the same) temp, you'll know that one of those three would be suitable to use for your hatch. Now, if they, all four read different temperatures, I don't have any idea what to advise....

 

[Avonshire]

Well here is a picture of my set up --thought it might help to visualize what I am saying. Although I do like the idea of the therms all at the same level you will see that my digital would still be at a different level because of its size but it would still be at the same starting level and give me an idea of how each therm varies. I may do that and let it sit overnight and check out the temps in the morning!

eta: I forgot to add the photo the first time around! lol!!

 

[Rainbows Chicks]

Ya, I didn't really mean that the levels of the thermometers should be the same - as in, one not being higher within the bator than another, but rather that they should be reading the same temperature 'levels'. I guess, I though the question was about which thermometer should be trusted as accurate..? Where, now, I'm wondering if your question was more to do with your incubator reading higher temperatures, higher within the bator and lower temperatures, further down toward the 'floor' of the bator. Do you have a fan in your bator, or is it a 'still air'? My bator has a fan and I used a mercury thermometer (identical to the one in your photos, as far as I can tell) as well as a digital thermometer/hygrometer (also fairly similar to the one in your photo)... Both thermometers read the same temp, throughout the hatch, in my bator, regardless of where they were placed within the bator. Hopefully that makes sense, though I'm not certain it is very helpful...
Perhaps you could try getting a reading of all 4 thermometers at the same height level, within your bator and, THEN, if you find that, at least 2 of them, are achieving the same (or very close) temp readings, you could try those 2 again at different height level placements, within the bator to see what you get then...? Maybe somewhat helpful???

 

[Avonshire]

OK so I put all 4 therms in just on the grate--took out the egg turner. They all look like they say the same temp(hard to tell on the mercury therms exactly) of 99. That is what my digital still says too. SO I think they are all calibrated to say the same thing---so now I am back to what temp should I use--the mercury therm on top of the eggs or the digital that is I think measuring a little lower in the incubator than the top of the eggs. Where does the temp need to be 100-101??? Top of eggs? Down on the wire grate? Middle of the eggs?

 

[Avonshire]

Oh and mine is a still air incubator.

 

[loneace]

A still air incubator will have various temperature levels because the heat rises. If it was me, I would target my target temp in the middle of the eggs and I would go a bit warmer than your last time as it did not have really favorable results.

 

[Rainbows Chicks]

A still air incubator will have various temperature levels because the heat rises. If it was me, I would target my target temp in the middle of the eggs and I would go a bit warmer than your last time as it did not have really favorable results.

I agree!