Incubation temperature? Need help

[PoultreeKing]

I have been incubating eggs and hatching chicks in my real 49 incubator ( great incubator btw ) for the past year and i've always set the temperature at 37.7 C, even tho it was advised that at the last 3 days of incubation it should be lowered to 37.2 C ( i don't do that because i found no results ) so i keep it at 37.7 C.
Today i baught a different incubator and the instruction manual said that the perfect temperature is 37.6 C ( keeping in mind this incubator is made in China and is known for bad quality but i need it and have no other option so i got it ). It also said that if the chicks start hatching too early ( like day 19 ), the you need to lower you temperature perhaps a degree so it would become at 37.5 C and if they hatch at a late time ( like day 22 ) then it should be risen to 37.7 C. Was i doing it right already or are these instructions better? what is your personal and professional opinion? ( i just want a better percentage of hatch ) so what ever you find best please tell me. ( btw i've never gotten better than a 65% hatch rate using the constant 37.7 C Method ). Thank you

 

[Rickba]

Hi P, I've always kept my incubator at 38c through the entire process. Humidity 45 to 55 then the last 5 days humidity 65. I use this for all eggs, chickens, ducks, goose and quail. I've never had an issue and always a great hatch rate. The only difference is with goose eggs I let the water reservoir go dry before refilling to draw excess water out of the eggs.

 

[PoultreeKing]

Hi P, I've always kept my incubator at 38c through the entire process. Humidity 45 to 55 then the last 5 days humidity 65. I use this for all eggs, chickens, ducks, goose and quail. I've never had an issue and always a great hatch rate. The only difference is with goose eggs I let the water reservoir go dry before refilling to draw excess water out of the eggs.

So i shouldn't be afraid of putting it at 37.8 C? It wond damage the eggs or anything? And i've already put a batch in my old incubator they are two days through the incubation at 37.7 C can i turn it up to 37.8 C now or should i wait for the next batch?

 

[Rubysword]

I'd say keep it the way it has been. 65% hatch rate is really good. Most people are happy if they get 50%.

 

[PoultreeKing]

I'd say keep it the way it has been. 65% hatch rate is really good. Most people are happy if they get 50%.

Ok i guess

 

[Rickba]

It wouldn't hurt to turn the temp up a point.

 

[007Sean]

If your hatching shipped eggs at 65% hatch rate, your doing great. 37.7 and 37.8 ? 1/10th a degree isn't going to make a difference in your hatch rate....what will is a constant temp, the less fluctuations in temp the better.

 

[PoultreeKing]

If your hatching shipped eggs at 65% hatch rate, your doing great. 37.7 and 37.8 ? 1/10th a degree isn't going to make a difference in your hatch rate....what will is a constant temp, the less fluctuations in temp the better.

Sometimes i get 50% with shipped eggs, but i had 5 eggs a couple of months ago from a friend who lives 1 minute away by car so not far at all and all 5 eggs hatched, 3 bantam, 2 bard rock, meanwhile i had 13 silkie eggs from my farm and only hatched 2, could be a problem from the parents i'm not sure or maybe it was the cold because a couple died while they were trying to hatch and a about 3-4 died in the egg without even an attempt of hatch while the rest were infertile, ( again the incubator is amazing ) because i guess even though the 5 eggs were shipped they all hatched, so it an egg problem with the silkie eggs not an incubator problem, but also in hatches as big as 49 eggs, i always get 7-14 infertile eggs, and 6-11 dead chicks inside the egg, my last hatch i got 28 chicks out of 49 eggs. So i guess that's what's to be expected from an incubator and i should be glad that i got that many chicks, but on the other hand i've heard a lot of people say they've had 90% hatch rates and 100% hatch rates, which is why i was wondering why i would only get as high as 65%.

 

[sumi]

I personally aim for 37.7C, but don't mind too much if it is a fraction higher or lower. I have had the odd elusive 100% hatch rate too.

The way I see it is, hens constantly shuffle their eggs around under them, moving them to cooler and hotter spots, so I'd say anything consistent and as close as possible to the "perfect" temperature is good. From what I read and learned, incorrect temperature can affect hatching in that the chicks may come a bit early if too hot and up to a day late if a degree celsius under the recommended 37.7/8C Eggs failing to develop, embryo mortality and eggs failing to hatch can be due to number of other causes, from the breeder flock's diet, to the age of the eggs and more. If you are interested I've written an article on the topic here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/egg-failure-to-hatch-diagnosing-incubation-problems.67011/

There is another article linked to the from the bottom of this one, discussing hatching eggs.

 

[007Sean]

I have 2 cabinet bators, DIY GQF knock-offs. Both have humidifiers with regulators to set and hold the humidity at whatever %Rh I'm wanting to hatch the eggs.
With shipped eggs I usually get 75% hatch rate. Eggs from my birds usually a 85 to 90% hatch rate. Very rarely have i had a 100% hatch rate.
I think too many peeps place to high an emphasis on hatch rate, they should be looking at fertility rate. You can't hatch an infertile egg no matter how hard you try. If you have good fertility and all else remains the same (meaning your incubating proceedures) then you should, in theory, get high hatch rates.
Failure to hatch/develop (dis) died in shell etc, is something harder to understand and analyze. There's just too many variables (genetics, condition of breeders, nutrient intake of breeders, etc) involved to give a logical explaination for the failures.