Incubators Anonymous

[Overoberyl]

I do know that my readings for humidity are different at the bottom of my Genesis than what the digital readout says. So, I always go by what it says on the level the eggs are, and it is always higher there, by about 10%. However, you should not be seeing that much of a temp difference. To be honest 2 hrs of running is not that long, do you have the vent plugs open? I would open the vents, and just leave it over night and see what it reads in the morning.

I don't wear gloves to candle but I do wash my hands with antibacterial soap just before I do anything with them. I don't actually take them out of the turner to candle unless I need to get a better look at one, I have a small flashlight style candler so I just light the egg from the top down and usually that is enough to see if there is development and if there is still life there or not...this way I can candle without actually handling the eggs. Of course the lights are off in the room to start with which helps, and I only candle at night so I don't have to worry about daylight coming in.

 

[DMRippy]

I don't touch the eggs either... I leave them in the try and use a flashlight on each egg, very quick that way. I don't have a problem touching them, I don't usually have dirty hands while I candle eggs (hubby calls me a germ-a-phobe). Usually the ones I pickup are not right anyway so no big deal.

I am best with a humidity about 30% for the first 18 days. I get some really big air cells if it get much lower. Then I put them in the hatcher and that is usually about 50-55% and then it will run up much higher when they start hatching. I just don't worry about it once they are in the hatcher. Well I don't really worry about the humidity much.... I don't panic if it goes a little higher, now if it stays high I will work to get it down. If it gets low..... I will add some water if I can think of it.

 

[Flowerbh]

I turned on the incubator last night....so this morning the humidity is down to 24-26%. (This is without adding any water in the wells). I was thinking about why the humidity was so high last night and I guess it was because I had just cleaned everything and there was probably still a lot of water on all the parts. But the temp. is still not right. On the top built in thermometer, it reads about 99-100 degrees. But on the thermometer inside at egg level, that one is only saying 90.5 degrees. I think I will go look for another thermometer and put it in there and see. Where do you guys buy your poultry thermometers?

Yea, I will candle them inside, too....thanks for the info!

 

[ozexpat]

I turned on the incubator last night....so this morning the humidity is down to 24-26%. (This is without adding any water in the wells). I was thinking about why the humidity was so high last night and I guess it was because I had just cleaned everything and there was probably still a lot of water on all the parts. But the temp. is still not right. On the top built in thermometer, it reads about 99-100 degrees. But on the thermometer inside at egg level, that one is only saying 90.5 degrees. I think I will go look for another thermometer and put it in there and see. Where do you guys buy your poultry thermometers?

Yea, I will candle them inside, too....thanks for the info!

I use this product product from amazon

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004I08CEO/ref=oh_details_o05_s00_i00

It has a remote wireless sensor that is a second thermometer/hygrometer. I sit it in the side of the bator next to the turner. The receiver sits next to my desk. When I get home from work, I check the max and min temps. I calibrated the hygrometer on the remote, then did a comparison with the one on the receiver - made adjustments and labeled the units with the adjustment factors needed. The thermometers were completely accurate

 

[TNBEARCHICK]

I got my humidity to a more normal level. Put a couple of 1 towels in the water..... got too high when I draped it over the edges, so I have them contained up the walls but not over the edges. It is about 35% I fell better about that than LO reading I was getting.

So I have one batch of eggs in the bator from my Blue Copper roo that dropped dead on me the other day

Today may be the last day I collect from his pen. Hopping for a good hatch.

I have some new layers too. My other SLW started lying and since I have trimed everyone I am hopeful for some chicks this time. My broody pullet is laying too

My Silver Penciled dotte are starting to lay, I am not going to hatch those yet.

I love silver penciled I have SILVER PENCILED ROCKS they are gorgeous waiting on my rooster to mature just bought a juvenile to go with my 2 hens, so I can hatch eggs from them. What are the odds bought 3 2 lived and they sere both pullets

.

We are setting our maiden voyage on our new incubator a 1502 sportsman

, only 17 eggs in first round was waitin on some ordered eggs but they didn't get here in time.

Hatching 6 chocolate orps and 6 isbars

 

[TNBEARCHICK]

I have said I was going to do this and finally did

Here is my candler my son came up with the idea and it works.

All the tools you need a water bottle top (I cut it bigger with a utility knife and then marked it and cut the rest with scissors) Electric tape and a flashlight.



Cut the top to fit the top of your flashlight. I have used bigger flashlights and it works fine with them... just focuses the light.



I start the tape at the bottom to attach the cap to the flashlight and work my way up make sure you cover the cap really well so no light is getting out to blind you.



Here is a view from the top after it cap is on.



This is a Marans egg, these are eggs I was going to put in the bator... should have used some with babies in them already

Brown egg




Another thing I do... I use the 30 egg trays for my incubator and I just take the tray into the bathroom (dark room no window) and I just put the flashlight over the top of the eggs, that way I don't have to pick them up and possible drop the eggs..... It also goes really quick.

 

[TNBEARCHICK]

I haven't had good hatches with anything over 30%, I've tried to keep it under 30, and recently have had my first hatches that I kept at 20% and they've been my most successful to date. There really shouldn't be any goo, the chicks should come out looking wet but any goo is extra and probably an indication that humidity is too high. What about the chicks that pipped internally but not externally, did it look like they had clear nostrils in order to breath or is it possible they had too much goo and drowned? I had a lot of those before I figured out that my humidity was too high...

oK WHEN you all refer to 20-20 per humidity are you takin wet bulb?

 

[TNBEARCHICK]

I would not give up on the styrobator just yet.

Go to walmart or amazon, buy a hygrometer and check the bator. If you get the same readings return the hygrometer and turn the bator into a herb garden. If it turns out to be the hygrometer then commit hygromicide.

but oh yes for sure and no joking.

 

[TNBEARCHICK]

I love the idea. i am running totally dry since day 4. My humidity is in the 20s. At day 12 I was at 8% weight loss average on my eggs with 18 out of 18 alive and wiggling. Day 3 is over. 5 days till lock down.

Do you weigh your eggs, we have been considering doing this what kind of scale do I need? I have a small scale for weighing mail or etc, would that work?

 

[TNBEARCHICK]

As this is my first and only hatch I am going to do in USA before trying to replicate it in the Philippines, I have been methodical and doing weighs so I can essentially see for myself what the eggs look like - both movement and air cell appearance,

My next batch I will collect from local chicken people in San Diego and Lake Elsinore, then carry 40+ eggs to my place in the Philippines and put them in the bator there. It has been quite humid in SoCal this week - 60%. In the Phils at this time of year its down in the 70% range. Temps are 76 at night and 84 during the day. I will observe them until New Years Eve, come back to USA for just shy of 2 weeks and start lockdown on day 19. I hope they wont be dizzy from an extra day on the turner.

Going to the Phillipines, wow.