Incubators Anonymous

[Overoberyl]

Going back and thinking it all out, here is what I think...
1. I went into lockdown at the end of day 18. By doing that, the wells of water at the bottom of the incubator dried out that early morning (on hatch day) and the humidity went to 48% until I found it when I woke up...probably that level for about 2-3 hours. I had to use a straw and add water where the wire from the turner usually is. Humidity went back up to 68%, but I think the damage was already done???? Made the membrane and shell too tough to break thru????. and I think they suffocated. (Next time, I won't put them into lockdown until day 19.) That way the water should stay ok.
2. I have 3 different thermometers/hydometers. (They were cheep). One is built in. So, they started out all reading around the same numbers, but by lockdown, they were all over the place. The ones at the bottom would read 97.9 and the built in one would read 100.1, so I upped the built in one to 101.4 and got the two at the bottom to read around 99.8. Maybe I trusted the wrong thermometer! Does any one recommend a really good thermometer?

Can anyone give me any advice? Thanks.

Unlikely that the 48% did anything to be honest. I've had eggs get down to 20% during lockdown (I was out of the house all day and the bator ran dry while I was gone). They all hatched fine since I was able to up it prior to any pips.

 

[ki4got]

electronic thermometers may vary their readings depending on the humidity... i would say if it read stable during incubation, don't worry about them during hatching, and don't adjust anything.

what was your humidity during incubation? also, when you checked the chicks, were they filling the shell entirely or was there room for them to move even a teeny bit? if they looked crammed in, chances are that your humidity was too high during incubation. in that case the chicks absorb the extra fluid, but it increases their blood pressure and puts a strain on their heart. many can't cope with that and just fail to hatch, while others seem to do better. it can also put stress on the lungs as they're learning to breathe.

 

[Flowerbh]

That's what I am thinking also. I had this same experience several times before I finally allowed myself to incubate at 20% and since then I've had much greater success with the exception of the Campines which seem to hatch out wet no matter what I do, lol.

The funny thing is that my first two hatches, I maintained a 40-45% humidity and then 55-60% at lockdown and they all did well. This time, I thought I would reduce it because of all I have read about on these threads. So, I went down to about 30-35% this time and then up to about 58-68% for lockdown. But, the ones that hatched were not sticky or anything. Just really sad and confusing.

Donna, do you want to contact that guy who wanted BLRW roos and tell him he should get them from you? I will send him a PM and tell him I have nothing to offer him. BOOOOO!

 

[Overoberyl]

Check out page 3:

http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/8127.pdf

 

[gladahmae]

I have our incubator (hova with a fan) running, trying to get it checked before we go on vacation so that hopefully I can pop eggs in it right after we get back. I'm having a really really low humidity reading though. I've calibrated my hygrometer, and it's with 2%. Within 2 hours or so of turning the incubator on, the humidity reading goes down to 10%, which is the lowest it will read. When I was incubating in the fall, I had to keep both bottom channels full of water to keep the RH reading in the low 30s, and I was refilling those every 3 days because they would go dry. We checked it over for leaks and holes, and filled in any thin spots, added weather stripping around the lid, and taped the lid shut. Still really low humidity.


I'm at a loss as to what is going on and what I should do to fix it. I think we figured out before that my humidity was too high at the end (wet chicks that either didn't pip, or pipped internally and quit) but this whole low humidity thing has me confused. We had pretty poor hatches, but we were also using shipped eggs, so I wasn't expecting resounding success, but we never had more than 2 chicks hatch, out of batches of 30+ eggs. I'll be using our own eggs this time, so we can eliminate the USPS variable.

Thoughts?

 

[SRHartley]

Ok so I have been reading alot about hatching eggs. I have 4 RIR eggs in my homemade bator now. Tonight they go into lock down. I have maintained the humidity in the upper 40% to low 50% during the whole process. Will this be good for the lockdown or should it be higher? I have been reading other threads and thought it was supposed to be higher during lockdown, then I was reading in here to keep it lower. What is right?

 

[DMRippy]

I am on my phone sorry didnt quote.

Low humidity now vs fall the air is dry now than the fall so that is why it is so low now.


For the other guestion about humidity.... we are suggesting lower humidity during incubation like 20-35% during lock down you need much higher humidity 60%now and up is fine.

 

[SRHartley]

So I do want above 60%. I was planning on that and will be adding another water tray and sponge to ensure I am able to keep it high. I am excited for my first hatch and hope to get at least 1 chick

 

[gimmie birdies]

I am not a believer in too much water, but If you do get one chick you should be ready to have mirrors and friends on hand.

 

[SRHartley]

Well, we are in lockdown with 3 good eggs. Humidity is at 63% right now, will this be good or should I go higher?