Incubators Anonymous

[gimmie birdies]

day 1

 

[DMRippy]

well I just lost a whole hatch. I put them in lockdown yesterday and today after 4 degree night it was OFF all night. I will try but I don't think there is any hope for them......dang.

 

[ozexpat]

day 1

What are we looking at on day 1?

 

[sillycmoy]

Well I think my first time incubating is a bust. I have no idea what I could have done wrong. I had 4 develop, 2 I'm sure quit around 12-14 days, but the other 2 was extremely full on day 18, locked down, I did fight with the humidity, but it was still in the lows 60%. No movement, no peeps, no cracks or pips, and its going on day 23. I guess we will be starting all over. Not sure what I did wrong other then a crappy incubator. The only one I could find around here.

LG Still Air, I did the ice in the water test on the thermometer 2 times, it was off by 2 degrees both times, so I put a line at where it needs to be. I also had a digital one in there. Top of the eggs was always around 101.2-101.5 like suggested for still air, bottom was always at 99-99.5. I hand rotated them extremely slowly 3 times a day, and I even marked which way I turned them so they went a different direction every time.

Still hoping they hatch, but not looking very hopeful. Any ideas on what to do for the next try or should I just give up.

 

[ki4got]

My rooster is fertilizing eggs!!!

isn't that part of his job? if he weren't I'd probably fire (roast) him.

 

[ki4got]

Well I think my first time incubating is a bust. I have no idea what I could have done wrong. I had 4 develop, 2 I'm sure quit around 12-14 days, but the other 2 was extremely full on day 18, locked down, I did fight with the humidity, but it was still in the lows 60%. No movement, no peeps, no cracks or pips, and its going on day 23. I guess we will be starting all over. Not sure what I did wrong other then a crappy incubator. The only one I could find around here.

LG Still Air, I did the ice in the water test on the thermometer 2 times, it was off by 2 degrees both times, so I put a line at where it needs to be. I also had a digital one in there. Top of the eggs was always around 101.2-101.5 like suggested for still air, bottom was always at 99-99.5. I hand rotated them extremely slowly 3 times a day, and I even marked which way I turned them so they went a different direction every time.

Still hoping they hatch, but not looking very hopeful. Any ideas on what to do for the next try or should I just give up.

what do you mean by "extremely full"? do you mean that the egg had a very small air cell?

when an egg is ready to hatch, you should see a bit less than half of it clear air. if you're not seeing this, then either the egg was rotten (no air cell will be visible usually, or extremely small) or your humidity was way too high.

look at oz's signature for the hatching guide...

personally, I HATE still air incubators. I prefer auto turners and fans to circulate the humidity and heat evenly. THAT is going to be a large part of the consistent part...

I dry incubate, adding no water at all - usually at 10-20% humidity, and adding a bowl of water to get it up to 55-65% only on the last 2-3 days, depending how they look on day 18. if the air cell is still a bit small, i'll leave them in the incubator for an extra day. if the power's been out for more than a couple hours, then i'll candle a few times a day toward the end and move them over only after drawdown has occurred, in case they were delayed a little bit... (again, read that hatching guide if you don't know the term).

if you're calibrating your thermometer, you're better off doing it in a pot of warm/hot water and comparing to a human grade thermometer. some thermometers will be further off at extremes of freezing or boiling but dead on where it's supposed to be.

hygrometers are also extremely sensitive to temperature and moisture. I prefer the type that sits outside the incubator with just a probe going inside to test the humidity. quite often, if the humidity is much over 50% or under 30% they will, again, read off from what it actually is. and the same hygrometer, at room temperature will record one thing, but increase the room temp by 10 degrees and it reads something else entirely. the key is learning what range YOUR hygrometer reads, that gives you the best hatches.

humidity is important, but not critical, as my 2 bantam cochins reminded me last week when they hatched on the 18th in the incubator (which was reading 10%). I made a mistake writing down the hatch and lockdown dates, so when I went to move the eggs over, 2 had already fully hatched, 3 more hatched that night into the next morning in the hatcher with 'normal' humidity.

 

[sillycmoy]

No they were like 3/4 full with a good air sack, they were even moving when we candled them, I just meant there was a chick there, the other 2 quitters was only developed on one side of the egg, and there was tons and tons of clear. So we locked them down, I did fight with the humidity the first day, and was adding through the vents, but did get it to hold at at least 60% or higher after playing with it. No I wasn't opening it up either. I guess it is what it is.

 

[gimmie birdies]

My rooster is old enough to ask a hen to the prom.

 

[ozexpat]

My rooster is old enough to ask a hen to the prom.

So the prom is where mating occurs?

I grew up in a different world.

 

[Runawaylobster]

well I just lost a whole hatch. I put them in lockdown yesterday and today after 4 degree night it was OFF all night. I will try but I don't think there is any hope for them......dang.

Sorry to hear that ....

that really is a downer..