Incubators tempertature keeps changing help!

[kiimmyn]

Hey BYC! I have a Hova Bator 1602n with no automatic turner. I have 2 thermometers in there to make sure the temperature is

correct. However, the temperature of my incubator keeps fluctuating... It goes to about 94 degrees F and then goes to about 99-100

degrees F. The strange thing is before it gets any hotter then that, it will turn off and cool back down to 94ish degrees and then turn

back on again... Will this temperature fluctuation kill my eggs that are inside?

Please help!!

 

[BoomChickaPop]

How long has the temp been doing this?
It might kill your eggs and might not. Might slow down the hatching.
How old are the eggs in the Hova Bator?

To me it seems like the bator has a defect and you should return it.

BCP

 

[kiimmyn]

When I first set it up, it was doing fine, about 98 degrees. Then it shot up to 102 so i decreased it because i was told that temp could kill the chick. Now its doing this weird thing and I have no idea what to do! The eggs are only 3 days old ):

 

[kiimmyn]

Also, do you think it would be safe for me to put the eggs in an eggcarton while in the incubator? Ive seen a couple people do it on youtube and they just turn the eggs in there but im not sure because i havent seen alot of people do it, so just wondering. Thanks!

 

[MeepBeep]

Air temperature swings are normal in many incubators, what is more important is internal egg temp not the air temp...

To simulate internal egg temp you need to make a 'fake' egg and put a thermometer in that... Or purchase one...

My guess is that your swing is a little low, meaning that you might have to adjust it more towards a 97° - 103° swing, that is likely to keep the internal egg temp close to 100°...

For a cheap DIY fake egg, take a small ziplock bag, put in 2 ounces of water, get as much air out as you can and zip it shut... Wrap, twist, clump that 2oz of water in the bag around the end of a thermometer, and tape it in place so that the thermometer tip is surrounded by water and see where it stabilizes...

Another option that I personalty use is baby bottles, I use 4oz baby bottles for larger (peafowl) eggs and premie 60ml/2oz bottles for chicken sized eggs... You could also just fill the 4oz bottle with 2oz and just make sure the thermometer is fully in the water... Notice I inverted the nipple in the picture bellow, this was a 3oz bottle I believe and by inverting the nipple it held about 2.5oz of water close enough for both chicken eggs and peafowl...

Another option since Easter just happened if you take one of those fake eggs, using some epoxy glue it together and plug any holes (most have two holes at the top nowadays... Drill a slightly larger hole in the egg on the side since you are likely to lay it down... Now fill the egg with medical lube (aka KY Jelly), cover that hole with duct tape, and poke a very small hole in the tape to stick the thermometer in... The duct tape should act as a decent gasket and the medical lube having more body should not leak out, especially if the hole it up top... But the medical lube will still dry out in time if the tape seal isn't air tight... You could of course get fancy and caulk it in place or use some other form of gasket if you want for a more permanent solution...