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Introduction

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Howdy, :frow and Welcome to Backyard Chickens.

Happy :ya to have you here with us. Enjoy your time here at BYC!

Do you have an independent, calibrated thermometer(s) an a hygrometer or are you using the instruments sensors? Never trust the manufactures sensors, they are notoriously inaccurate and unreliable. Please post your questions in the Incubation and hatching thread, I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have!

Thanks for joining our community! :celebrate
 
Glad to meet you, and welcome to BYC,. Your eggs are probably going to be fine. Here is an article that helped me through my first few incubations. Best wishes with your hatch!

Here are my favorite beginning articles that helped me as a newbie. I hope you will find them helpful as well. All articles are short, have illustrations, and reviews, which are often worth looking at for the comments.

1. Intro to chicken keeping

2. Common mistakes & how to fix them

3. Ventilation (important to chicken health), with helpful links to coop designs organized by climate (because what is just right for my New England hens won't work for my brother's Arizona chickens)

3(a). Farmers Almanac on Building Coops (Includes size requirements!) Allowing plenty of space for chickens is really important because, even as chicks, they will start pecking each other or plucking their own feathers, or become unhealthy if they are overcrowded. Here is a link to Colorado State Extension's publication on space and temperature requirements for chicks as they age.

4. Predator protection for new & existing coops

5. Dealing with a muddy coop and run

6. Gardening for chickens

7. BYC Lists of Chicken Ailments and Cures

To look for articles on your own:

A. Use the SEARCH button, but use the Advanced Search choice, and select ARTICLES at the top of the box. Just enter your keyword(s) and scroll through your results!

B. I find it helpful to notice the rating and reviews. All articles are by BYC members, and all the reviews/ratings are as well. The ratings help a newbie like me sort the most useful and reliable articles.

C. You can bookmark the articles or posts you think you want to refer to again using that bookmark icon at the top of articles or posts. You can find them again by clicking on your own avatar and looking at the list of bookmarks you have built up!

Notes about where to put a coop:

1. As far as you can, put a coop and run on high ground, that drains well, so you won't have so much muddy coop problems. Chickens need to be dry, dry, dry.

2. As far as you can, put a coop with the ventilation lined up with your prevailing breezes, and away from the direction of your storms. If you are not sure of these (who is these days?), check with your local National Weather Service website.

3. As far as you can, arrange for some sort of shade over your coop and run. Preferably deciduous so the girls will enjoy winter sun, but summer shade.
 
007Sean said:
Howdy, :frow and Welcome to Backyard Chickens.

Happy :ya to have you here with us. Enjoy your time here at BYC!

Do you have an independent, calibrated thermometer(s) an a hygrometer or are you using the instruments sensors? Never trust the manufactures sensors, they are notoriously inaccurate and unreliable. Please post your questions in the Incubation and hatching thread, I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have!

Thanks for joining our community! :celebrate
Click to expand...
I am using an independent accurite hygrometer and themometer. The humidity changes are so drastic in these little incubators it feels like a full time job checking it. It was pretty well balanced initially , last day and a half it’s been haywire. Was down to 27 percent when I got home . I’m just at this point going to pray less is more . I reconnected it to a water supply with a tiny tiny amount of water as I’m wanting to err on the low side . The actual Hatcher itself has no humidity gauge just tells you to keep one bottle full bleh. Thanks for all the replies and will update as I go along
 

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