June hatch-a-long!

[ldawntaylor]

I would just put the May hatchlings in the integration pen, but...

I just got these. Silver Sebrights and a Marans.

 

[KittyCat13]

Went to the poultry auction and got some silver laced wyandotte bantam eggs. Also went to the farm supplies shop and found another Brinsea mini advance kit half price so got that too!

 

[ChirpyChicks1]

I’m so jealous!!! Having my first broody hatch my chicken math has kicked in BAD!!!! I took the summer off from my 2nd job so I can’t spend money on more birds or expanding the coop/run

 

[Ms Biddy]

It’s finally lockdown day and everything is stable this morning at 99.5 degrees and 50% humidity .

I will fully put the eggs on lockdown this evening when my friend who gave me the eggs comes by so she can see the candling and we can both measure the air cells and prep everything for hatch. Hopefully we get some chicks Monday and with Graduation tomorrow it’s going to be a really fun weekend!

Yay, sounds like a really fun weekend ahead for you!

On a side note, my air conditioner fan is not working.
I have no idea how that will impact the hatching process.

Do I need to change the setting on the incubator?

I believe the thermostat will turn the heating element off if needed.

How warm is your house and what incubator do you have? I have an Incuview and it runs hot when indoor temperature goes over 80F. There's a room temperature setting that I have to change every afternoon to get it to stay in the correct temperature range. I don't know if other incubators have this problem but the incuview comes programmed for a room that's between 70-80F.

 

[MadChickenMama]

I have a question, what is everyone’s temp and humidity pre-lockdown?

We had to buy and set up the incubator quickly so my hen wouldn’t eat anymore eggs and so we just went with the pre-set temp and humidity it told us to go with which is 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit and between 50-55% humidity. Does that sound right? We bought a Nurture Right 360 and from what little I’ve read so far they have pretty good review. Do y’all think it’ll be fine for now? Lockdown is tomorrow so I don’t want to have to mess with the eggs too much other than candling tomorrow while I change the incubator a bit (remove turner etc). I also don’t think there’s enough room to put in a thermometer or hygrometer to check accuracy because it’s pretty small.

I haven't seen what others may have replied to this as I wanted to make sure I put in my 2 cents. I used a Nurture Right 360. It is a pretty decent incubator for the price. Make sure you get the anti-moisture pad and either get the fan guard thing or use something to cover the fan guard already there that will allow air flow.

When you get the anti moisture pad it can be a paid to put in. The picture makes it look like you can move the big piece out of the way, but with mine the wires were not long enough for that. I believe that's why I ended up with a nasty temperature spike after I installed it. After several timea of having to open the incubator back up to try and fix it, I finally got it as okay as possible. The temp gauges is a touch off.

It can be off by .5 or a whole degree. Make sure you have your own thermometer that you can calibrate. My thermometer read 100.2 while the incubator read 98.5. Since I read that eggs were ok with being between 98 and 100 for forced air incubators I left it there. It meant they would either be on time or a little late. Better a little late than cooked.

I did Seramas and read plenty of people on here who do them say they like doing a dry incubation pre-lockdown. I wasn't comfortable with that so I kept the humidity around 30%. It meant I'd have to add a teaspoon or two of water once or twice a day, but it was worth it. Normally they'd be fine all day and I'd have to add water before I went to bed.

The hygrometer on the incubator seemed to be pretty close to what it should really be inside. Maybe 2 or 3% off, reading below what my hygrometer said (but my hygrometer was probably off as well so I trusted did the whole letting it stay between what the incubator and my own hygrometer said).

Overall I am super happy with this incubator. It is a great one for first timers. If my eggs hadn't been so small and I hadn't had to install the anti-moisture pad I would have been able to practically leave it alone the entire time.

I need to do a video review and put it on my youtube channel.

If you want the anti-moisture pad and fan guard just email the company. They'll ask for your name and mailing address and you should get the pieces within 3 days. You *can* install during incubation, just not during lockdown. And be careful with the screws, they strip the plastic of the lid super easy so I had some that would fall out and I had to angle them in or tape them in place.

 

[HeritageHenNut]

Ladies please start your brooders....we have the first pip.

 

[Lifeiseasy]

I haven't seen what others may have replied to this as I wanted to make sure I put in my 2 cents. I used a Nurture Right 360. It is a pretty decent incubator for the price. Make sure you get the anti-moisture pad and either get the fan guard thing or use something to cover the fan guard already there that will allow air flow.

When you get the anti moisture pad it can be a paid to put in. The picture makes it look like you can move the big piece out of the way, but with mine the wires were not long enough for that. I believe that's why I ended up with a nasty temperature spike after I installed it. After several timea of having to open the incubator back up to try and fix it, I finally got it as okay as possible. The temp gauges is a touch off.

It can be off by .5 or a whole degree. Make sure you have your own thermometer that you can calibrate. My thermometer read 100.2 while the incubator read 98.5. Since I read that eggs were ok with being between 98 and 100 for forced air incubators I left it there. It meant they would either be on time or a little late. Better a little late than cooked.

I did Seramas and read plenty of people on here who do them say they like doing a dry incubation pre-lockdown. I wasn't comfortable with that so I kept the humidity around 30%. It meant I'd have to add a teaspoon or two of water once or twice a day, but it was worth it. Normally they'd be fine all day and I'd have to add water before I went to bed.

The hygrometer on the incubator seemed to be pretty close to what it should really be inside. Maybe 2 or 3% off, reading below what my hygrometer said (but my hygrometer was probably off as well so I trusted did the whole letting it stay between what the incubator and my own hygrometer said).

Overall I am super happy with this incubator. It is a great one for first timers. If my eggs hadn't been so small and I hadn't had to install the anti-moisture pad I would have been able to practically leave it alone the entire time.

I need to do a video review and put it on my youtube channel.

If you want the anti-moisture pad and fan guard just email the company. They'll ask for your name and mailing address and you should get the pieces within 3 days. You *can* install during incubation, just not during lockdown. And be careful with the screws, they strip the plastic of the lid super easy so I had some that would fall out and I had to angle them in or tape them in place.

I’ll see what I can do about calibration later today. The problem with the anti-moisture pad and fan guard is that lockdown is tonight.

 

[KittyCat13]

View attachment 1432062

Ladies please start your brooders....we have the first pip.

yay!!

I'm jealous, I've not anything due for two whole weeks!! And no more broodys (except for the dorking who killed a chick ) I wish my little silkie would go broody, she's so gentle, I think she'd make a good mum!

 

[MyChickenShack]

my 3rd broody hen for the summer is sitting on 8 eggs. Hatch date is tomorrow, but I have 2 cute early risers...when I can capture a pic I will post. One is black and one is white...

 

[MadChickenMama]

I’ll see what I can do about calibration later today. The problem with the anti-moisture pad and fan guard is that lockdown is tonight.

Oh no! Hm well some didn't have the problem with moisture collecting in the control panel. If I were you I would try to keep the humidity in the lower end of what is recommended for lockdown and keep an eye on the control panel. The reviews I read that had that happen said it just totally screwed up the thing and it stopped working mid lockdown.

But I **highly** suggest getting cheesecloth or a bit of window screen and a hair band or something amd tying it over the fanguard that is in there. Should you not be around to pull a chick out once it begins standing up and running around properly they could end up breaking their beak or worse as they can get their heads between the holes.