June Hatch-A-Long

[FortCluck]

Today is day 18, day 19 starts around 8pm. I keep thinking I hear peeping, am I losing my mind?

They could be internally pipped

 

[Skyfyre]

I definitely hear peeping! I closed the window and told the kids to mute their screens, and we all heard it!

 

[adalau]

Thank you for trying! I do not get the wet bulb stuff either unfortunately. It all sounded so straightforward in the incubator manual!

I do not get the wet bulb and stuff like that so I am not even sure what to suggest. Hopefully someone knows what to do.

 

[gimmie birdies]

young roosters can be jerks.

 

[jolenesdad]

Okay conundrum....

eggs would be in lockdown. They should start to hatch Sunday.

two days ago I noticed lesions on broody hen 1 that has the lone baby. Thought she was getting back into the nest box and maybe a fight.

yesterday morning she has an explosion of dry fowl pox. She goes EVERYWHERE and we just had lots of rain so I’m sure she found still water somewhere. :-(

today four more birds have it including Broody 2.

broody 3 is almost 2, and had fowl pox when young and should be immune.

I’ve got six chickens that have been through fowl pox and 12 that have not. It’s clearly going to run through those that have not.

if this was early I would break broody 2 for her health. But it’s two days from hatch.

do I break both broodies to hatch the chicks away from fowl pox? Four eggs are polish that are notoriously weak anyway.

do I break the sick broody?

do I roll the dice?

I’m inclined to roll the dice.... I’m already rolling the dice with two broodies. Broody 2 will be eating and drinking normally on Monday...

Thoughts?

 

[adalau]

So there is a wet bulb & a dry bulb in this incubator. The wet bulb temp is almost always considerably lower than the dry bulb temp. The incubator manual has this handy dandy chart that gives the dry bulb temp on one axis & the wet bulb on the other & the place they intersect is supposed to tell you your humidity. It all sounds very straightforward. BUT I haven’t been able to get the wet bulb temp as low as it’s supposed to be ever.

Wet bulb (as far as I understand it) seems to be a way of measuring temp and humidity as one measurement. I think the thermometer probe (the mercury bulb) is encased in wet material--so you would be aiming for a "wet bulb" temp, which will be a lower target number than the dry reading would be.

Did I hit anywhere in the vicinity of the target, @R2elk ? @007Sean ?

 

[jolenesdad]

Thank you for trying! I do not get the wet bulb stuff either unfortunately. It all sounded so straightforward in the incubator manual!

I read your original post and think you’re in the right track. It will all come down to monitoring the eggs and adjusting the visible water to increase or decrease the rate of loss in the egg. Do not stress out.... there is a fairly wide range of acceptable final weight loss that can hatch, so just focus on seeing noticeable air cell development and you will be fine.

 

[LadiesAndJane]

My self blue Ameraucana eggs finally arrived! Beautifully packed, photos attached! They will sit until tomorrow and then I will put them in the incubator. Praying for an excellent hatch with these, ordered them in April!

 

[adalau]

Thank you! That is helpful. The wick did dry out once, but it was before I had eggs in the incubator. It had been re-wet for a couple days when I put eggs in. Because of the design of the incubator I can’t really get the condensation out of the top of the incubator. Will it only go away if the incubator gets super dry? It can’t drip down on the eggs, but it makes me think the humidity is still high. I’ve been running it with only a little bit of water in the 1st chamber. The incubator is a clear plastic dome with a fan & heating elements at the top.

The readings are about what should be expected to be seen....if the wet bulb wick gets dirty it will affect the readings, as well as the wick drying out, will affect the readings.

If the viewing windows or the inside top and sidewalls are accumulating condensation then the air is at saturation...the air can not hold any more moisture and therefore it condenses on the viewing panes and sidewalls of the incubator. This is where the importance of an accurate, calibrated hygrometer is imperative.

 

[Trisseh]

So there is a wet bulb & a dry bulb in this incubator. The wet bulb temp is almost always considerably lower than the dry bulb temp. The incubator manual has this handy dandy chart that gives the dry bulb temp on one axis & the wet bulb on the other & the place they intersect is supposed to tell you your humidity. It all sounds very straightforward. BUT I haven’t been able to get the wet bulb temp as low as it’s supposed to be ever.

Air flow and barometric pressure apparently also play a role so it may be those things that are throwing off your readings too. The wet bulb should always be lower than the dry bulb reading; if the chart you have is confusing, I would jump on google and find an easy to read chart to figure out your estimated RH%, if that’s easier for you to use and adjust, or, just use the wet bulb reading to monitor your humidity. I’m not sure what it’s supposed to be but I’m sure that information can be found.

I like this link. It looks like a kid’s textbook and it’s easy to follow. xD

https://www.hand2mind.com/pdf/versatiles/49366_VTSci_InvestG6p6-7.pdf