little giant 9300

[CGilbert]

I do have two thermometers in addition to the unit's. Both thermometers were reading high. I added a digital thermometer/hygrometer today. The two thermometers are reading right at 100 and the digital is at 101.1.

I trust manual thermometers over digital... but if you've got two thermometers reading one thing and a digital reading high, try a regular thermometer (one that you put in your mouth to see if you have a fever) and put it in a vent hole. See what it gives you. Go off your 4 readings (hopefully that will be enough... I've had 5+ at one point).

 

[CGilbert]

I trust manual thermometers over digital... but if you've got two thermometers reading one thing and a digital reading high, try a regular thermometer (one that you put in your mouth to see if you have a fever) and put it in a vent hole. See what it gives you. Go off your 4 readings (hopefully that will be enough... I've had 5+ at one point).

And if the digital is reading even higher, then yes, your incubator was high. I haven't had this happen yet, but I constantly am checking it. Good luck and just judge off the readings you are getting. Keep in mind, chickens get off their eggs to go get food and water, so a few degrees here and there shouldn't make TOO much of difference.

 

[stevethack]

A short time ..hours even??... at 102 (that is incubator air temp) shouldn't hurt the eggs development early into incubation. A full grown broody hen's body temp is 105-107.(that will cause brain dead in most humans)..broody and sitting on eggs and not eating regularly, I would assume the lower reading probably. An egg could quite possibly be at 101 to 102 degrees internal temp before she shifted or moved the eggs around as they do. And just as easily drop to 97 or even lower in a cold weather broody nest when she leaves to go R&R. The "guideline"/ballpark figure of 99.5F is a median....not chiseled in stone as an absolute or the eggs die. Or I would be totally sure that chicken's died off with the last of the dinosaurs..
The egg is certainly VIABLE and ready to hatch if fertile and JUST laid at 106F or so.. But I am certain that if exposed to a day or two of 102-103 it will diminish hatching rates after a certain number of days cuz the chick inside has it's own body temp after just a few days and needs some..but not all supplemental heating from an outside source..either momma's belly....or an incubator. Water evaporation rate is in the air temp calculation too...too much and dead chick...too little and dead chick. We strive for a median that will give us the best hatching rates.

 

[Ren2014]

I candled today, day 9 and nothing looks like any of the pictures I have seen on line

except for the non-fertile eggs. Two look questionable but I'm not seeing any movement or veins

 

[stevethack]

Wait till day 14 to candle again... your eggs may not have been fertile eggs? And a few days at lower then optimum to start may have given them a sloooowwww start..Be patient a few more days..candle at 14 days and cull the non-starters.
Where did you get the eggs from?

 

[Ren2014]

Wait till day 14 to candle again... your eggs may not have been fertile eggs? And a few days at lower then optimum to start may have given them a sloooowwww start..Be patient a few more days..candle at 14 days and cull the non-starters.
Where did you get the eggs from?

Will do, thank you. I bought them on Ebay from a lady named Helen Byers, bluewaterranch in Livingston Texas.

 

[stevethack]

Shipped eggs are sometimes difficult to hatch. Low percentage hatches are common. Just candle at 14 days and keep fingers crossed..what type/color of eggs are they?

 

[Ren2014]

Shipped eggs are sometimes difficult to hatch. Low percentage hatches are common. Just candle at 14 days and keep fingers crossed..what type/color of eggs are they?

They are small, light pinkish brown.

 

[stevethack]

Bantum eggs?

 

[Ren2014]

No, at least they weren't advertised as such.