Little Giant Hatch Along

[youngbiddy]

Quote:
Mine are just laying on the wire bottom, should I put them in egg carton cups? Why? if so what side is up? I am on day 18 today..

If you incubated them upright in a turner, put them in an egg carton the same way. If they incubated on their sides, leave them that way. They should already be oriented for pipping.

 

[Mommysongbird]

Quote:
Mine are just laying on the wire bottom, should I put them in egg carton cups? Why? if so what side is up? I am on day 18 today..

If you incubated them upright in a turner, put them in an egg carton the same way. If they incubated on their sides, leave them that way. They should already be oriented for pipping.

Yes, this is what I was going to say!

 

[BookWorm243]

I set the eggs at 3:00pm, so I was going to go into lock down at 3:00pm tomorrow. Do I still turn the eggs up to that point? I have been turning them at 9am, 12pm, 5pm, 8pm, I usually turn them another time between 12-5 usually around 3.

Congrats on the hatching chicks!

 

[Mommysongbird]

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I used an auto turner, so I wouldn't know. I set ours earlier today because we weren't going to be home at the time they would actually go into lockdown and two because of the few that we had rockin' already.

 

[kycklingmamma]

Thanks Youngbiddy..will leave them flat then..should I use egg crates next time?

 

[Mommysongbird]

Oh, now I am really worried, we are having a heck of a storm. There are tornado warnings for a few counties around us.

Just praying that our lights don't go out and that these tornao warnings just go away.

 

[HaikuHeritageFarm]

Anyone have advice on hatching in cooler weather? The most stable temperatures in my house (and also the most out of the way place,) is my basement, which is not musty or stagnant at all, but cool. Maybe high 50's low 60's. I read something that said cooler weather hatches should be set a few degrees lower than usual, and ran my last dozen through at 97, according to my Wal-Mart digital hygrometer/thermometer. I only had four out of the 12 hatch.

I am getting ready to do a much larger hatch, will probably fill it up, and since I have people waiting on these chicks I feel a lot more pressure to get it right.

Things I have questions about after my last hatch: What is the ideal humidity level I should be maintaining in the cooler temperatures? Will spritzing the eggs before lock down help boost humidity at that crucial time? How high is too high during hatching? Also, how should I handle taking chicks out if hatching is spaced out over several days, as it was last time? Is it better to take them out too wet to prevent them from being in there too long? (This is a still air model.)

Also, will adding a fan to this significantly improve my hatch?

I'm sorry to post this all here. I've tried searching for the answers, but finding it impossible to use the clunky search feature to find specific things, and when I do I've found a huge variety of answers! I don't know what to believe anymore.

Any advice?

 

[BookWorm243]

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I can't help much on that, but I am sure someone on here can

 

[youngbiddy]

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The temp should be 101.5 at the tops of the eggs in a still-air, no matter what time of year. But, I highly recommend getting a fan. They're cheap, and they make a huge difference when it comes to keeping the temp stable. And, the heating element doesn't need to put out near as much power. With a fan you want your temp to be 99.5. All the time.
An LG functions best if the room temp is 70-75. Trust me. It has temp swings if the room is in the mid-60's. Trust me. I think there's a bunch more helpful stuff about the temperature stick adjustments and such somewhere on this thread.

 

[Mommysongbird]

Quote:
The temp should be 101.5 at the tops of the eggs in a still-air, no matter what time of year. But, I highly recommend getting a fan. They're cheap, and they make a huge difference when it comes to keeping the temp stable. And, the heating element doesn't need to put out near as much power. With a fan you want your temp to be 99.5. All the time.
An LG functions best if the room temp is 70-75. Trust me. It has temp swings if the room is in the mid-60's. Trust me. I think there's a bunch more helpful stuff about the temperature stick adjustments and such somewhere on this thread.

I second what youngbitty has said here. Our whole house stays on the cool side and in the beginning it was hard to stabalize the temp and humidity, so if you can put the bator in a room that stays warmer, at least 70 I would put it there. Also, once it seems to be as stable as it is going to get, 99.5 to 100.5 for an hour or more, DON'T touch the stick again, try pulling a plug or 2 if it gets up into the 102 and above range. If the temp stays a little lower, try wrapping the bator in a towel or something large that you can put under it and then up around it, this helps!!!