Lockdown on day 18?

[BlacksheepCardigans]

texaschickmom, didn't you order a Brinsea? In that case you get to relax about the whole "religion" of lockdown. You should push the humidity higher for the last three days or so, but you do not need to keep the incubator closed. You can open it as often as every six hours or so to scoop out new chicks.

Chicks CAN survive for a couple of days, but that doesn't mean it's ideal for them. Shipped chicks arrive dehydrated and stressed, and there's no reason to put your own chicks through that unless for some reason you absolutely must. I think it's a good idea to let them dry out and get their footing in the incubator where I know they're warm, but then I pull them and their shells out, add hot water to the sponges, and close the lid. They're typically eager for water immediately and are eating well within 12 hours or so.

 

[Baralak]

Ahh!!! you didn't tell me it was a Brinsea.. Your good to go!!! Brinsea's, even the Eco's, recover humidity within 2 minutes of removing the lid so that it isn't an issue. In my Brinsea, I remove my hatches as soon as they are dry. I remove the egg shell as well.

I have a hova as well that I don't remove the hatches until a good number of them are done, and then I'm really quick.

 

[texaschickmom]

You're right...I did order a Brinsea on eBay but got caught in the whole backorder issue and couldn't wait until the end of January so got a Genesis 1588 instead. I'm using it as a hatcher because of the huge top window. I'm using a borrowed LG with egg turner for the incubating process. I've read the pros/cons and mixed opinions about styro bators, one of them being keeping stable temp/humidity. The turner will help during the incubation, of course, and I'm going to sit on my hands during hatching.

I plan on starting my first hatch on Sat. Jan 22nd so should have my own little peeps on Feb. 12th. I'm getting really excited. BTW...thanks for remembing that I ordered a Brinsea.
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[texaschickmom]

I have run both of my styros a few days with pretty good results. I've figured out what trays I need to fill and adding sponges, etc. for humidity boosters during lockdown. I'm going to try my hand at "dry incubation" since it's already pretty dry here in the winter (NE TX). I will definitely be posting and looking for all your encouragement and support when I finally get going.
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[BlacksheepCardigans]

Honestly, I'd ditch the LG. Just use the Genesis. LGs have super-crappy thermostats and they routinely spike and cook the eggs. They are infamous for destroying entire hatches. The Genesis will do a lot better for you.

Oh, and what "dry" incubation means is basically that you don't add a ton of water if you are already in a WET climate and if you don't have a lot of ventilation for the eggs. Wet, sluggish air means the eggs tend to do better if you run them a little dryer. If you're in a DRY climate, you are going to need to add water for sure.

What it comes down to, honestly, is keeping the RH around 40% (some people like as low as 35%) in with the eggs. For some people that means fighting to get the humidity down - those are the ones who dry incubate. For others, reaching 40% takes two sponges and a plant mister. If they dry incubated their chicks would hatch as dry as a bone.

If you don't have a hygrometer, you should choose a few eggs to be your signal eggs; mark them and weigh them on a gram scale before you put them in. On a piece of graph paper, plot a line that goes down 13% from that weight. Weigh your signal eggs periodically to make sure the plot of weight loss is matching the ideal 13%. If it's going down too fast, increase humidity. If it's going down too slow, decrease it. Weighing and plotting is actually far more accurate than any hygrometer would give you, because it's going to tell you the ideal RH for your personal eggs in your personal house, which may be different from anyone else's.

 

[texaschickmom]

Thanks for your suggestions, blacksheep. I may be ditching the LG as you suggest if this hatch goes poorly. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and doing lots of reading on BYC.

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[DMSrabbit]

Referring to your raising the humidity at day 10. I increase it slightly to slow down my hatching process since my temperatures are generally a bit high. Its certainly not necessary by any means. Your genesis will automatically control temp and circulate it really well. You will still have to add humidity, which can be quite easy without lifting the lid if you know how. The Genesis will work great until you get your brinsea, and then you should never have a problem, period.

 

[FlomatonsFlocks]

This thread needs a bump! Too much useful information here! Thank you all so much!

 

[Kristi26]

Old thread, but very helpful for sure!