My Emu Incubating Thread (First time incubating Anything in my life)

[507382]

some math of what the eggs should be losing per week.

After six days, here's the current vs projected. some are almost on track (BOTTOM SHELF) and the TOP shelf ones are not losing what they should!? Because humidity rises? ahh!

Going to town today to pick up some "moisture grabber" packets.

Someone else told me not to worry about humidity at this early stage, the eggs themselves are the ones causing it and it will naturally go down as they develop. Could this be true? I've never read this when doing my research.

TOP SHELF= Eggs A, B, C

Bottom (middle shelf) = Eggs D,E,F

 

[FishMtFarm]

So switch the eggs around on the shelves every week. Top to bottom and bottom to top. Those silica packs work well and so does dry uncooked rice.

 

[507382]

So switch the eggs around on the shelves every week. Top to bottom and bottom to top. Those silica packs work well and so does dry uncooked rice.

So, it's okay to switch them? Wouldn't that cause more inconsistency to the mix?
We got some 'moisture grabber' packs today and stuck one in there. bought another fan but it vibrates a lot and husband said it could affect the eggs so we removed it. Why is this so stressful lol

 

[FishMtFarm]

Lol, I actually put the silica packet right on top of the egg that wasn't losing enough weight. Worked perfect. I think you'll find as time goes on, they will catch up and sometimes lose more than you want. That's what one of mine did while the other two stayed pretty close to on track. If you can't get it in check, is either leave them be and know the bottoms shelf is on track, or try trading shelves once a week. We also did some moving around that helped.

 

[507382]

The answer in life = MOISTURE GRABBERS!
These packets sucked the moisture out like THAT *snaps fingers*. Nothing else has worked, yet this brought it down to the 30% range in just an hour or two. Amazing.

I took it out overnight because I didn't want the humidity to go down too much, and it shot right back up. Couldn't sleep in the middle of the night again (husband too, haha) we were both stressed about temperatures and kept getting up to check. The stupid Herp Nursery loves to fluctuate! I turned it up to 36 on the outside, and of course it went from 96 on the top shelf to 99/100 this morning so I turned it down to 35, put a towel around the sides of the incubator and put the moisture packet back on the ones that don't seem to be losing enough. May weigh them again later to see if they've lost anymore.

I'm glad I started this thread. It's helping me vent my frustrations at least.

 

[507382]

Moved the bottom shelf up. It was struggling to get into the 95 range so hopefully this helps.

 

[FishMtFarm]

You poor thing. I understand completely what your going thru!

 

[drumstick diva]

I'm getting anxious just over what you are going through. Sending good hatching vibes your way

 

[507382]

So, the power decided to go out yesterday. Husband is smarter than me - my first thought was actually, "yay, we aren't paying for power right now!" The recent $300 power bill was still on my mind apparently. He goes saucer-eyed and yells, "The incubator!!!!"

Fast forward to us ripping apart the house, looking for the cigarette lighter adapter to plug the incubator into my truck. We were getting quite upset with one another, and he was going, "Where did you last see it?" Me: " I don't know! I don't know! How should I know?"

We got the eggs into my truck safely after eventually locating the thing, and they didn't lose much heat at all, as this all transpired within 15 minutes (power going out to us relocating them). As soon as they were settled, we just looked at each other and apologized. Emu-parents-to-be can get a little nuts, am I right?!

So, the power was out for 3 hours or so, and I kept going out to check on them and we were prepared to go to my neighbour's (it's a small community) who I know have their house wired into a generator. But, luckily it didn't come down to that, and all was well.

Eggs are still on track for weight loss I think. Only Egg "E" has lost 2.5 grams more than it should, but I've been weighing them too often (nearly daily) so I think I need to chill out and let it organically even out. The "moisture grabber" packet is keeping the humidity low (this thing works wonders!)

More updates to come...

 

[drumstick diva]

waiting for more updates