My first incubator, could use some help

[Glenda Sue]

We got a little giant incubator the other day. Trying to get the humidity under control. It's staying around 51%. Got a book and read some threads about temp and humidity. I watched some YouTube videos on how to candle and check eggs for life. We had eight eggs in nests and wanted to check how far they were before they were put in the incubator. All the eggs were dead. I plan on checking for eggs every day and putting them in the bator. We don't have a cool place other than the laundry room but it doesn't get very cool. Maybe 70ish. Would this be cool enough for storing eggs for a couple days before they are put in the bator? I've also seen people writing on the eggs. Should you use pen or is sharpie ok? If there are any other things I should keep an eye out for, please, let me know. I got one duckling out of almost 40 eggs. And he has leg problems. They had mostly all been cracked. Shells too soft. It was too late to alter diets for those eggs and I had very high hopes for the mother ducks. Going to change diet a little for the ducks. Hoping for eggs soon so I'm keeping the incubator ready.

 

[Chook Kingdom]

The humidity has to be at 54% and temp at 100 F or 38 C. I hatch with an incubator. I couldn't help you with the duck.

 

[silkiecuddles]

I've read to store the eggs at 60 degrees prior to setting. Also, you shouldn't set eggs over 10 days old. 14 days at most.
I wrote on my eggs with pencil. To get 1 out of 40, and the 1 has problems, your eggs were probably old. Bacteria can easily kill the embryo, esp. if the egg was cracked. You should never set cracked eggs.
Hope this helps!

 

[Invision]

If you're using the little giant 10300 you need to monitor the temp almost every 4 hours. I had the hardest time with that incubator. The thermostat with it is good and accurate but the design of the unit is not that great.

 

[Chook Kingdom]

I like to leave my eggs with no writing because it can cause trouble

 

[Chook Kingdom]

I use the successful Svenzun Incubator

 

[Invision]

I've read to store the eggs at 60 degrees prior to setting. Also, you shouldn't set eggs over 10 days old. 14 days at most.
I wrote on my eggs with pencil. To get 1 out of 40, and the 1 has problems, your eggs were probably old. Bacteria can easily kill the embryo, esp. if the egg was cracked. You should never set cracked eggs.
Hope this helps!

That whole "don't set eggs over 10 days" thing needs to have massive studies done, I've had mallards in my yard take 3 weeks to lay the clutch and all 13 out of 14 hatched... she would lay an egg almost every other day, and the one that didn't hatch wasn't even fertile... I checked them daily... So stating that someone "shouldn't" is kind of wrong in my opinion, in a natural setting birds can't always lay an egg a day... (Predator could be near the nest, humans could be too close).

 

[AmyLynn2374]

We got a little giant incubator the other day. Trying to get the humidity under control. It's staying around 51%. Got a book and read some threads about temp and humidity. I watched some YouTube videos on how to candle and check eggs for life. We had eight eggs in nests and wanted to check how far they were before they were put in the incubator. All the eggs were dead. I plan on checking for eggs every day and putting them in the bator. We don't have a cool place other than the laundry room but it doesn't get very cool. Maybe 70ish. Would this be cool enough for storing eggs for a couple days before they are put in the bator? I've also seen people writing on the eggs. Should you use pen or is sharpie ok? If there are any other things I should keep an eye out for, please, let me know. I got one duckling out of almost 40 eggs. And he has leg problems. They had mostly all been cracked. Shells too soft. It was too late to alter diets for those eggs and I had very high hopes for the mother ducks. Going to change diet a little for the ducks. Hoping for eggs soon so I'm keeping the incubator ready.

Hi there. First off, make sure that if you have the LG with digital display and thermostat that you check the bator for accuracy before you trust the digital read out. Many of the LG's have known to be off and people have needed to set the bator 2-3 degrees higher to get the proper temp in the bator. (I also recommend keeping a known accurate thermometer in the bator as well.) If you are using a forced air the temps should be 99.5, if you are using still air it should read 101-102 near the top of the eggs.

As for humidity, there is no "right" amount or "right" number. A lot of factors affect humidity. Many people have found a low humidity method works better in the styrofoam bators-even with duck eggs. The best thing to do is candle and monitor the air cells to make sure they are growing at the right rate. (Or weigh the eggs.)

Some people use pencil some use sharpie. I myself use pencil. I recommend marking air cells. Try to keep the stored eggs under 70 if you can.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

That whole "don't set eggs over 10 days" thing needs to have massive studies done, I've had mallards in my yard take 3 weeks to lay the clutch and all 13 out of 14 hatched... she would lay an egg almost every other day, and the one that didn't hatch wasn't even fertile... I checked them daily... So stating that someone "shouldn't" is kind of wrong in my opinion, in a natural setting birds can't always lay an egg a day... (Predator could be near the nest, humans could be too close).

A lot of people won't set eggs over a week old. It is widely agreed that under 10 days is best with most experienced chicken raisers agreeing that anything over 14 days and your hatch rate seriously decreases (on average). A lot of things also depend on age of layers and proper storage. While "shouldn't" is not neccessarily the right words. Those are the average guidlines for increased hatch rates.