Nervous!!! Could I have killed them?

[RachaelS]

Best of luck!!!!! I am also hoping my third one is a charm

(third set of eggs that is, still gotta figure out a way to get rid of the first husband, J/K)

 

[youngjedi32002]

Quote:

 

[brahmapapa]

i didn't notice mention of a thermostat in your list of components when you said you were building a new incubator. a thermostat from an electric hot water heater that has the correct temp range (around 100 deg.) is not expensive and can make all the diff. avail. at home depot. best of luck

 

[youngjedi32002]

Quote:
Oh, I definitely have one of those! I have been tweaking all day with wattage and water so I can finally get the right temp and humidity! I have a 15 watt bulb and a dish and a sponge and I have 94 and rising and 60% humidity! The temp is climbing slowly, which makes me happy, since with a 25 watt bulb , the temp shot up fast and was way too high, with low humidity! I will continue to tweak it and, hopefully, I will have it right for a solid 24 hour period by the time the eggs need to go in on Thursday! Cross your fingers for me!!!

 

[RachaelS]

Quote:
Oh, I definitely have one of those! I have been tweaking all day with wattage and water so I can finally get the right temp and humidity! I have a 15 watt bulb and a dish and a sponge and I have 94 and rising and 60% humidity! The temp is climbing slowly, which makes me happy, since with a 25 watt bulb , the temp shot up fast and was way too high, with low humidity! I will continue to tweak it and, hopefully, I will have it right for a solid 24 hour period by the time the eggs need to go in on Thursday! Cross your fingers for me!!!

 

[brahmapapa]

anytime i have incubated using light bulbs i have tried to use a multiple of bulbs so if one burns out and i am not there the other can at least keep the eggs warm so i don't lose them. you might try two 7 watt bulbs rather than a 15 watt. i for one like to use christmas lites, a string of bulbs that spreads the heat source over a broader area, but thats just my pref. i read that you have 60% humidity, most current advice is to use lower humidity, alot of folks recommend, no water added till day 18. checkout chookschicks cheat sheat you can fins it if you do a search on here. too high humidity doesn't allow the air sac to get larger, it leaves too much moisture in the eggs at hatch time and can result in drowned chicks. i have no water in my incubator rt now, and all is progressing well.

 

[youngjedi32002]

Quote:
I will definitely check out what chookschicks has to say! I am reading as much info as I can! But my incubator is doing amazingly well! I have it hovering just below 50% humidity (and has been since last night!) and it has held a steady 100 degrees for a well over 18 hours now. It just needed a while to get there, which I think is good since it got to that point and then held steady! My 15 watt bulb proved to be the key! 25 was too much for this small cooler but 15 is perfect! I am pretty thrilled because in all my tweaking, I learned how to get the humidity up quickly but safely, since it needs to be higher during lockdown. My postman brought me a package this morning and guess what was in it?

Looks like this incubator will be at work tomorrow!!! I think it is ready! I know I am!

 

[dsqard]

Nice looking eggs! Which two are the hens for your son?

AHHHH don't you just love watching the birth of a new hatchaholic?

Best of luck on this hatch!

 

[youngjedi32002]

Quote:
Exactly! I am doing chicken math pretty well for a beginner, eh? LOL We will see how many hatch and then we will decide how many are moving in! Definitely 2! I am getting to know more and more chicken folks around me who might take them in too but I have a sneaking suspicion that my son will turn on me! "Oh, Mommy, I want these two but this one is cute too, and this one likes me, and this one seems sad to leave and this one......" I am a sucker for his big brown eyes!!! Just get through the hatch first is what I am telling myself!!!

 

[dsqard]

Quote:
May I suggest joining in on this thread? https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=498164&p=5 There are a lot of really nice people hatching on it and they could answer questions for you as you go along. It is funny how fast chickens get into your blood isn't it?