New to Hatching.

[miron28]

OK i just got a incubator for free from a guy at work. it is a little giant i have 16 eggs in the incubator i let them sit in the house over night to get room temp my incubator has stayed at 100 dredges until i put the eggs in and now it goes up and down from 102 to 97what am i doing wrong the only time i open it is to turn the eggs and to put water in it. i put the eggs in there on the 4th of December. what do i need to do now and when is a good time to candle them? any help will be appreciated

 

[arabookworm]

if your hygrometer is accurate, then your hum is WAY too high. and if the bator doesn't have a fan, then the temp should be a little higher than 100, more like 101 or 102.

 

[miron28]

what kind of fan do i need to get and what should the hum be?

 

[swtangel321]

Your temp is fine for a still air (which your LG is)

I am guessing that the green tape is covering you vent holes, You should open 1 of those day 1-18 and then open the other on day 18 when you up the hum (this should bring your hum down a tad also)


You hum should be 35% to 40%

Here is some info on hum... https://www.backyardchickens.com/LC-DryIncubation.html


I would take all the water out and see what the hum stays at, if you need to up it add a little water, wait and see what it comes to. A little water will go a long way !!

 

[miron28]

ok i took the tape off the back hole, and i took the water out. i am new to this and i know nothing about incubating eggs the only thing i know is what i was told by the guy i got the incubator from. i hope i didn't mess these eggs up or did i ?

 

[swtangel321]

Quote:
Thats ok that your new at this, you will soon find a way that works good for you, you will also learn from your mistakes (we all make them)

Maybe this will help....

Temp should be 100 to 102 (some LG's dont hold the temp all that well, just so you know) keep an eye on it, ive noticed that if I start my temp at 101-102 at night it will only drop to 99.9/100.

Day 1 - 18 keep hum 35% to 40% ( If you hum is to high the eggs wont lose enough weight and the chicks can drowned in there shells causing them to die before hatching )

Turn eggs 3 times a day (you can mark an X on one side and an O on the other if you would like) Just make sure you do this an odd number of times a day !!

On day 12ish you can candle the eggs to see what eggs are good and what eggs are duds/bad (wash you hands before touching the eggs). By day 12 you should see a good size "blob" in the egg. Bad eggs will look clear. Also keep your nose open to any rotten smell in the bator, if you do smell somthing you should find the egg that smells and remove it.

On day 18 you want to up your hum to 65% and stop turning the eggs and open your other vent, leave the bator closer in till ALL the chicks have hatch. Chicks can live off there yolk sacs for up to 48 hours in the bator. Just remember DONT OPEN BATOR AFTER DAY 18 OR WHILE CHICKS ARE HATCHING !! Doing so can cause the hum to drop inside the bator and the chicks might not be able to hatch out b/c the get shrink wraped.

Hope this helps a little.

 

[miron28]

ok temp is at 99.9 and hum has droped to 69.9 what else should do till they hatch anything?

trun 3 times a day, no water untill the 18th day and candle them on the 12th day, keep temp at 100 -102, keep nosie out for bad smell is that all ? sounds easy i hope.

 

[Chicken Woman]

You can put one tablespoon of water in if hum gets down to 25. I try to keep mine between 30 and 35.After you add the water it will take over an hour for the hum to come up so don't add more until you give it a chance to reach 30.

I have been putting a tablespoon in approx. twice in 24 hours to keep it around 30-35.

It also depends on if you live in a dry or wet climate. I live in a very dry climate.

 

[swtangel321]

How are things in the bator this morning ??

Sounds like you got it

Like chicken women said if you get below 25 add a tad bit of water and wait.

 

[miron28]

9:00 this morring temp stayed at 100.2 and hum is at 55 do i still need to get the hum down? and what else can i do to get it down