New to incubating eggs

[ekalbach]

Hello all. So after having chickens for a year I've decided, along with my 6 year old daughter, that we would like to try and hatch some eggs. We have our incubator, it is a diy incubator that we made out of an old 20 gallon aquarium. It's well insulated to keep heat in, and it also has ventilation. I have a water bowl with a sponge in it to help with the humidity, and also a fan. I'm working on getting my temperature up to 99-100. What should the humidity be to start out with until lockdown? Currently it is running 35. The temperature is running 84, but that is with a 25 watt bulb. I am getting a 40 watt bulb tonight. There are no eggs in yet as I am just working on getting everything set up. Does the water and sponge need to be under the eggs, or is it OK in the opposite corner? Thanks for your help.

 

[kuchchicks]

Humidity is one of those things that you kind of need to find what works for you. I typically run 27%-35% during days 1-17 and then increase to 75% during lockdown. This has worked extremely well for me. My hatch rates are typically in the 90%s. The best way to make sure that your humidity is right is by watching your air cells. There are several diagrams on this site that show you where they should be at days 7, 14, and 18. Compare yours to those diagrams and you can determine if you need to increase or decrease your humidity.

Adding a sponge is a great way to control humidity. Use clean sponges and make sure that after you get done incubating that you clean them if you are going to resuse them. You can clean them by boiling them for 10 min of rapid boil. You need to do this to kill bacteria as sponges love to hold on to bacteria.

Humidity is controlled by surface area. It doesn't matter if your sponge is in one corner or the other if you are using a fan. It should keep it very stable. Also keep in mind that as sponges dry, humidity drops, and temp will rise. DO NOT ADJUST YOUR TEMP. Make sure that you adjust your humidity first.

 

[Lozuufy]

35% humidity sounds great up until lockdown, then 60-75% for lockdown. In my experience humidity doesn't have to be perfect, temperature is the important thing.

This article has awesome info also
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-101

 

[ekalbach]

Thank you for the advice. Is it OK if the heat source is directly over the eggs once I put them in or should it be off to the side?

 

[kuchchicks]

No directly over top is fine. Mine is on top. Just make sure that you have multiple thermometers to check for temp variation. A fan should help with that.

 

[ekalbach]

Temps running 100 to 101. Humidity is around 30. Now just waiting for the eggs to arrive

 

[kuchchicks]

Should be good. Now it gets exciting!!!

 

[ekalbach]

What all types of chicks have you hatched?

 

[kuchchicks]

I do a lot of silkies and polish. Those are my favorites. I am doing black copper Marans now and blue breasted quail next month. I hatch consistently about 9 months a year. I take time off around the holidays.

 

[ekalbach]

Where do you get your polish eggs from? Everyone says that theirs aren't really laying right now. Currently I have 4 silkies, 2 buff orpingtons, 3 rir, and 1 barred rock.
I ordered 6 black australorp eggs, 6 copper marans, 6 light brahmas. They ship monday.and 8 cream legbars