newbie at incubating, I have ?'s

[Cindiloohoo]

Vibrations should be fine as long as they are minimal. Don't go putting the bator on top of a box of 12 inch speakers and turn the stereo full blast

but some vibration is also unavoidable. I'd reduce to 2 sponges to get the humidity down. That should level it off. What are you using as a heat soure?

 

[Cindiloohoo]

Vibrations should be fine as long as they are minimal. Don't go putting the bator on top of a box of 12 inch speakers and turn the stereo full blast

but some vibration is unavoidable. I'd reduce to 2 sponges to get the humidity down. That should level it off. What are you using as a heat soure?

 

[thechickonthehill]

Silkieflock - I am so glad you posted these questions - you just beat me to it! I am putting silkie eggs (and some Faverolles and a few EEs) in my homemade cooler incubator today as well. I had a few of the same questions.

Thanks for your quick and helpful responses Cindiloohoo. It's so great to get help from an experienced chickenaholic! My problem is that I have NO water in my cooler and can't seem to get the humidity to drop any lower than 43% - without any eggs in there yet either. Will that be low enough?

Silkieflock, maybe we can be hatch buddies. How many eggs are you incubating? I have 13 silkie eggs, 4 EEs and 7 Faverolles. This will be my first time to incubate eggs and I am very nervous!

 

[rosco]

Quote:
i dropped a sponge in the water bowl. i put cotton balls in the vents to micromanage flow of air and moisture. yeah, i think "Cindiloohoo" is right, i'd go with less sponge. i used a small bowl and cut sponge to fit it. then ran a drinking straw with cap (from 44oz mug) through the side of the bator and warm water using water bulb. with the sponge, easy addition of more water and the cottoned luvers, humidity is no prob.

i am on a practice run too. i've got one in my lap. we guessed a 5% chance one would hatch. heck, 25% chance they were even fertile. three pullets and one in molt all away from rooster for 2 weeks.

Great luck to you.

oh, i think some people turn their eggs like every hour. i think the thing is min. 2x/d and keep it balanced between sides. the goal is to keep things inside from sticking to the wall.

 

[rosco]

Quote:
a water heater thermostat is like $3 at home depot. but if you already have eggs in, ... who knows. are the eggs in?

i've seen people start incubating w/o checking accuracy of thermometer. i'm not sure if you mentioned this. i used a thermometer to take human tempature out of the medicine cabinet.

 

[Intheswamp]

*Dirty eggs are good but can be used if you're willing to risk the bacteria that *might* grow. Dry scrub them down a bit to get as much of the poop off as you can...sandpaper, scouring pad, etc.,. Be easy on them....they're eggs, ya know!

*Temperature range depends on whether you have a still-air or forced-air incubator. Forced-air incubators should be set up for 99.5F degrees. Still-air incubators should be set up for 102F degrees. Temperatures too high or too low can cause early or late hatches and chicks with physical deformities/health problems. Temperature will fluctuate some while turning...mother hen's get up off the nest all along and move the eggs around. What wattage bulb are you using in the incubator?

*All CHICKEN eggs incubate at the same temperature (using temps appropriate for a still-air or forced air incubator)...and for 21 days.

*Regulate the temperature without a thermostat? Sure, as long as you can stay awake 24/7 for three weeks and check your thermometer every *few* minutes. Regulating the temperature without a thermostat can probably be done but I think it would be incredibly difficult. You need a thermostat if you're going to seriously incubate eggs. If you're only shooting for one or two eggs then do a search on here about folks incubating a couple of eggs with their (human) body heat. Really!

*You can also lower humidity by partially covering the water container/sponge with a piece of tin-foil. You can adjust the humidity by covering more or less of the water surface with the foil...cover more of the wet surface for less humidity...uncover more wet surface for more humidity.

*Turn your eggs three or more times a day, making sure that you end up turning them an *odd* number of times. I would think that once an hour isn't too often, BUT...then you're opening the incubator up too much and causing the temperature and humidity to fluctuate too much....as Cindiloohoo said, 3-5 times will probably work good. Turning the eggs an odd number of times each day helps to insure that on each subsequent night the eggs are laying on their opposite sides for the night...this helps to keep them from *sticking* in the shell by balancing out the long, non-turning time during the night. You can put write and "x" or something on the side of the eggs that will help you keep up with which side is facing up...."x" side tonight, "blank" side tomorrow night, etc.,.

*The Chickenonthehill... what temperature is your incubator holding at?

Hope this helps some or at least gives ya'll some food for thought,
Ed

 

[thechickonthehill]

Intheswamp, at this point, its not holding at anything. I haven't put the eggs in because I have yet to reach an acceptable temp range. Right now the temp (probe inside of a water wiggler) is showing 102 and I am waiting to see at what temp my light bulb shuts off. What would you consider an acceptable range? I'm shooting for no lower than 99 and no higher than 101 but this thermostat may have a larger swing than that. I hope this will be the most frustrating day of incubating, not the least.

 

[Intheswamp]

Quote:
My understanding is that internal egg temperature should be ~99.5F...your reading of 102F inside the wiggler (mimicking an egg) is too high.

The below paragraphs are for AIR TEMPERATURES, not internal egg/wiggler temps.

I'm definitely no expert so take all of this with a grain of salt. Remember these are for AIR TEMPERATURES.

I would be shooting for 99.5F (99-100F range) if you have a forced air incubator or either 102F (101-102F range) if using a still air incubator. Each of these two incubator types require a different temperature.

Eggs will still hatch if you're farther away from the optimum temps (99.5F(forced) or 102F(still))...cooler temps will result in delayed hatches, higher temps will result in pre-mature hatches. Bloody navels, malformed chicks, mushy chicks (also humidity caused), etc., are some of the possible problems encountered when temperatures are not maintained at least fairly close to optimum while some eggs may hatch fine.

Your proposed range of 99-101 will probably be ok if you're using a forced air incubator. The proof is in the pudding, though. It's the internal temperature of the egg/wiggler that matters, not really the air temperature, though the air temperature is what most folks measure. A swing of from 99 to 101 should give an average temp of 100 degrees....pretty close, but 99.5F would still be better.

But, 102F inside the wiggler is, I believe, too high...it should be in the 99.5F range.

I'm hoping some of the experienced folks here on BYC will step in and correct me if I've erred...I'm learning, too!

Best wishes,
Ed

 

[Intheswamp]

Quote:
BTW...are you using a still-air or forced-air incubator???

What about you, silkieflock??? Which one???

Ed

 

[silkieflock]

Sorry everyone, I was up late keeping an eye on the eggs so I woke up late. I have to read all the postings real quick. i woke up and the temp was at 108...... is there a slight chance a hen can get a fever?