newbie with questions

[okiemamachick]

I have a gaggle of random question about incubating so I'm hoping to lean on yalls knowledge and experience.
Here goes. .

When you are on day 18 (lock down I believe? ) do you remove the egg tilter or just unplug it? Leave it running?

I have a couple of hens that lay eggs that don't have a discernable pointy end one hen lays eggs that are pretty much equally pointy on each end and another lays practically round eggs I mentioned this because you're supposed to put the round end up in the egg tray is there a way to tell which way is right on these?

I only have a little giant with the egg Turner accessory nothing fancy I did get a thermometer/humidity gage at tsc it's meant to be hung outside. I bought it because even after filling all the reservoirs in the incubator it only read 40% humidity once I set the tsc gauge in the bator I gave it an hour and it read 60% humidity the temp was pretty much the same on both the incubator and the tsc gauge it's not fancy and I'm mostly playing around with our plain ol farm mix eggs (EE, OE, and leghorns covered by a welsummer roo) I thought I'd play around before buying nice hatching eggs on here

I'm also considering doing a dry incubation I read the article in the learning center art in it looked worth art in try!

 

[okiemamachick]

Also I haven't set any eggs yet till I feel confident in manipulating the temp and humidity in the incubator I probably need a nice meter but haven't been able to find one around here anywhere so I'm trying to make due.

 

[suzannevans]

In my experience remove egg turner and place in its natural position on bottom of incubator. As far as not sure on which end is the pointy end if it is to obvious make your best guestimation and go with that. And on the dry, I have no experience with that so can't advice, hopefully someone else will chime in and give you a bit of advice on that. Good luck on your hatch

 

[okiemamachick]

Thank you! I appreciate the advice

 

[KelseyBoxer]

I get those round type eggs too. Before I set the eggs I candle them and draw a circle around the air cell. That is the end you want to put up in the turner. If I cant find a cell, I don't set that egg. I remove the turner and lay the eggs down on the screen for lock down. I wouldn't want to clean the turner after all the debris goes flying around during the hatch. Plus the babies might get a leg stuck or worse as they flop around after they emerge.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

First, the eggs that are hard to tell one end from the other...candle your eggs before putting them in to set and the end with the air cell is the end that is placed up. You can even mark that end with a pencil so you'll know later.

I always recommend at least 2 thermometers. I made the mistake on my first batch buying a brand new thermometer and trusting it w/out checking it only to have a failed hatch and find out that my thermometer was 6 degrees off. So now I use 3. I don't buy ultra expensive ones either. I actually bought mine at Kinney drugs.

Day 18, most people take the egg turners right out and lay them on the screen. (I have an LG foam bator and I use that rubbery skid free shelf liner over my screen floor. I buy it at the dollar store..lol) There are some I've seen just turn the turner off and leave them in that, but I personally wouldn't. More clean up in my opinion and less safe for the chicks in my opinion. Also on day 18 it is imperative to get the humidity up and open the vents/plugs. (I leave my plugs out for the whole incubation.)

I do dry incubation now and I like it a lot better. I've heard a lot of people, (especially those using foam bators) that have had bad hatches that have switched to the dry incubation method have had much better results. I myself had good results w/dry. 13/16 last hatch. My hygrometer read an average of 40% dry. It's never been calibrated, but I closely monitor my egg's air cells over the duration of the incubation to make sure that my humidity levels are efficient.

Good luck!

 

[okiemamachick]

My incubator is saying mine is at 40% but my other meter is saying 29% maybe I should split the difference lol today is day 0 for this batch I will pull the questionable eggs out and candle to find the right end. I appreciate all the advice!

 

[suzannevans]

On the dry method, you pull both air vents and add no supplemental water throughout entire incubation? Goldenfeather

 

[lazy gardener]

I do a "dry" and DO add water with a sponge in a cup. My goal is 30 - 35% through day 18, then boost it up for lock down. When adjusting temp before putting eggs in, I put sealed water bottles to approximate the volume of eggs. It's easier to regulate a full incubator. Have the temp stable for a minimum of 24 hours before putting eggs in there. If it's not full, leave some water bottles in to help with temp regulation. Keep an eye on air cell size when you candle, and compare to the chart. That will tell you how you're doing with moisture level. Happy hatching!!!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

On the dry method, you pull both air vents and add no supplemental water throughout entire incubation? Goldenfeather

I keep my vents open from day one. I don't even have the plugs for them. After I candle or have the bator open and my temp has dropped I might cover them to help the temp level back out, and at lock down when I add my water and sponges I will cover them for maybe a half hour to build up the humidity, but that's all.

I do NOT add water the first 17 days as long as my hygrometer is staying above 25% (It averages about 40% w/o) and my air cells are growing at the right rate. If I see my air cells are getting too big too fast, then I would add water to slow down the moisture loss. Last hatch I did not add any water until day 18 at lock down. I filled my water wells, added my wet sponges (I shoot for 75% at lockdown and hatch) and when my humidity starts to go down, I grab out a couple sponges wet them and stick them back in. That hatch yielded 13/16 eggs that hatched.