not sure what to do

[BrendaLea]

Hi, everyone.
My husband made us a homemade incubator using a cardboard box, a 40 watt bulb, and he sealed up all the holes etc..well, we had it going for 99 degrees, but every time I open it to turn the eggs,(and I do it as quickly as possible, like 40 seconds) it goes down 2 degrees and it's been an hour and 15 minutes and it still hasn't risen above 97 degrees. what else can we do?? when we used a 60 watt bulb it was up at 102..so we changed it back to a 40 watt..any suggestions?
thank you,
Brenda

 

[BrendaLea]

Ok, I turned the eggs at 7 am, and it went down to 97 degrees. Now it's finally at 99 degrees and it's 8:25 am. any suggestions..thank you for any help!
Brenda

 

[BrendaLea]

Ok, never mind...power outage took care of any problems..they are done...

 

[Quyen Le]

it's normal if it goes down 2 degree. I made an incubator myself and the bottom tray only get 95-97 degree. They hatch out just fine, just 1 or 2 days late. Power outage for 12 hours and my incubator was at room temperature, they still hatch out fine. Hope you don't give up on your eggs.

 

[BrendaLea]

Thank you..I didn't know what to do..and I didn't hear from anyone..I threw them away because the temperature went down to 66 degrees because of the power outage...so I didn't think they were any good anymore...thank you for responding...
my husband bought a styrofoam cooler and we are going to try again now that the power is back on..

 

[happybooker1]

Try a light dimmer to further adjust the lighting. Home Depot/Lowe's should have them. They either have a sliding switch or a knob you would turn. YOu might try the 60w bulb and adjust it down.

Also try some 'heat sinks' in the 'bator to keep the temp constant. Large smooth rocks work. But remember if the eggs were under a hen she would leave at least once a day for eating, drinking and pooping. The eggs can take some 'cooling off' and still be fine.

Good Luck!

 

[BrendaLea]

Thank you for all your ideas! I love the idea of a light dimmer. I'll ask my husband to get one of those..hmm...that's another good idea to keep the eggs warm, heat sinkers. I'm looking forward to trying this again..thank you!