November/December "Hatch-a-Long"

[DeannaA]

Okay, now my humidity is up to 66% - I guess it just needed more time after I put the second sponge in. BUT, my temp is down to 97. Should I turn it up, or will it even out once the humidity has.

Oh, random thing - my light bulb has been blinking fast since the humidity got above 50. Not like it's cycling on and off fast - it's blinking fast while it's on. Anybody else experienced that?

Is it a homemade incubator? If it is, did you use an outdoor or water proof socket?

 

[Ihilani Coffee]

Three more infertile eggs removed last night (day 10) for a total of 11/22 from my friend's flock. Guess her Faverolles cock is getting over the hill. She thinks he's 3 but she doesn't keep track of things like that too well. There are a couple of eggs that are not as "full" as the others but I left them in. I haven't had a good enough light to see much so not sure if they are moving or not. I bought an egg candler today. After reading the recent posts about patience and waiting for day 25-30, I'm hoping those eggs not as full will continue developing. Or the new light will show me blood rings for sure and I can get them out of there. 6/7 Marans going strong, one is questionable (not as full). Three weeks sure seems like a LOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooong time all of a sudden!

After buying a real candler today, I removed the one questionable Marans egg.

 

[MrsJenSmith2007]

So i'm so stressed. So far this hatch had been much easier than the last. Once I got everything stable, temp held at 102 (still air) and humidity at 40%. I got up this morning to find that humidity had dropped to 20% driving my temp up to 107!!!! I don't know how long it was that high, I'm guessing climbed all night? It is day 4. Hoping all hope is now lost. I added some wet paper towels and got my humidity where it needed to be and the temp quickly followed. Frustrated! Don't know why/how this happened!!! Had such high hopes for this hatch!!

 

[Cknldy]

When there are a lot of eggs starting out then you candle and take some out the temps are going to fluctuate in order to adjust. There are less 'things' to absorb and hold warmth- like a room full of furniture when you're moving: all furniture is in and heat pump doesn't kick on very much. Remove the furniture and the heat pump kicks on more because there isn't anything holding heat in the room. Make sure you're giving time for the agjustments made and remember it takes about 30 minutes for the actual egg temp to change.

 

[SoManyHats]

Is it a homemade incubator? If it is, did you use an outdoor or water proof socket?

It is, and no I didn't. I just got what everyone else did, which was a regular lamp kit. I've never even heard of this problem! It's still holding the temperature, so I'm hoping it will just hang in there for 3-5 more days!

 

[Heidisgran]

So i'm so stressed. So far this hatch had been much easier than the last. Once I got everything stable, temp held at 102 (still air) and humidity at 40%. I got up this morning to find that humidity had dropped to 20% driving my temp up to 107!!!! I don't know how long it was that high, I'm guessing climbed all night? It is day 4. Hoping all hope is now lost. I added some wet paper towels and got my humidity where it needed to be and the temp quickly followed. Frustrated! Don't know why/how this happened!!! Had such high hopes for this hatch!!

107 is high but not necessarily lethal...110 is lethal
can't wait until you can candle to settle your nerves!

 

[MrsJenSmith2007]

I can't wait either. I have sworn to wait until day 10 this hatch because I think I candled too much last time, and due to a too weak light, I never saw anything anyway!! I had only one developing egg when I was finished! I have a better light, so hopefully this time will be better. I hope the temp wasn't any higher than that over night. I'm thinking I caught it at it's peak. The eggs didn't feel too hot to me either. IF it DID get to 110 for a short time, the eggs would certainly die?? I sure hope it didn't. I'm so excited for this hatch! My 2 little girls were so bummed after our last crummy hatch!

 

[Varglet]

First egg pipped sometime last night.

 

[Tara Black]

Well my current hatch is over, I locked down 10 eggs, 2 died right after I'm guessing, 1 never pipped and died sometime last night, 7 hatched, and 1 sadly died shortly after. Much better hatch then the last one though, where nothing made it out of 27 eggs. So I now have 3 of the cutest Amerucana Mixes, 1 Buff Orp, 1 Orp/LB Mix, and 1 Buckeye/Opr Mix.

 

[Heidisgran]

I can't wait either. I have sworn to wait until day 10 this hatch because I think I candled too much last time, and due to a too weak light, I never saw anything anyway!! I had only one developing egg when I was finished! I have a better light, so hopefully this time will be better. I hope the temp wasn't any higher than that over night. I'm thinking I caught it at it's peak. The eggs didn't feel too hot to me either. IF it DID get to 110 for a short time, the eggs would certainly die?? I sure hope it didn't. I'm so excited for this hatch! My 2 little girls were so bummed after our last crummy hatch!

well this I know....everything I've studied reports that 110 is the lethal top temp...I do know if you buy shipped eggs during the summer months and it is extremely hot it's hotter in the vehicles and those eggs don't develop...

it is easier to regulate the temps in the bator if you can regulate the temps in the area the bator is sitting in. Here it is freezing into the 20's last night so the heater is off and on...drying the air...and so on!

I swore I wasn't going to hatch during the winter months because I then worry about the chicks, brooder health and just plain having chickens in the house! but here I am with more due to hatch in the next few days!

anyway back to you lol

I don't think it got to 110 in your bator...your temp went up because it started drying