Okay I am gonna try again!!! Pictures!!!!

[drmeyes236]

I have a LG still air, I have read many theory's on temps, so what do you hatch yours at? 102 or 99.5? I bought a turner today, I have recieved 24 free eggs in a contest and another 12+ to arrive on Saturday. I am hatching these eggs for a friend of my son who lost his whole flock to coons, he is new to chickens as am I. I want a great hatch for him and it's perfect I like to hatch and he wants chickens! So this will be a staggered hatch a few days apart, any advise? Thanks to all you wonderful BYCers you are the best!

 

[drmeyes236]

Also one egg has a crack can I fix it with candle wax or just pitch it?

 

[dancingbear]

Quote:
For still air, the temp should be 102F at the top of the eggs. Not at the middle. Not down on the wire. 102F AT THE TOP of the eggs.

The reason is that the air temps are different temps, at different layers. Warm air rises. If the temp at the top is 102F, the bottom will be cooler. The center will be about 100F. If the temp is 102 at the bottom, on the wire, or on the turner bottom, the top will be about 104 and all the eggs will die.

The reason I'm so emphatic, is that I see, over and over, people post, "I know it said 102 at the top, but I had it at 102 at the bottom and none of my eggs hatched, boo-hoo what went wrong?!?" Failure to follow directions is what went wrong.

Not saying YOU will do that, but people do, all the time.

So, now that I ranted at you for no reason, good luck, I hope you have a good hatch!

If you haven't set the first ones yet, maybe you should wait and set them all at once. That way you have lower risk of losing the later ones to too much humidity the last few days.
You need about 40%-45% the first 18 days, mine does that with no water added, then about 55% from day 18, and it will go up when eggs start to hatch. Try not to let it go over 70%. Too much humidity means too little oxygen. I increase air flow at the end by putting a q-tip stick sideways under 2 corners of the lid, (just slide it in until it hits that ridge that fits into the slot, so the stick is against the ridge, not under it.) it increases the airflow without lowering the temp. I get better hatches that way.

 

[Poco Pollo]

I'm setting eggs tomorrow that are being shipped. I hope they arrive unbroken. I'll be setting Barnavelder, Brabanter, Light Brahma, Creme Brabanter, and Gold Laced Cochins. I have a few of each, so my hatch will be colorful.

I've never tried to fix a cracked egg. I don't want to risk bringing bacteria into the incubator via a broken egg. I candle for cracks before I set my hatch and throw away any eggs that aren't intact. If you do try fixing yours, let me know how that goes. Use your nose to determine if the egg gets stinky (rotten) after a few days in the incubator.

I have a Hova Bator with a fan. I get my best hatches at 100 degrees F. and 50% humidity for the first 18 days. For days 19 - 21, I crank up the humidity by adding more water, and sometimes I add a wet paper towel or two. Watch your airspace. The size of the airspace will determine if your humidity is right. If your airspace isn't as big as it should be, then try increasing your humidity a bit.

I don't have any links for you, but you can search online for information about checking the airspace. I check on day 7, day 14, and day 18. I usually draw the airspace on the egg when I candle them on those days to make sure the air spaces are getting bigger as they should.

Best of luck. I'm going to subscribe to this topic so I can hatch along with you. I'll look for some links on air space and post them if I find any.

-- Coral

 

[drmeyes236]

Thank you for the advise! I just placed the eggs in the bator. I am looking forward to hatching with you Coral and thanks again. I do think sometimes we over analyze everything and if they are meant to hatch they will, regardless of all the screw ups. I do want to do my best to hatch these for my son's friend. I am thinking now I should take them back out?! and wait for the others, but these eggs were shipped Monday so would that be too old to set? What if the others don't arrive on Saturday then they are over a at least 7 days old!

 

[dancingbear]

Up to you. They should be ok up to 10 days, and would be ok to take back out now, if they haven't been in very long. Or maybe you can get a separate hatcher before they're due to hatch. I understand not wanting to wait too long, though. It's a calculated risk, either way. If the others didn't arrive by Sat., I'd start the first ones anyway.

 

[Poco Pollo]

If I have a staggered hatch, I use a pencil to mark the date to stop turning them on each egg. Since you're using an automatic turner, you'll have to take the turner out when you get to day 19 for the eggs set first. Hand turn the rest until they get to day 19. Let them rest on day 19, 20, and 21.

To keep the newly hatched chicks from playing soccer with the eggs that still have a few days to go, I've put the later eggs into a cut-down shoe box, which keeps them separate but still in the incubator. You may end up with a newly hatched chick in the shoe box anyway, but he/she is less likely to toss the eggs around if they are confined.

I agree with dancingbear about starting sooner rather than later. I'm not a viability expert, but it seems logical that fresher is stronger and more likely to survive.

 

[ladyloulee]

Hi, Just caught this thread and thought i would join in

I was asked by a friend if i would incubate his 3 "japanese Bantam" eggs for him to see if they were fertile, the cock and the hen are both around a year old, I have a cheep "forced Air" incubator and only done this once before, i got 1 hatched out of 6, we called it "Lucky"..lol.. he/she is now 14 weeks old.
I put the 3 eggs in today at 11.30am.
My temp is 37 and my humidity is 43% is this ok?
thanks...Lou x

 

[drmeyes236]

Oh man temp conversion I will have to google that! LOL

 

[ladyloulee]

lol...sorry
lou x