Please help me figure out what I am doing wrong!!

[turkey girl 0964]

I have been trying to incubate my turkey eggs for the last month or two and I have only got ONE turkey!! I am so disappointed... The eggs seem to die around 15-21 days. I think the air cells are to small so that means there is too much water? Here is a pic of one of them.Sorry the pic isn’t very good but the air cell is VERY small.

 

[sourland]

Have you checked your thermometer and humidity sensors for accuracy?

 

[turkey girl 0964]

Yes, I don't know if I did if for long enough though. How do you check the temp accuracy?

 

[turkey girl 0964]

@Ridgerunner

 

[Ridgerunner]

How do you check the temp accuracy?

I take an old time thermometer used to take your temperature, those are calibrated in the correct temperature range. They don't change with the temperature, they only show the hottest it got so you have to be a bit careful. If you don't already have one you may have real trouble buying one these days. Thermometers have changed.

There is a method where you use salty ice water and boiling water but I don't like that method. That's at freezing and boiling, not at incubating temperature, and elevation above sea level or whether you are in a high or low weather pressure system could affect that.

Are you up to an adventure? I don't know what the Arizona extension service is like, but in a couple of states where I've lived if you set up an appointment the extension service will check your pressure canner to make sure it is working correctly. You may have fun trying to get them to check out the presets on your incubator, temperature and humidity. They may be able to check out a thermometer or hygrometer to make sure they are working properly if hey don't do incubators. You may have more confidence in getting them to do it than doing it yourself. Or they may know some place you could go to get your instruments calibrated. I wouldn't know where to start looking for that.

 

[turkey girl 0964]

I take an old time thermometer used to take your temperature, those are calibrated in the correct temperature range. They don't change with the temperature, they only show the hottest it got so you have to be a bit careful. If you don't already have one you may have real trouble buying one these days. Thermometers have changed.

There is a method where you use salty ice water and boiling water but I don't like that method. That's at freezing and boiling, not at incubating temperature, and elevation above sea level or whether you are in a high or low weather pressure system could affect that.

Are you up to an adventure? I don't know what the Arizona extension service is like, but in a couple of states where I've lived if you set up an appointment the extension service will check your pressure canner to make sure it is working correctly. You may have fun trying to get them to check out the presets on your incubator, temperature and humidity. They may be able to check out a thermometer or hygrometer to make sure they are working properly if hey don't do incubators. You may have more confidence in getting them to do it than doing it yourself. Or they may know some place you could go to get your instruments calibrated. I wouldn't know where to start looking for that.

Hmm, I don't know if we have one of those thermometers. I know we have one at our cabin, but it is 6 hours away.