Putting eggs in the bator on July 25, does anyone wanna hatch along???

[Aschenfire]

OH NOOOOOO!!!

I think I may have been either WAY hot, or WAY cool in my bator for a few days.
I have three thermometers, I took the two with hygrometers out of the incubator to check the temps and humidity of my new hatcher while building it and left the third. No adjustments, holding steady temps.

I added my Delawares and Barred Rocks last night and put all three thermometers back into the incubator. Well, my digital one is reading 105 degrees, my hygrometer/thermometer (reptile thermometer) is reading 99.5 and my little plastic one that came with the LG is reading somewhere between 98 and 100 (that one is really difficult to read through that little window). I had been making the adjustments based on the digital one!! They had all been reading the same thing before I moved them around. And they have been there all night, so I know they have had plenty of time to adjust.

I'm buying some new aquarium thermometers today. I just hope I didn't ruin my whole hatch. I have been losing so many eggs and I had thinking it was because they were shipped.

Hatching is tough.

Do not trust the digital ones. I bought a digital thermo/hygrometer and put both the mercury one and the digital one in my bator when I started this hatch. The digital ALWAYS read about 5 degrees hotter, so I turned the temp down, thinking I was running too hot. Well, when I pulled eggs out for the first three or so days to turn them, they always felt "cold" to me. Digital was reading about 101 and the mercury was at about 96 or less sometimes.

Now, I hatched 7 of 11 Serama babies the last hatch with just the mercury thermometer (two died at pip.... just never hatched)...so I know that there is something wrong with this digital one. I took it out. I half blame keeping the eggs way too cool the first few days on part of the reason for my low rate of viability this time around. I bet your temp is right on with what the mercury ones are reading.

Edited to say that I am using a still air incubator, so I keep mine between 101-102 ^..^

 

[Chicken Tamer]

AWWWWHHHHHH!!! my broody hen ate one of her eggs she was sittin on!!!! AND SHE HAD TO EAT A SILKIE EGG!!!! ERGGGGG!!!

AND WHY DID SHE HAVE TOO EAT IT NOW!!! I ONLY HAD 10 DAYS LEFT ERGGGG!!! can anyone explain why she did this???

 

[Zchicks]

I'm on day 12 of my 1st try in my home made DIY styro incubator. 1st try ever anything! Going to attempt some candling tonight. Tips would be appreciated.

 

[thejohnsie]

Going to move my broody to my new broody pen tonight. Only 6 days left!

 

[thejohnsie]

Zchicks, I candled for the first time last week. It's pretty easy to see them wiggling around in there. Good luck! Just learn from my lesson-dont drop one

 

[dandydoodle]

sigh.....I've candled more than I probably should have. some are doing great, some are not. It doesn't seem to make a difference where in the incubator they are though. I can't figure this out.

I'm so confused now. I've "calibrated" the thermometers with ice water. LG one reads 27 degrees, hygro/themometer reads 32, digital reads 33. Put them back into the incubator and waited 15 minute and LG reads 98, hygro/thermo reads 92, and digital is reading 109!! I've moved the thermometers around and they still read off in roughly the same way, LG low and digital way high.

I've started my homemade incubator up. I'm thinking I'm going to move the eggs over to the homemade bator and add a fan to my LG.

Okay, I am no expert but, I am gonna try to help. Personally I wouldn't use a digital I just don't think it is the right kind of thermometer for what you are doing. I am thinking digital is better in mouths and armpits and maybe that is why you are getting crazy readings. I am using a hygro/ thermometer myself and I feel maybe that is the way to go since it is obviously okay in places with high humidity. I know I am having a brain toot but, what is a LG Thermometer? If I were you I might purchase another hygrometer and take the difference between the two. I would think it would be a better to be low then high. I think low they will just develope slower but, I would think high would be bad.

If I were you I would leave them where they are at because, keeping things as steady as possible is probably best at this point. I would get the second hygrometer thermometer and compare the temps between the one you have and the new one and try to get it to 99 degrees by using the two of them.

Hopefully other people will chime in and try to help. Hopefully someone will let you know if my advice is good or if they can offer better advice, do that for you.

Good luck,
Michelle

 

[dandydoodle]

AWWWWHHHHHH!!! my broody hen ate one of her eggs she was sittin on!!!! AND SHE HAD TO EAT A SILKIE EGG!!!! ERGGGGG!!!

AND WHY DID SHE HAVE TOO EAT IT NOW!!! I ONLY HAD 10 DAYS LEFT ERGGGG!!! can anyone explain why she did this???

I have read a broody will get rid of eggs that aren't any good. Just kind of an instinct thing. I think they don't want to keep bad eggs around the good ones. I think usually just kick them out of the nest but, if I had to guess it was her way of getting rid of a bad egg.

Sorry,

 

[Chicken Tamer]

Thank you dandydoodle Thats what I was thinking too I just wish it wasnt a silkie eggs only got 5 more silkie eggs under her but I still have the other 11 or 12 chicken eggs besides the silkie eggs.

 

[litljenarey]

Okay, I am no expert but, I am gonna try to help. Personally I wouldn't use a digital I just don't think it is the right kind of thermometer for what you are doing. I am thinking digital is better in mouths and armpits and maybe that is why you are getting crazy readings. I am using a hygro/ thermometer myself and I feel maybe that is the way to go since it is obviously okay in places with high humidity. I know I am having a brain toot but, what is a LG Thermometer? If I were you I might purchase another hygrometer and take the difference between the two. I would think it would be a better to be low then high. I think low they will just develope slower but, I would think high would be bad.

If I were you I would leave them where they are at because, keeping things as steady as possible is probably best at this point. I would get the second hygrometer thermometer and compare the temps between the one you have and the new one and try to get it to 99 degrees by using the two of them.

Hopefully other people will chime in and try to help. Hopefully someone will let you know if my advice is good or if they can offer better advice, do that for you.

Good luck,
Michelle

Thanks.

It's not a digital like you have to press a button for, its the type that has a probe and measures inside/outside temps and humidity. It's meant to go on a windowsill or something and put the wire through the window to measure both the temp and humidity inside your house and out. Alot of people swear by them and it had been accurate so far but just went nutty.

The LG thermometer is the Little Giant one that came with the incubator. It's mercury so probably the most accurate.


I threw the digital one out and got one for a fishtank. The three are reading within a degree. I guess any damage that was done is done, and I'm just going to have to deal with it. I think your right and since the bad one was reading so high that I may have been incubating much lower than I should have been, which hopefully only delayed my hatch but didn't cook my chickies.

I'm glad I figured it all out when I put these new eggs in. They were only a bit screwy for day one, and should be a better hatch than the others because we worked out those issues.

 

[dandydoodle]

I'm on day 12 of my 1st try in my home made DIY styro incubator. 1st try ever anything! Going to attempt some candling tonight. Tips would be appreciated.

Just make sure its really dark. Are you trying to figure out which ones are good and which ones are bad? If you see veins, I would count it as good. Don't throw out an egg just because, you don't see something wiggle. You don't always see them wiggle because, of how dark an egg is and sometimes its hard to candle a pourous eggs also. So on the ones that are hard to see in you will see a dark shadow and it is more then likely a baby. I would consider that a good egg. Ones that don't have veins and dark spot and it looks like they just have a yolk in them are probably not fertilized. If there is a dark ring inside it but you don't see the baby (dark area in egg) that is a blood ring and means early fetal death.

If I were you since this is your first time, I wouldn't throw anything away. If you see an egg that looks like it is unfertilized or an egg that looks like it has a blood ring take a pencil and write blood ring or unfertilized on the shell. Then take those eggs and put them back in and treat them like everyone else. That way when it comes to hatching time you can see what happens with those eggs and that way you don't accidentally throw out any good eggs. I would kind of use it like an experiment this time.

Most important thing is not to drop it.