Question about the daily cooling period.

[Sylviaanne]

Of the people who have tried this, do you think you got a better hatch rate for doing it?

I am just wondering if my incubated eggs hatching early might be because they don't have a daily cooling down period. I am also wondering if maybe the hatch rate would be better because a daily cooling down period would be more normal.

As if not having a daily cooling down period is forcing them to a continuous rate of growth when there should be a natural slowing and then the heat raising the growth rate back to "normal" for another 24(?) hours (mama's break) before it slows again?

 

[Sylviaanne]

No opinions?

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Hi I think in my opinion the cooling down period of the eggs once a day does create a better hatch rate it does what the mother hen would do naturally by getting off the nest. I have a Brinsea with cooing down option on and since getting this incubator I have had 80-100% hatches every time with this even posted eggs. Your eggs hatching early could be a number of things I have found bantam eggs hatch a day early.

 

[Sylviaanne]

I have bought guinea and silkie eggs locally and swapped eggs with a lady in CA. They all tend to start hatching a day early.

My eggs are a barnyard mix.

How does the Brinsea cool down?
When the hen gets off the eggs it should be a sudden cooling but would an incubator do that?

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

21 days is only a guideline nothing is set in stone when it comes to hatching. Sometimes temps being a little high can cause early hatch. The Brinsea cools down by turning the temp alarm off then it turns the heating element off in the incubator but the fan stays on. This cools it quite quickly then after an hour it turns the heating element back on. The incubator is digital so all you have to do is set it and it remembers to do it every day for an hour. Brinsea recommend that you don't do cooling for the first seven days after setting.

 

[Kookapie]

My lovely broody hen has been sitting for 2 weeks on a dozen eggs. She got off the nest today and I found her sitting in a different nest. The eggs were cold. Is there any chance they will still hatch? I'm feeling pretty sad about it.

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

I can't say I have had experience of broody hens how long was she off the original nest? Is she back on the original nest? Or have you put the original nest eggs into an incubator?

 

[Kookapie]

She is back on the original nest with the eggs again but was off them for proabably at least a couple of hours. they felt cold to the touch. No I haven't used an incubator at all.

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

I would try not to worry nature knows best I think they would still have a chance of hatching. After two weeks of incubation the embryo should be quite well developed. Hope all goes well.

 

[MeepBeep]

As said the number of days is just a guideline nothing set in stone... Have you verified your temps with multiple known good thermometers?

This season my Guinea eggs (multiple clutches) all hatched in 26 (not the normal 28) days, Peas in 28 and Chickens in 21 all in the same incubator, multiple clutches of each egg type, same results repeated for each clutch... Doing a water test inside my incubator shows internal egg them should be pretty much a steady 100°

As for a cool down, well mother nature does one so it's likely not detrimental... My eggs generally get a cool down while I rearrange or even sometimes clean the incubator between the multiple clutches hatching... Can't say if it hurts or helps in the grand picture, but with locally obtained eggs or my own eggs I'm at about 95% hatch rate this year...