Reptipro 5000 Hatch-A-Long (=

[Zootopia]

sounds like you need to calibrate your Hygrometer

 

[yinepu]

Well my 1 baby has lived to tell the tale of me peeling her shell and her crusty membrane off. It was hard as a rock. I soaked and waited and peeled and soaked and waited...she is doing pretty well now! She looked real sad for awhile. None of the others hatched and I'm guessing they all dried up. I have to believe that my humidity reading is off. She's alone now in the bator (5000). Where do I set the heat?

And a question for you guys.

Exactly what hydrometer do you use to read your humidity? I have one that is for reptiles but now as my 2nd hatch has brought crusty chicks I need to do something different as I'm going to order another bunch of eggs.

I named this chick Bugger. You can see her picture on my farm's FB page (link in my signature).

Thank you guys for so much help!!

I'm in the same position as you are when it comes to a good digital read out...I saw what yin was using in a past post. I may have to order one of those, or two, maybe she can remember which post..or maybe it was on the other thread? lol

Aww, your baby is lucky to have you. Having a fluff toy in there is a great idea. I use a small towel..like a dish towel to snuggle it around them when they are alone. It works pretty good, they feel snuggled in.

Egg yolk is a great idea. She will be fine..as you probably know, for a couple of days without food, and supposedly water, but I like getting a very small amount of water into them by the next day. Very small amount at a time, just a tiny drop. They will stretch their little necks out, look like they are pecking at the air..and then, a big gulp will happen. Then you know she got some down. That will do just a few times a day the first day. If she is up and walking around, you can dip her little beak in the water instead of putting a drop of water to her beak. She'll find the goodies.

I use these... love them because they can be adjusted if they are ever off
http://www.amazon.com/Quality-Impor...CZQE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1337349394&sr=8-3

for calibration I prefer these over the salt method
http://www.amazon.com/Boveda-One-St...ZP8I/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1337349441&sr=8-9

Amazon sells the calibration kits at different prices.. so you may have to shop around a bit (different suppliers for them charge different prices).. they had them a few weeks ago for under $2. each.. nice thing is they are reusable


have you been monitoring air cells?.. they will give you the best indication as to if your humidity is too high or too low... even more so than a hygrometer (which I only use as a guide..) since egg shell porosity makes a big difference in moisture loss

for goose, emu, duck eggs (and a few others .. but mainly those three) I go by weight loss of the eggs

basically if you pay attention to the eggs and hatching chicks they will tell you everything you need to know about your humidity levels ... every home will have different requirements depending on air flow and relative humidity plus the type of bator and fan placement will also make a difference

 

[Cynthia12]

I use these... love them because they can be adjusted if they are ever off
http://www.amazon.com/Quality-Impor...CZQE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1337349394&sr=8-3

for calibration I prefer these over the salt method
http://www.amazon.com/Boveda-One-St...ZP8I/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1337349441&sr=8-9

Amazon sells the calibration kits at different prices.. so you may have to shop around a bit (different suppliers for them charge different prices).. they had them a few weeks ago for under $2. each.. nice thing is they are reusable


have you been monitoring air cells?.. they will give you the best indication as to if your humidity is too high or too low... even more so than a hygrometer (which I only use as a guide..) since egg shell porosity makes a big difference in moisture loss

for goose, emu, duck eggs (and a few others .. but mainly those three) I go by weight loss of the eggs

basically if you pay attention to the eggs and hatching chicks they will tell you everything you need to know about your humidity levels ... every home will have different requirements depending on air flow and relative humidity plus the type of bator and fan placement will also make a difference

I was so frustrated trying to get the digital read outs that I have to fit in there, with the egg turners..that I got on and ordered two of these and one of the calibration kits! yin, do you use the turners? I'm beginning to think I don't like them. If I had someone around here close by to buy them, I would do it. I'm glad they sent the cups, my Silkie eggs needed to go into those.

 

[JenBirdRansom]

I'm ordering mine TODAY!

 

[Cynthia12]

I'm ordering mine TODAY!

I took out the turners..are you getting the turners? I may put them back in when I get the smaller therm/hydro..but mine wouldn't fit in with the turners, so I would rather be able to see the temp right now..just to be on the safe side. They got too warm for a bit at first, turned it down to 99, it was a 100. I am gong by the touch too. They were pretty warm, but can't go by what I have to read temps in there. Crazy.

 

[Cynthia12]

I think I finally have the temp where I want it. I wonder if it will have to change at night..will see.. then I will know how to run it this summer. Hoping those therm/hydrom. come tomorrow..I paid so they would. Haven't put any water in at all. I do believe that I feel humidity when I open the door. Interesting.

 

[viejo loco]

When you get the cords in the slot, put a little piece of tape over the slot.. That should hold them in so you don't have to worry about holding them every time you open or close the door... Will

 

[Cynthia12]

When you get the cords in the slot, put a little piece of tape over the slot.. That should hold them in so you don't have to worry about holding them every time you open or close the door... Will

But.....I take the turners out to change the shelves. So, the tape would have to come off every time too. :/ Right now, I have the eggs stacked pretty well. I just received my new temp/hydro...calibrating it now, so tomorrow around this time, I may put them back in the turner. These readers will fit, the ones I have now..won't fit with the turners in it..and I'm going more by the feel of how warm the eggs are, but I think I have it just right. Both of the temps are reading a degree different..so, I won't be putting both of my new ones in, just the one on top, I now know it is a degree different..and, I change the shelves anyway.
Thanks..someone else said to use tape. Do you not change the shelves? These were all set the same day. I can feel a difference in the warmth of the eggs on the different shelves. And, I didn't use any water, but my goodness, the humidity in that thing!..got up this morning, it was in the 50's. Opened the door for a while. That's with my old readers, but still, they won't be that much off.

 

[Zootopia]

Well it's official

I'm stacking eggs. I have 19 guinea eggs, 4 mystery duck eggs 4 BCM and 2 "Test" eggs from my flock on the top shelf right now. I will be adding to the pile when some

W/BW AM get here. Oops. I have been using the Repti Pro mostly as a hatcher up to now, but knew I'd be putting the guineas in there due to them needing higher humidity. The Duck eggs were found and given to me and I know they need higher humidity. The 3 BCM are part of a shipment that I split with the Hovabator cause I knew I was going to run out of room when the AM get here in a couple days. In fact, if the breeder send extras those will have to go in the RP too. I think I need a Sportsman

! There are only 4 or 5 guinea eggs sitting on top right now, I'm rotating them down when I turn. I love the fact that the temp and humidity are back up very soon after I turn.
I have a couple Turkey eggs and 3 Welsumer and a Cochin on the second shelf on lockdown. The turkey eggs were a bit of a tight fit, I do wish the shelves were alittle further apart. I may move them the next time it's empty

.

 

[mayberrygirl]

You should come join in on the new Reptipro hatch a long