- Jun 4, 2009
- 12
- 0
- 22
My first hatch three weeks ago was a real disappointment with 9 chicks out of an original 40 eggs. This hatch I have 16 eggs from two different farms and right now I have 10 babies and three are zipping right along. I took notes from this board and made a list of what I felt I could do and I think the most important thing was getting two hygrometers. I have one with the wire that goes in the side of the LG still air and one from the pet store that is laying on the mesh bottom. The one with the wire is from Lowes for measuring outside temperature and humidity. I think it is off a bit as it always stays around 50% and the hygrometer from the pet store says 65-70%. I have a little condensation on the viewing window now and I never had that with my last hatch. My last hatch had many full grown chicks dead in their shells and many chicks struggling to hatch and drying out so I had to help them hatch. This time they are hatching like popcorn and none have stuck or hardly struggled. To get this much humidity in my area of Michigan I made trays for the bottom of the incubator with an aluminum sweet roll pan. I filled those with water and the indentations in the bottom were kept full the whole time. On day 18 when I removed the turner I added pieces of sponge to every available space in the bottom being careful to not cover the little vent holes. I got the sponges damp then closed the lid and haven't touched it. The only thing I forgot to do was to layer the bottom with cheese cloth. The little chicks hate that metal mesh. They are not comfortable and it seems like their little toes get in it. I am worried that one of them will actually break a leg if it gets stuck. My three bantam babies are the cutest things ever!
Good luck on your hatches!!
Carol
Good luck on your hatches!!
Carol
