Shipped eggs in incubator

[ChickenCanoe]

Yes. The air cell size is equivalent to weight loss. I just find weight to be more accurate. Maybe that is partly due to the fact most of the eggs I incubated were much too dark to see much inside.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Thanks so much! This puts me a lot at ease. I do think the "turning" being a rocking side to side motion should hopefully help if they're rested vertically too so the air cell wouldn't be spinning around side to side anyways. (At least, from how I picture it. Still totally new to really envisioning how it works, even as many videos as I've watched. ) I'll be doing a Hatch-Along for them. I don't know if I'll get even a single hatch since it's our first time, but hopefully will have some fuzzy results to share with you once we've given it a go.

If you have an accurate thermometer, the incubator maintains a steady temperature and you began with a good product (eggs) there is no reason you can't have great success.
The trick is finding that accurate thermometer and believing it no matter the reading on the incubator.
Thermometers are notoriously too inaccurate for high hatch rates and incubator readings can be off as well. That's why some incubator manufacturers provide for a calibration factor.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

If you can maintain precisely 99.5F/37.5 C, the eggs are uniform size for their breed/species and fresh, you should be able to at least set your calendar, if not your watch, by when they hatch.
Set at noon on a Monday and they should hatch at noon on a Monday.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Caution with selecting a scale as well. I found a small pocket gram scale to be more accurate and repeatable than a kitchen scale from most stores.
The pocket scale is cheaper too.

 

[newchickychick]

If you have an accurate thermometer, the incubator maintains a steady temperature and you began with a good product (eggs) there is no reason you can't have great success.
The trick is finding that accurate thermometer and believing it no matter the reading on the incubator.
Thermometers are notoriously too inaccurate for high hatch rates and incubator readings can be off as well. That's why some incubator manufacturers provide for a calibration factor.

Awesome! I actually have a govee hygrometer/thermometer arriving today. I'd heard really good things about the brand! I was going to calibrate it then do lots of temp/humidity checks between the incubator with the water in it, our second incubator (also arriving today) without any, and in the room outside of the incubators. It's also got an app to be able to get the data from it which'll be really helpful!

 

[newchickychick]

Caution with selecting a scale as well. I found a small pocket gram scale to be more accurate and repeatable than a kitchen scale from most stores.
The pocket scale is cheaper too.

What max weight should I be looking for? Sorry if it's a silly question! I see a really highly rated one on Amazon and there's one that's 200g and 500g. I presumed the 200g would be ample, but wasn't sure if there was a benefit to bigger or not.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Awesome! I actually have a govee hygrometer/thermometer arriving today. I'd heard really good things about the brand! I was going to calibrate it then do lots of temp/humidity checks between the incubator with the water in it, our second incubator (also arriving today) without any, and in the room outside of the incubators. It's also got an app to be able to get the data from it which'll be really helpful!

Good job on getting the Govee. I had good results with them right out of the box.

 

[newchickychick]

Good job on getting the Govee. I had good results with them right out of the box.

Thanks! This forum has been a WEALTH of help! I really appreciate you taking the time for all these responses. I'm going to worry more about the weight/air cell size loss than the exact perfect humidity. The temperature thankfully has been absolutely perfectly stable at 99.5 (it's got air flow) but I've been wiffle-waffling on "am I ruining myself with wet hatch? or would I be dooming myself with dry?" Just gonna do my best and try to have science of "where should the egg itself be developmentally" on my side!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

What max weight should I be looking for? Sorry if it's a silly question! I see a really highly rated one on Amazon and there's one that's 200g and 500g. I presumed the 200g would be ample, but wasn't sure if there was a benefit to bigger or not.

I haven't found a correlation between max weight and accuracy even though common sense would contradict that.
I've used kitchen scales in the neighborhood of 500g that had no repeatability. I threw them right in the trash.
I found an 8000 gram scale that is incredible. It is the MyWeigh KD8000. Incredibly accurate and repeatable. I bought it from a scale company that has since gone out of business. I know that amazon carries it also. Since I've been disappointed in many, I bought a 10-gram calibration weight with it and check it periodically. If an 8000-gram scale can be repeatable at 10 grams, it surely can at the weight of one, a dozen or even a tray of eggs.
The other nice thing about the scale is that it has a platform surface that allows for a whole tray of eggs.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

The MyWeigh KD doesn't get the best reviews from bakers because it doesn't have a bowl. But I didn't want a bowl because I wasn't weighing flour or seasonings.
I don't remember what the problem was but after using the scale a couple years there was an issue, I think it was with the power supply. I reported it and rather than send me what was faulty, they sent me an entirely new complete scale I was impressed.