SO new to this...4 days in with questions

[Mattamy]

So I've been reading up and I have a few questions for the veterans or those with some experience Our homemade box is the Styrofoam cooler with one 25 watt bulb on dimmer and a hydrometer with probes to keep inside. We have 2, 1 inch holes on upper (left but spaced to each corner) side of box and 2 on opposite side of box on either side of light 1 is an inch and the other 1/2 inch diameter. For humidity we started with foil pan that ran the length of the box but that proved results too high and difficult to regulate. We ended up with a smaller glass plate with a sponge on it that we add through the hole with baster an oz or two of water to approximately every 5 hours. We have 14 eggs in the bator and they are just laying on their side on hardwire cloth covered with rubber shelf liner. I have been turning them approximately every 6-8 hours.

Questions...
1. what are the correct temps and humidity level for this size/type bator? First day was crazy with movement because even though we manipulated and tested for over a day prior...we didn't do it with eggs in the box so this changed EVERYTHING. But last two days we have been able to keep it around 100 degrees and 55 degrees. This afternoon it has been 61%...is this too high for this type of system?

2. what temp is too high for viable eggs? As you can see on chart below we had some temps in the upper 101 and into 102. Did the eggs cook?

3. What day should I be able to candle to see blood vessels verses clear unfertilized egg? Just wondering when I should weed out the non-fertilized eggs, really don't want to experience an explosive experience

4. How long can the chicks stay in the bator box before being moved to brooder box? We are due to be away mothers day weekend which is day 18-20 of the lovely hatching plan Assuming we even have any viable births from this 14 egg first attempt...will they be ok in the box if we are not home yet. Due home on day 20. What is an unsafe amount of time in the bator?

5. Is there a good article/blog for chicken hatching in this "homemade convection" style that I can learn from? After much reading i realize that not all boxes and incubators are the same and I'm guessing when growing a life...there is a small window for the right temps and methods. Would love to be comparing apples to apples when learning how to do this instead of

Here our my stats:
Date Time Temperature humidity Notes
4/21/14 11:30 PM 84.9 87% eggs in
4/22/14 12:00 AM 87.4 77%
2:15 AM 96.3 29% + 1/2 cup of water
3:00 AM 94.6 74%
4:28 AM 94.8 74% decreased light, took out water / moved probe
4:33 AM 93.4 44% moved eggs away from light
37% added sponge
4:45 AM 95.4 55% squeezed sponge
4:46 AM 95.2 44%
4:50 AM 95.7 57%
4:58 AM 96.3 61%
5:00 AM 96.3 61%
7:24 AM 99.9 35% adds 1/4 cup
8:42 AM 98.4 65% TURNED EGGS
9:42 AM 93.7 38%
9:45 AM 93.9 68%
11:38 AM 94.5 68% decreased light, sqeezed sponge
11:42 AM 92.3 46%
11:47 AM 95.5 68% took more water out!
11:49 AM 93.2 48%
11:51 AM 93.6 56%
11:52 AM 94.1 59% opened lid
11:55 AM 95.0 56% increased light, cracked lid with pen poked small hole
12:14 PM 98.2 54%
12:29 PM 99.0 50% put lid down
12:39 PM 99.9 47% added a tiny bit of water turned down heat
12:50 PM 100.2 45% increased light, smalll tip of water to sponge (1/2 oz.)
12:57 PM 99.7 47%
2:02 PM 101.5 44%
2:13 PM 102.0 43% turned down light, added 1/4 oz. of water
2:16 PM 99.0 38%
2:35 PM 100.8 42%
3:05 PM 101.3 35% took down loight 1/4 oz (1 baster)of water
4:51 PM 97.3 50% increased light, added small 1/2 to a 1/4 oz water
5:04 PM 98.4 48%
5:15 PM 98.4 48%
5:50 PM 98.6 46%
6:01 PM 98.8 45% 1/2 oz water (2 basters)
6:16 PM 98.8 51%
6:50 PM 98.8 51%
7:16 PM 99.0 50% added 1/2 oz (2 basters)
7:20 PM 99.3 52%
8:01 PM 100.2 52%
8:41 PM 100.4 50%
9:21 PM 100.6 50% added 1/2 oz water (2 basters)
9:42 PM 100.8 59% turned?
10:01 PM 102.0 50% decreased light
11:07 PM 102.4 49% decreased light, made hole bigger increased water
11:12 PM 101.1 45% more water 1/2 oz. (2 basters)
4/23/14 12:02 AM 100.6 54%
12:28 AM 100.2 54%
3:00 AM 100.2 52%
6:15 AM 100.6 35% added 1/2 oz
6:43 AM 95.6 60%
6:59 AM 99.1 57%
7:06 AM 98.8 58% TURNED EGGS
7:08 AM 96.6 42% done turning eggs
8:33 AM 99.5 52%
8:34 AM 99.3 52%
9:38 AM 98.6 54%
9:44 AM 98.2 55% Increased light
10:11 AM 98.2 55% Increased light slightly
10:51 AM 99.5 55%
11:19 AM 99.5 55%
11:41 AM 99.7 52%
12:01 PM 99.9 49% add 1/2 oz water (two baster)
12:12 PM 100.0 55%
12:15 PM 100.2 55%
12:26 PM 100.2 54%
1:35 PM 100.2 51% TURNED EGGS
1:43 PM 99.3 47% done turning eggs
1:56 PM 101.0 38% Forgot i turned the temp up to turn eggs and they got up to 102...cracked the lid a couple of times. Added almost 1/2 oz water
2:05 PM 101.3 49%
2:11 pm 101.3 51% decreased light a hair
3:51 PM 101.1 42% decreased light
4:37 PM 101.1 35% added 1 oz water
7:09 PM 98.8 51% Air conditioning was turned on prior to it was 78 in here.
7:14 PM 99.0 51%
8:01 pm 99.9 49% added 1 oz of water, TURNED EGGS putting pointy side down
8:22 PM 97.5 51% just raised unit onto chair off of floor. Set ac for 78 and heat for 72
8:38 PM 99.0 56%
9:33 PM 99.1 54%
4/24/14 12:07 AM 98.8 50% house heat at 72-turned it up to 75, increased light, added 1 oz of water (4 basters)
12:19 AM 99.3 56%
12:28 AM 99.3 55%
12:39 AM 99.1 55%
1:38 AM 99.5 55%
2:03 AM 99.5 53%
3:19 AM 99.5 55% TURNED EGGS
3:22 AM 97.0 37% Done turning eggs
5:27 AM 99.7 49% added 1/2 ozwater
6:27 AM 100.0 51%
8:25 AM 100.6 52% Turned home thermo stat on cool set for 78 degrees
8:50 AM 100.2 51% TURNED EGGS
8:55 AM 97.2 40% done turning eggs
9:40 AM 99.5 52%
10:22 AM 99.5 51%
12:13 PM 100.0 46% should have added water at 5 hour mark---added 1 oz
12:34 PM 99.9 54%
1:44 PM 99.7 52%
4:50 PM 101.1 50% added 1.5 oz - inside room temp 75
5:05 PM 101.5 55% TURNED EGGS
5:09 PM 97.9 44% Done turning eggs
5:27 PM 100.9 56%
7:00 PM 100.6 56%
8:19 PM 100.4 57%
9:21 PM 100.2 55%
11.31 PM 100.4 51% TURNED EGGS
11:38 PM 93.0 36% done turning eggs and added 1.5 oz. Inside room temp 75
11:41 PM 95.9 54%
11:52 AM 99.9 56%
4/25/14 12.33 AM 100.4 56%
6:33 AM 100.2 55% added 1 oz
7:52 AM 100.6 57% TURNED EGGS
7:57 AM 97.2 46% done turning eggs, change thermo to cool at 78
8:35 AM 99.7 57%
10:23 AM 99.3 62%
10:45 AM 99.0 61% reading taken after opening to candle 3 eggs--2 looked like yolks and one looked possibly like a winner
11:12 AM 99.3 61%
12:22 PM 100.1 61%
1:14 PM 100.8 61%
1:55 PM 101.8 61% Candled 2 more eggs saw small dot with possible veining
2:00 PM 100.0 50%
2:25 PM 101.1 61% turned light down
2:44 pm 100.2 62%
3:10 PM 100.2 62% TURNED EGGS


Oh and....no I'm not a vampire...but my son is on a pill schedule every 3 hours including night hours

so i figured what a perfect time to figure out hatching eggs! Thanks!!!

Amy in Apex, NC

 

[Farmer Viola]

So I've been reading up and I have a few questions for the veterans or those with some experience Our homemade box is the Styrofoam cooler with one 25 watt bulb on dimmer and a hydrometer with probes to keep inside. We have 2, 1 inch holes on upper (left but spaced to each corner) side of box and 2 on opposite side of box on either side of light 1 is an inch and the other 1/2 inch diameter. For humidity we started with foil pan that ran the length of the box but that proved results too high and difficult to regulate. We ended up with a smaller glass plate with a sponge on it that we add through the hole with baster an oz or two of water to approximately every 5 hours. We have 14 eggs in the bator and they are just laying on their side on hardwire cloth covered with rubber shelf liner. I have been turning them approximately every 6-8 hours.

Hello and Welcome to BYC!!!

Were the eggs you set from your own flock (non shipped)?

Quote:
There are 2 schools of thought on incubation, dry or wet incubation. I will try to explain them both. I have had excellent results using the Dry Method myself. Most styrofoam incubators promote using the wet method in the printed instruction manual that comes with it, so this is why there are 2 methods floating around out there. the first thing an experienced hatcher told me was to ignore those instructions, and to use the dry method.

There is a link in my signature where you can read more about the Dry Method, here is the short version:

Still-Air (no fan): 101F
Forced Air (with fan): 99.5

Day 1-18: 25-45% (without adding any water at all)
Day 19-21: 55-65%

The idea behind the dry incubation method is that the eggs are evaporating (losing water weight) and creating their own humidity in the box, without any additional moisture added. By adding water and increasing the humidity, you actually slow down the evaporation of the eggs. What will happen if your humidity is too high for all 21 days, is that the chicks will have too much liquid in the egg when they need to hatch. This is a common cause of death using the wet method.

here is a trouble shooting link which will show you what too high temp, too low temp, too high humidity, etc, will result in:
http://msucares.com/poultry/reproductions/trouble.html


Quote:
104F internal egg temperature (in the center of the egg) is hot enough to kill an embryo. The ideal temperature is 99.5. The ideal egg shell temperature is 100. I use an infrared/laser thermometer and shoot it at the egg shell at close range to check this.

also, remember to measure temperature from the top of the eggs. too high, or too low, will not give you an accurate reading. it must be at the top of the egg.

Edit: Also, it will take some time for the internal egg temperature to reflect the incubator temperature. so just because the incubator gets to 102, it would take many hours to get the internal temperature of the egg to match.

Quote:
what color are your eggs? white eggs are so easy to see through, they are GREAT for learning! brown eggs are a little more difficult. I candle on day 7, and 10; I toss clears on day 10.

by day 7 you should be able to see veins, and by day 10 you should see a dark spot, the eye. here are day by day photo comparisons:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/candling-pics-progression-through-incubation-of-chicken-eggs



Quote:
the last thing that happens before hatch, is that the chick absorbs the yolk which is full of vital nutrients. the yolk will keep them alive for up to 3 days (this is how they survive shipment after hatching). it is important to leave them in the incubator until they are completely dry and fluffed up, after that they can be transferred to the (already warm) brooder.

they could reasonably stay in the incubator until day 24

although food is not immediately important, water is. when you transfer them to the brooder, make sure to dip their beak in (not cold) water.


Quote:
you are right, no 2 incubators are the same! as you hatch more and more in your cooler bator, you will start to learn the little tricks about your setup. only time will tell! here is a good article about building a cooler bator:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/homemade-easy-cooler-incubator


read more about dry incubation: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-to-incubate-hatch-eggs-using-the-dry-incubation-method