So I took some eggs out from under my broody silkie hen yesterday to candle them and the temp under her was DEFINITELY more than 99-100 degrees!!
The outdoor temp was about 88 degrees at the time. The eggs were extremely warm to touch...much more so than when I take them out of my bator to candle when the bator is set to 100 degrees.
This, along with previous higher bator temps, confirms my suspicion that my bator need to be set to the high end of the hatching range. I really think that my poor hatches have been due to too low temps.
Tomorrow, I'm going to take my probe meat thermometer out and put it underneath her for a while and see exactly what the temp is.
Unfortunately, the eggs under her weren't fertile so I had to pull them out. BUT, I have some in my bator on day 4 that have embryos in them so I'll put 4 of them under her!! I don't think she's gonna stop brooding until she hatches chicks without a major intervention.
The outdoor temp was about 88 degrees at the time. The eggs were extremely warm to touch...much more so than when I take them out of my bator to candle when the bator is set to 100 degrees.
This, along with previous higher bator temps, confirms my suspicion that my bator need to be set to the high end of the hatching range. I really think that my poor hatches have been due to too low temps.
Tomorrow, I'm going to take my probe meat thermometer out and put it underneath her for a while and see exactly what the temp is.
Unfortunately, the eggs under her weren't fertile so I had to pull them out. BUT, I have some in my bator on day 4 that have embryos in them so I'll put 4 of them under her!! I don't think she's gonna stop brooding until she hatches chicks without a major intervention.
