The 4th Annual BYC Easter Hatch-a-long

[Sally Sunshine]

Quote:

 

[TheH Klan of 10]

I have an incubator tip for those of you new to incubating.  If you are incubating in Brinsea, you can ignore this information.  This is especially useful to those of you incubating in a styrofoam bator.

A week into incubation, you will want to keep close tabs on your temperature.  You may need to adjust it down some.  As the embryos develop, they start generating heat and thus your temperature may run a bit hotter.

(Edited)
Question.... I have styrofoam bator and the temp stayed awesome the whole time till like the day before the eggs started to hatch and then the temps went crazy is that normal? And also once the eggs started hatching the humidity rose from 65/70 up to 80/83 it was soggy is that ok or should I try to prevent that next time ? Thanks to anyone that has answers

 

[mlm Mike]

Question.... I have styrofoam bator and the temp stayed awesome the whole time till like the day before the eggs started to hatch is that normal? And also once the eggs started hatching the humidity rose from 65/70 up to 80/83 it was soggy is that ok or should I try to prevent that next time ? Thanks to anyone that has answers

The humidity going up is normal.

 

[Shellz]

Question.... I have styrofoam bator and the temp stayed awesome the whole time till like the day before the eggs started to hatch is that normal? And also once the eggs started hatching the humidity rose from 65/70 up to 80/83 it was soggy is that ok or should I try to prevent that next time ? Thanks to anyone that has answers

I've got styrofoam too. I had it all nicely stabilized all day yesterday, but today was wonky! I blame it on the sun. Cloudy days for me, mean very little babysitting. Sunny days are trickier for me. I don't have a temperature stable room in the whole house. It's in a large room with 3 windows & no window coverings. In any case, i think your humidity is too high! The action of those chicks is causing humidity to rise. My last 2 chicks from my first hatch drowned because of this, I believe. Hope you can get it down to 72%. Every area is different, my house is dry, outside is humid. Go fig. After 72% my chicks slowed down in hatching out.

 

[TheH Klan of 10]

I've got styrofoam too. I had it all nicely stabilized all day yesterday, but today was wonky! I blame it on the sun. Cloudy days for me, mean very little babysitting. Sunny days are trickier for me. I don't have a temperature stable room in the whole house. It's in a large room with 3 windows & no window coverings. In any case, i think your humidity is too high! The action of those chicks is causing humidity to rise. My last 2 chicks from my first hatch drowned because of this, I believe. Hope you can get it down to 72%. Every area is different, my house is dry, outside is humid. Go fig. After 72% my chicks slowed down in hatching out.

I lost 10 eggs/chicks and on the 18th day candling they were all doing great and only 2 pipped internally and now that u say that mine slowed way down once it got somewhere past 72 also!! And the chicks that died had green watery liq. Around them they didn't dry out for sure and I didn't add any water to the bator till lockdown and also mine is in a large room with lots of windows I didn't think of that since we just recently have had sunshine!! Thanks for the info!!!!

 

[Shellz]

Incubating with styrofoam units, seem to have a high learning curve. If only I had a nice dark 70 degree room that never varied! This time, I'm going to go with 60% humidity at lockdown & hope when they start hatching, that it doesn't spike too high. It's very tricky, to say the least. That's why I'm getting a new incubator when this one is done. Yes, it's normal for humidity to rise upon hatching of chicks, but then you're not supposed to open the unit. I guess one has to accept a certain margin of loss when using these units. At least until you get more experience with them, if its all you have to work with. Some folks get good with them. One person's experience may not work for someone else. There are many variables involved in this process. Sorry for the losses, the last days are SO stressful & you want so much for all to survive healthy. Best of luck to you!

 

[Cynthia12]

Sally...are you bowing because he sucks up to his wife..or because of the number of eggs set?

 

[Shellz]

Maybe both?! Lol!

 

[myfivegirls]

Quote: The reason why I remove them is because they are "locked" inside two large plastic dog crates with a sheet draped over the crates. That was to help it stay dark in there and keep them from trying to go back to the nesting boxes. Once they are "settled", I will leave the crate door open during the day, and let them come & go at will. When I first put Daisy in the crate, she was not broody. Lydia wanted to go back into the nesting box, and didn't want to sit on the eggs in the dog crate. So, if I had left the crate door open, they probably won't have stayed in there.

 

[Toast n Jelly]

Incubating with styrofoam units, seem to have a high learning curve. If only I had a nice dark 70 degree room that never varied! This time, I'm going to go with 60% humidity at lockdown & hope when they start hatching, that it doesn't spike too high. It's very tricky, to say the least. That's why I'm getting a new incubator when this one is done. Yes, it's normal for humidity to rise upon hatching of chicks, but then you're not supposed to open the unit. I guess one has to accept a certain margin of loss when using these units. At least until you get more experience with them, if its all you have to work with. Some folks get good with them. One person's experience may not work for someone else. There are many variables involved in this process. Sorry for the losses, the last days are SO stressful & you want so much for all to survive healthy. Best of luck to you!

Cover up those windows with sheets or blankets just for the incubation period and take the plugs out at hatch time and you should be able to control things that way. Keep your eyes out for struggling chicks and give a hand if you think that it's needed. But slowly and gently so as not to have the chick hatch out before it's ready. There are the ones that are shrink wrapped (dry) and those that are wrapped and soggy wet.

If the humidity is sky high, I do open the incubator and let some out..you really do have to work at it! Good luck to all who are hatching, can't wait to see the little ones