The Middle Tennessee Thread

[FeyRaine]

Do you have a way to add water without opening the lid?

Yes, I could open the drainplug on the bottom and use a straw to dribble a little water in.

BUT I'm holding off on that for at least a few more hrs b/c

1.) I'm not sure all the eggs are really up to temp yet which I think will effect humidity some
2) One egg was laid this am, was very very cold and having some condensation before it went in so I esp. don't want to mess w/ that one
3.)I'm not sure I totally trust the humidity reading, when the temp. was flux alot last week it would suddently read 1% for a few. min then jump back to something more normal,
so I'm not sure I should panic over what it tells me on any given reading, more just look at the _trend_ it has said the room is 35-39% all along, so if the bator humidity fails to
even out about 25% by tonight after holding at 99F for several hrs (It took 4 hrs to come up to temp. which I was fine w/ due to not wanting to shock the eggs anyway)
well, THEN I'm gonna add a few drops of water via drain plug.

This coolerbator has been very very touchy so I'm trying to do a less is more approach to let it settle, which is very hard b/c
I'm a FIX THE PROBLEM NOW kinda person,
Breathing, breathing, trying to let it BE, saying zenlike Oms of calmness, just being happy the bator is at 99F by some luck...
see this is me being C A L M !!!!!! CALM i tell you!!! ; /

 

[TinTennessee]

looks like a prescription for Xanax is an order for you. tell the doctor to make sure its a high dosage, that way you will be too loopey to mess with the bater. .

 

[FeyRaine]

looks like a prescription for Xanax is an order for you.

tell the doctor to make sure its a high dosage, that way you will be too loopey to mess with the bater.

.

Well my DH bought me some Eggnog as a treat yesterday & I almost never drink but somewhere in the back of the cupboard is some 10 or 12 yr old partial bottle of vodka, so I may just have to put a little in some eggnog so I'll know I'm too tipsy to allow myself in the same room w/ THE EGGS !! ..remote monitor still reading 99F 19% humidity...I'm ok, the eggs will be ok, I will have a wonderful NYDH , yes! ;P

 

[DMRippy]

Do you have a way to add water without opening the lid?

Yes, I could open the drainplug on the bottom and use a straw to dribble a little water in.

BUT I'm holding off on that for at least a few more hrs b/c

1.) I'm not sure all the eggs are really up to temp yet which I think will effect humidity some
2) One egg was laid this am, was very very cold and having some condensation before it went in so I esp. don't want to mess w/ that one
3.)I'm not sure I totally trust the humidity reading, when the temp. was flux alot last week it would suddently read 1% for a few. min then jump back to something more normal,
so I'm not sure I should panic over what it tells me on any given reading, more just look at the _trend_ it has said the room is 35-39% all along, so if the bator humidity fails to 
even out about 25% by tonight after holding at 99F for several hrs (It took 4 hrs to come up to temp. which I was fine w/ due to not wanting to shock the eggs anyway)
well, THEN I'm gonna add a few drops of water via drain plug.

This coolerbator has been very very touchy so I'm trying to do a less is more approach to let it settle, which is very hard b/c
I'm a FIX THE PROBLEM NOW kinda person,
Breathing, breathing, trying to let it BE, saying zenlike Oms of calmness, just being happy the bator is at 99F by some luck...
see this is me being C A L M !!!!!! CALM i tell you!!! ; /  

STEP AWAY FROM THE BATOR! LEAVE IT ALONE FOR 48HRSthe AND THEN TELL US WHAT IS GOING ON.

 

[DMRippy]

Your humidity at this point is not a huge deal. Get the temp stable first. Have you calibrated your hygrometer .... like the smart phone for a minute

 

[TinTennessee]

Ok possible stupid question time. Is the hygrometer you use for incubation the same type used in a humidor to read the humidity for storing cigars ?

 

[FeyRaine]

Your humidity at this point is not a huge deal. Get the temp stable first. Have you calibrated your hygrometer .... like the smart phone for a minute

No smart phone.
No way to calibrate
But it has now dropped to 17% in bator vs.risen to 49% in house according to the indoor/outdoor accurate brand digital thermometer w/ hydrometer the remote portion of which is resting in the center among my eggs. (It was purchased new last wk by DH who splurged on the $21 model at Home Depot) but it is way cool b/c it has a 200ft range on the remote so I _could_ obsessively carry it all over the house and outside around near the house where we are building a tool shed, not all the way up to the barn or coop/pens mind you, but around the yard, I think the DH is enabling ; >

So -- I am not touching the bator
I am not even going in the room w/ the bator

I am NOT (tonight) tampering w/ humidity.

But, I did read something on one of the how to hatch info threads about Maran eggs not loosing water as much as other eggs?
Any truth to that?
17 of 23 of my eggs are dark choc Maran, so another reason not to worry at this point re humidity, right ?

The readout even shows the trending w/ arrows, both are level now temp 99F --> hum 17% --> level arrows for now I declare this perfect
Sure way better than the 106F I was getting initially w/ the 60watt bulb on full,
which made it a bakerbator not a coolerbator (where cooler = groovy keen goodness)

FeyRaine

 

[DMRippy]

Ok possible stupid question time. Is the hygrometer you use for incubation the same type used in a humidor to read the humidity for storing cigars ?

Yes

 

[DMRippy]

Sorry the smart phone comment was that the phone filled in all the words after I started typing calibrate LOL

After 48 hrs take your hygrometer out and check it..... It is easy to calibrate it. Salt water and ziplock bag are all that are required. You can do more than one at a time. Find a small container you can put about a 1/4 cup of salt in. Add enough water to cover it and a little more (you don't need to be exact really) Put that water/salt mix in the ziplock bag with your hygrometer and seal it.... after 8 hours check the humidity... should be 75% if not that is how far out of wack your hygrometer is. Mine is lower by about 5%.... yours could be higher or lower. Just remember how off the hygrometer is, maybe write it on the hygrometer. They are NEVER right. After you calibrate it your humidity might be fine.

I have heard of them being 15% off.

With Marans eggs most find that the dry incubation method works best. I keep my humidity at 35% or LESS. I don't worry about it either direction. I will only add water when it is out and in the winter that is all the time LOL. The summer is harder to keep it LOW. I know one lady that keeps her in the teens regularly and she swears by it. Temp is your main concern right now.

If you need more help just ask!

 

[FeyRaine]

DMRippy - Thanks I'm just soo wanting some hatchers on NYD and I've had Murphy's law of temp. flux etc. the past week, so I'm just a nervous little broodyhen atm.

----
So to get my mind of it I'm gonna post this pic. my DH found someplace to see if I like it as a design for the breeder pair/trio pens I want to build.
These would just be for pure breeds for ensuring the eggs for hatching, not reg. flock coops/pens.

I've seen alot of designs I do not like so I was pretty thumbs up on this one.

To me the advantages appear to be total clean out ability -- see both end panels are full open doors
The nest box is accessible from outside.
Materials are very do-able.
While not cookie cutter gingerbread cottage cute, they could be done w/ clean lines & perky paint to look nice
(prior pens are well, ugly is an understatement, embarrassing eyesores starts to hint at them, although they function very well)

I'm just not sure about the half tall thing, All my flock ones are full walk in height...

What do ya'll think about this design?
I'm talking 4 the same, so I want a good design not something I'll regret for years to come!