The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[chickiemomy]

No pips. Day 21. First time EVER I sat a batch of eggs in a still air LG and not one pip on day 21. 10 fully formed embryos went into lockdown. I had 63% humidity, and a steady 100 degree air temp reading until that weird high spike at 3:30 pm yesterday. It happened while I was standing there. The temp rapidly climbed to 105 degrees and the humidity jumped to 70%! I have no idea why. I logged the temp and humidity every single hour I was awake. I don't know if this has happened before while I was sleeping. I haven't opened the bator or messed with the adjuster at all. I got the temp and humidity back on track as fast as I could by opening my back door in the same room as the bator to let cold air in the room and added cold water drop by drop through tubing and a syringe through ventilation holes onto sponges. I find it completely weird that that lowered the humidity back to 63% and brought the temp back exactly where it was before at 100 degrees. I don't know what else I could have done to incubate these eggs. I'm not giving up on them for a couple more days. If I have lost this batch, it was by no faulty process of mine. I will blame it on an anomaly of incubator malfunction. My still air LG was new.

I ordered the Genesis 1588 this morning. Free shipping. It should arrive in time for the Catdance eggs.

Found it here. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Genesis-Hov...285?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a7dea6c2d

Is there any possibility your thermometer & humidity thing are incorrect??? - I agree - this makes no sense, unless the dials were off????

 

[Mumsy]

Is there any possibility your thermometer & humidity thing are incorrect??? - I agree - this makes no sense, unless the dials were off????

I used five thermometers for 18 days and four kept a steady record. Ten fully formed embryos at lockdown and a float test proved things were correct. At lock down, I removed three of the thermometers and kept the probe and the best thermometer/hygrometer in the same places they had been for the 18 days. I bumped my humidity from 33% dry hatch to 63% using a sponge in two opposing corners and drip distilled water through tubes with a syringe. For three days I recorded the temp and humidity on the hour, every hour. It stayed steady. Except for that one crazy time while I was observing. It's been fine since. But now I feel like the LG is doing a head game on me. I no longer trust it. I trust my methods. And I trust my thermometers. I don't trust this LG.

 

[Elliemae 77]

Update: 6 chicks....4 Orps and two mutts. One more mutt unzipping..... Other three just sitting like rocks...no pipping yet. I didn't have my crazy bright flashlight when I put them on lockdown so not sure if they quit or just late bloomers....I'll give them some more time before I pull the plug.

 

[chickiemomy]

Quote: so you think the heat came on prematurely, or stayed on too long??? - not trying to diagnose, just trying to understand as I've never used an incubator. All your stories, and the stories of the others on this thread make it sound like fun - drama, but ultimately rewarding - maybe I'll join you in incubating in the future.

 

[atmaclean]

I used five thermometers for 18 days and four kept a steady record. Ten fully formed embryos at lockdown and a float test proved things were correct. At lock down, I removed three of the thermometers and kept the probe and the best thermometer/hygrometer in the same places they had been for the 18 days. I bumped my humidity from 33% dry hatch to 63% using a sponge in two opposing corners and drip distilled water through tubes with a syringe. For three days I recorded the temp and humidity on the hour, every hour. It stayed steady. Except for that one crazy time while I was observing. It's been fine since. But now I feel like the LG is doing a head game on me. I no longer trust it. I trust my methods. And I trust my thermometers. I don't trust this LG.

I've been following your hatch along and I can only imagine your frustration with it. Especially going to the lengths you have gone to make sure things were perfect. Would a power surge have caused the temp to spike? Just trying to think of why it could have gone up like that out of the blue.
Angela

 

[Mumsy]

so you think the heat came on prematurely, or stayed on too long??? - not trying to diagnose, just trying to understand as I've never used an incubator. All your stories, and the stories of the others on this thread make it sound like fun - drama, but ultimately rewarding - maybe I'll join you in incubating in the future.

It was really crazy. My setup is where I spend all my time. My house is a cottage. So the room temp is steady and I can babysit the LG all day long. I'm retired. I'm standing looking at the thing and watch the temp gauge and humidity go off the wall! Just out of no where! Weird! The LG has a temp/hygrometer on the top lid and I never use it for accurate readings, but even it was going way too high. I refused to panic and open the bator so I opened the door behind me. Cold outside air cooled the whole room very quickly, as did the cold distilled water I immediatly syringed onto the sponges. Now this is the weirdest part. The humidity was reading 70% and climbing with the 105 degrees! As soon as the bator started to cool, the humidity dropped back down to 63%! I can't explain that. It's been holding at that humidity and a steady 100 degrees on two thermometers ever since. But who the heck knows what's going on inside this LG while I'm sleeping?!

I don't get worried or let incubating get to me. I do enjoy it and it is fun. Even when things go upside down. I'm always learning and gaining experience. But...I don't have patience with faulty equiptment.

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

I am glad I incubate the old fashioned way. Otherwise I would have my 999 chicken limit in no time. Right now I have 8 eggs in my Orp-o-bator. Doing it the old way insures I keep my population to manageable numbers. It is gonna be hard over the next couple of months when I had to get my feed as the store will have chicks. Ugh

 

[Pullet Surprise]

I am glad I incubate the old fashioned way. Otherwise I would have my 999 chicken limit in no time. Right now I have 8 eggs in my Orp-o-bator. Doing it the old way insures I keep my population to manageable numbers. It is gonna be hard over the next couple of months when I had to get my feed as the store will have chicks. Ugh

I love the "Orp-o-bator"

 

[delisha]

I have my first silkie zipping..

no other activity

 

[PeepsCA]

Mumsy... temp and humidity go hand in hand; warm air holds more moisture than cool air. So the higher the temp goes the higher the humidity goes, and vice versa.

LGs spike when they feel like it, it's pretty much a given no matter how much we fret over them and make minor adjustments. I have 2 that I added PC fans too and I never trust them no matter how often I check them or how stable the room they are in stays..and watch them like a hawk. I only hatch in mine tho... there's just too much fluctuation going on in them for me to trust them with my eggs the whole time. I stress and hover during my lock-downs/hatches anyway, so it usually works out fine and I can catch and correct any spikes as they occur/if they occur. I have never had one up as high as 105 tho... ugh. Hopefully that was the only one.

Are your red plugs in or out? Is the LG still sitting in the cardboard box? I doubt the box had anything to do with your temp/humidity spike (unless direct sunlight hit the box or the LG), but I'm wondering if the box is hindering the fresh airflow to the chicks, and delaying your hatch (or doing worse damage).

Congrats on your 1588 purchase, it will serve you well. I love both of mine (I use auto egg turners with mine tho, cuz I am lazy).