THESE DIRECTIONS SUCK!! I NEED HELP!

[Mrs MIA]

I would worry about tipping the whole incubator, one, because if you're in a dry climate, there should be water in there, and two, if the eggs are rolling freely, you risk breaking them when they roll from side to side. I, for one, am a klutz when it comes to handling eggs.

I just put them in a carton and block up one end of the carton to tilt it. Then every couple of hours I turn it so the other end is up. And yes, until day 18, then I lay the carton flat, raise the humidity and leave them alone until they hatch.

 

[Chicken Woman]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/LC-DryIncubation.html

Good info here.

 

[kryptoniteqhs]

thanks! yeah that was my thing...i KNOW i would break them, im a klutz like that and it would be just my luck...the humidity just got down to 28 so i added water....i want it to be between 35 and 40...does that sound good?

 

[Mrs MIA]

Yep. It's good. Everyone has their own way of doing it. Personal preference. I usually keep the incubator between 45-55% for the first 18 days, and 65-75% for the last 3 days... but I've had eggs hatch in the incubator, in the turner, that I had forgotten to move to the hatcher.

Keep the temps (still air) around 101-102F, and you should be good.

 

[kryptoniteqhs]

great! yeah weve been steady at about 101-102 and now that ive added the water im giving a little time for the humidity to rise before adding more (if i have to)

 

[Akane]

im having a little trouble with the whole, not opening the bator to do the egg turning thing

Like others have said until the last few days opening the incubator is fine. Personally I dislike the idea of never opening a still air. I would think the air would get way too stagnant and hens do get off their eggs. So long as the incubator is in a room with temps that are stable and not extreme it will come back up to temp within plenty of time. Just don't leave it sitting open more than needed to turn and close it even if you take all the eggs out to candle. I'm told it takes about 15mins for the inside of the egg to cool at room temps. By then the incubator should be back to 100F from turning or you should be done candling them all and have them safely back in the incubator. Humidity is not that big of issue during incubating which is part of why you'll hear so many different numbers. Just don't let it go through extreme fluctuations and you should be fine.

Now from day 18 until they are done hatching you don't want to open the incubator. Opening it can kill your entire hatch. If the humidity drops they will be unable to break the membrane or will dry to the inside of the shell and not hatch. If you have to add water you do it through the vent holes and chicks that hatch can stay in the incubator for a couple days before removing. Most people start to slip a few out after several hatch but I found the rest of mine actually hatch faster if I leave at least a few chicks in there banging around and peeping and there's less chicks lost to humidity and temp drops if I don't open it as much to remove them.​

 

[kryptoniteqhs]

thank you!! that helps! the lowest my temp has gotten from opening the bator to add water and such is 99...mostly it doesnt drop at all or only to 101 or 100 (like one degree from where it was)...of course i say this only having opened it twice lol

 

[kayjuggler]

Kryptonite,
I haven't been able to spend much time on the forum lately but just found your thread about your incubator. My first attempt at hatching was a bust...lots of factors involved. My second hatch was my miracle hatch. See the post here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=95152
Hope that works. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that I know what it feels like to be freaking out about how to hatch eggs. It's all worth it the first time you get one to break throug the shell. I'll pm or e-mail you about getting together to give you my "teenage" chickens (they're only 10 weeks but they are enormous!) I had one cockerel die on me about a week ago. No clues about why. Everyone else looks spectacular...no signs of disease. Got on the forum to read up all I could about it...seems that chickens sometimes just die of mysterious causes. He was just dead in the brooder cage in our garage. No predators, no signs of injury or disease.

 

[Msbear]

Don't worry at all about temps dropping for a few minutes or even an hour or two. I had a hen abandon her nest. I found the egg the next day...cold. It had been there for at least 8 hours. I threw it in the bator and it hatched. The big worry is elevated temps. Nothing over 102 or 103 for a consistent time.

Good Luck!