THESE DIRECTIONS SUCK!! I NEED HELP!

[kryptoniteqhs]

what the heck? anyways...thanks for all the info you guys gave my sis while i was gone....i just told her to make an account and start asking questions so that i can read them when i get back lol...im starting to think she has the same gene i do where you get addicted to this easily....lol

 

[Mrs MIA]

Quote:
Not opening it, as stated before, is one way.

The still air incubators are susceptible to the changes around them. You will want to place it somewhere in a stable environment... near a door or window where the sun will shine in part of the day is NOT a good spot. Some people have been known to use spare bathrooms, or even their closets. Also keep in mind that the air temps inside the incubator will fluctuate somewhat as it cycles on and off. A range of 97-103°F is not uncommon. But it's ok. If you can keep it so that the average temp is about 100°F, you're doing great. Stop turning on day 18, and fill all the water reservoirs. Use a plant waterer (with a spout) or something with a tube hooked up to it. My DH took the cap of a soda bottle and drilled it out enough to stick soft 1/4" tubing into it that I fill with water and just squeeze into the incubator. Something that size you can actually stick into the hole in the top and carefully squirt the water in between the eggs. You don't want to get the eggs wet.

The first time hatching will be stressful, but resist the urge to open the incubator as much as possible. The less you handle them (besides turning them 3-5 times a day) the better they will be. If you decide to candle, wait until at least 7-10 days. Any that are still clear by then can be removed as they won't hatch. And if they're oozing or smelly, definitely remove them asap!

 

[jvls1942]

there is a lot of good ideas here..
I do not have a real new bator like that but I have 8 older models.. Mine all have tiny holes in each corner in the bottom.. water runs out of these holes.. put your bator somewhere where an overflow will not damage what is under it. say like the antique table that you were going to set it on..LOL

I plugged all of the holes and drilled new ones on all sides 3/4" up from the inside floor of the bator.. just at the level of the wire mesh screen..

to turn the eggs, just raise one side of the bator up 2" and block it
the eggs will roll to one side. then after the alloted time, move the block to the ther side. etc etc for 18 days.. then remove the block and wait until the egg hatch..

I took a tiny funnel and taped a 9" length of plastic tubing to it.
I can thread the tub to the bottom of the bator through one of the holes in the top and never get any water on the eggs..

I never have to open the bator..

If you smell sulphur, then open the bator and find which egg(s) is bad and remove it.. use and trust your nose for this.. a bad egg can kill the rest of them.. usually around day 14 is when I do the sniff test in ernest.. You do not have to open the bator ..just get your nose close to one of the holes.. If the odor is there you cannot miss it..

 

[kryptoniteqhs]

im having a little trouble with the whole, not opening the bator to do the egg turning thing....also i am still trying to figure out what i can shove in the hole to fill the water....the hole is on the right or left of where i fill the water and i just cant seem to figure out how to get something in there that has that kind of an angle to it....?

 

[Mrs MIA]

Well, if you're hand-turning them, then there's no getting around opening the incubator. I actually open mine up for several minutes each day, and let fresh air in... kind of mimcing the hen getting up to eat. But a lot of people can't resist the urge to get in there, and the only way you can keep your temps truly stable is to leave them alone as much as possible.

Does that help?

 

[kryptoniteqhs]

yes it does thank you!

 

[jvls1942]

Quote:
read message #23 above ..

 

[kryptoniteqhs]

ya i know but thats the post that im having the trouble with...those darn eggs move so easily that i dont wanna do that...plus like someone else had said, the hen will get up to eat

 

[jvls1942]

Quote:
I read elsewhere that people are hatching their eggs in egg cartons
inside the bator..

yes, the hen gets up,but she doesn't have to restabilize her bator ..

..jiminwisc.........

 

[Jamie821]

I want you to know you guys are making my day. I have not had this much fun in a long time. When we say not to open the bator we mean after the first eighteen days when you stop turning them for hatch. The first eighteen days you can open the bator everytime you need to turn the eggs. Go to walmart and buy you some flex straws or air tubing in pet section. Take a syringe and attach one of the other to it and you can add water that way the last three days of hatching. Just stick either the tubing or straw through the vent hole and you can angle it with them. the first eighteen days just open bator to add water when needed, Please do not have your humidity up to fifty the first eighteen days. YOur eggs need to evaporate and at fifty this will not happen and your chicks could drown when they try to pip to hatch.