Things I've learned on the incubating thread! A funny/personal observation.

[Titanpaul726]

Styrofoam incubators are terrible.

Styrofoam incubators are great!

Exact humidity level is important, or not important or not significant in any way.

Exact humidity level is critical after lock down, or not.

Temp spikes in the incubator are bad, or not so bad (it depends)!

Incubator temp suddenly lowering for a short time is bad, or not so bad (it depends)!

Never, ever help out a chick that is stuck in the shell!

Sometimes, you can help out a chick that's stuck in the shell (it depends)!

Opening the door of a cabinet incubator during a hatch is a disaster.

Opening the door of a cabinet incubator during a hatch is no biggie.

You should wait 1 day, 2 days, 3 days for a chick that has pipped to finish up hatching.

My head hurts!! I'm thinking the point is this, there is more than one way to hatch an egg. There is more than one way to operate an incubator. What type incubator you have doesn't really matter. What matters is the time you dedicate to monitoring it.

If you're concerned about the humidity level, monitor it closely and maintain the level you believe is appropriate. If you're not that serious, check it once a day and if you see something way off (like 10% or 90%) make some adjustments.

If you experience a temperature spike, correct the temp and move on. Stop worrying so much!

If you see a chick having a hard time working it's way out of the shell and your heart tells you help it out, help it out.

If you're just dying to see what's in the hatching tray of your cabinet incubator, open the door and take a look! I do and the experience is well worth any small negative it may cause the remaining eggs.

Enjoy the process. Look at things and learn from them.

If you're hatching high dollar eggs, disregard the above! But for the rest of us, just enjoy the process. Set the temp correctly, monitor the humidity, sit back, relax and enjoy the new chicks.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

My head hurts!! I'm thinking the point is this, there is more than one way to hatch an egg. There is more than one way to operate an incubator. What type incubator you have doesn't really matter. What matters is the time you dedicate to monitoring it.

If you're concerned about the humidity level, monitor it closely and maintain the level you believe is appropriate. If you're not that serious, check it once a day and if you see something way off (like 10% or 90%) make some adjustments.

If you experience a temperature spike, correct the temp and move on. Stop worrying so much!

If you see a chick having a hard time working it's way out of the shell and your heart tells you help it out, help it out.

If you're just dying to see what's in the hatching tray of your cabinet incubator, open the door and take a look! I do and the experience is well worth any small negative it may cause the remaining eggs.

Enjoy the process. Look at things and learn from them.

If you're hatching high dollar eggs, disregard the above! But for the rest of us, just enjoy the process. Set the temp correctly, monitor the humidity, sit back, relax and enjoy the new chicks.

I think you have totally mastered the art of egg hatching right there!! The only thing I would change is: If you are concerned about the humidity level, monitor the air cells closely and.....

Egg hatchers are like politicians (in my opinion) you have the republicans- (conservative, overly cautious and won't cross the line) and the democrats (liberal- do want you want, what's best for you is how it should be) and it is our job, to find the happy medium. Disclaimer: The political joke was to be lighthearted and fun, not to cause a political debate.

 

[WalnutHill]

Whatever it takes to turn eggs into chickens (or turkeys, or ducks, or quail, or pheasants...) is the right way!

I had just about "perfected" my system with foam incubators, when I built my cabinet. Now I am starting all over again (but have 13 pretty peeps to show for my first hatch). And I am breaking the rules with staggered hatches, varying incubation temps for different species, and other "crazy stuff".

My goal is to hatch out enough turkeys and chickens to meet our farm's needs each year. That means about 50 market turkeys plus breeding stock, and a couple hundred laying hens. Hence my 200+ egg cabinet incubator...any surplus will be sold or eaten. It would be so easy if I could just set a scheduled task and come back in 22 or 29 days and open a drawer full of fluffies. But that would be nowhere near as fun!

 

[scflock]

Egg hatchers are like politicians (in my opinion) you have the republicans- (conservative, overly cautious and won't cross the line) and the democrats (liberal- do want you want, what's best for you is how it should be) and it is our job, to find the happy medium. Disclaimer: The political joke was to be lighthearted and fun, not to cause a political debate.

Now, that was perceptive! I'm not getting into a political debate, either, but that did make me realize that my incubating practices and voting processes are very similar

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Now, that was perceptive! I'm not getting into a political debate, either, but that did make me realize that my incubating practices and voting processes are very similar

lol

 

[Titanpaul726]

@ Amy Ah......the air cell! Forgot about that one! LOL!

@ Walnut. I really want to know how that "crazy stuff" works out. I'm betting it will work out well. I hope you will keep us posted.

I'm really not making light of anyone's methods, it's just that every method seems to work and every method seems to fail!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I'm really not making light of anyone's methods, it's just that every method seems to work and every method seems to fail!

Because there are way too many variables for people to say, "I do this for humidity and it works well" but you don't know their habits. Like how often they are opening the bator. What their ambient air is when they are opening the bator..ect. People make me shake my head when they get all upset because someone doesn't do it the way they do just because they have good results....doesn't mean the other person will. Oh my gosh you opened the bator at lock down!!

Yes, and everyone hatched just fine thank you!! I keep my humidity high so I can meddle!!!! lol

 

[MySweetChickens]

When it comes to hatching i do whatever works i have so many different egg hatching times i just wait for the first pip and then take them out of the egg turner nor do i beleive in lockdown anymore I do things that new hatchers would probably flip just thinking about

fun part a 95% hatch rate

 

[Titanpaul726]

Exactly Amy. I always, always open my bator door for a short time to see the little guys hatching. It seems like I would lose half the fun if I quit doing that. I maintain around a 75-80% hatching rate doing it that way. I'm fine with that. The super strict way is fine too but folks need to know that you don't have to have a Phd or 30 years experience to hatch a bunch of baby chicks.

I enjoy reading all the different methods and techniques for hatching. I also like all the "scientific" stuff. But that stuff is really not that important. Keep the temp pretty close. Keep the humidity pretty close. You will hatch out babies. And, avoid the head ache!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Exactly Amy. I always, always open my bator door for a short time to see the little guys hatching. It seems like I would lose half the fun if I quit doing that. I maintain around a 75-80% hatching rate doing it that way. I'm fine with that. The super strict way is fine too but folks need to know that you don't have to have a Phd or 30 years experience to hatch a bunch of baby chicks.

I enjoy reading all the different methods and techniques for hatching. I also like all the "scientific" stuff. But that stuff is really not that important. Keep the temp pretty close. Keep the humidity pretty close. You will hatch out babies. And, avoid the head ache!

I had 36 going into lockdown and hatched out 33. (And I use an older model little giant.) I can't tell you how many times I opened that bator. To take chicks out, to turn an egg over because it got rolled and I couldn't see the pip, (I really am a meddler.) To re-wet my sponge and remove the hatched eggs..... Not ONE of my pipped/zipped eggs were effected. I only had one after hatch loss and that was a silkie that (100% by himself) decided to hatch after only about 4-5 hours after pip and hadn't absorbed the yolk and it ruptured and had bloody membranes still attatched. All of my chicks are healthy (not even a single leg/foot problem). And loud and happy and ohhhh so fluffy...oh and guess what else I do...I candle...every night. Not all the eggs every night. but from about day 3-4 I spot check different eggs through out the bator every night. I love seeing the miracle of development.
I always say that people that do the opposite of me aren't wrong, just different and as long as it's working for you and your chicks, keep doing what you're doing. (I bet I get more enjoyment though with my meddling...lol)