Hello, I was wondering. I have a Little Giant Still Air Incubator and am hatching some eggs out of it. I keep the temperature at exactly 99.5 degrees Farenheit and between 50 and 60 percent humidity. I am worried because whenever I open the incubator top to turn the eggs, the temperature and humidity decrease drastically and I am scared that the embryos will be harmed. If anybody has any advice on this situation, please inform me. Goldenlaceannie
Just consider that although moma hen spends most of her time on the eggs, she does get up occasionally to eat, drink, poo and stretch her leggs. I have only done one hatch so I am not an expert but it seems to me like a little flux will not be too bad.
Welcome to BYC Humidity isn't as important when it comes to fluctuations, and your temperatures are going to drop quite a bit whilst turning or candling. The importance is how long it takes for them to get back up and steady. I have the same incubator, my thermometer goes down to 90-85* when I'm turning, but it only takes a few minutes to get back up and steady. And as stated above, the internal temperature of the egg will take a while to begin cooling down, so short temperature drops are not going to cause any harm. One thing I'd like to say is that with a still air incubator, your heat will be gradient. So you want the top of the eggs to read around 100-101 F rather than 99*.
