walk me through it

[waw]

i have tried incubating in the past but they always die about halfway i but last time they peeped internal and then died on day 27

so this time i am trying dry incubation or th edry incubating method
it has been raining for the past few months here and almost all of my eggs are muddy or dirty and i have really been wanting to get incubating this spring and all i got for the past week was one egg so i am going to try incubating it and if it hatches i will probaly by another bity at the feed store in town

so please walk me thru the incubating proccess day by day step by step it is a mini chick bator still air motel and today i just set it and i need all the help i can get and please tell me when to candle also the direction that came with it said to turn them 2 times a day and it said keep it at 100 degrees but i read on one of the post on here said to keep a still air model at 101 degrees

what i mean by all this is just tell me how to do this or walk me into it

 

[Wyandotte96]

The temp should be fine if it's 99.5-102 I have a still incubator to for the egg turning I bought an egg turner for like $40 and the egg turner turns the eggs every few hours. I can't help you with the candleing because I've never done it but I'm going to try it for my next batch. If you don't get the egg turner you just turn the eggs every few hours up until you are at day 19. Day 19 is the start of lockdown in lockdown you turn the humidity up to like 65%. Lockdown is the last few days until the chick will hatch, while in lockdown you do not turn the egg.

 

[waw]

i thought it was day 18 for chickens

thank you so much for being the first person to reply and thank you for the information you gave me that was very helpful

 

[waw]

Today is officially day one and i just turned my egg but last night it rolled off the little holder for it and laid both ends equal for about 30-40 minutes and today my younger sister is at my house so hopefully it will not turn over again

 

[La Casa de Pollo]

You should be fine. Lots of people incubate eggs laying on the sides, rolling is just part of moving it around no problem.


So here ya go----this is only my way, there are hundreds of people all doing it different.

I incubate dry. I set my eggs in a carton, small end down. write an x on one side, and O on the other side, toward the top, but so you can see each side of the egg and keep them straight.

To turn the eggs, put something under one side of the carton so it lifts up, and the x side of the egg is tilted up. Then switch so that the other side of the carton is lifted up. Or you can tilt them in the carton, and just tip them back and forth side to side. Turn them three times a day, so that each night they sit all night on a different side. Turn them early morning, afternoon, and at bedtime. You can do 5 times a day. Just an odd number so at night they alternate sides. If you prefer to incubate eggs on the sides not in cartons, start with one side up, and roll them gently from one side to the other. x up, then o up, and so on. I do not worry about humidity. No water until day 18. If you have a still air, set the therm across the top of the eggs. 101.5 is the temp on top. Keep it as steady as possible. The floor of the bator is cooler so keep that top temp at 101.5. DO NOT use the thermometer that comes with your bator. i had one that was 2 degrees off, one that was 6 degrees off. Use a digital thermometer that has the tenths----101.5 not 101 and has a hygrometer to measure humidity. I actually keep three thermometers in mine to make sure they are all about the same. Aquarium thermometers are popluar and I have used those too. I just can't see up close very well and the numbers are really small on those so I do not like them as much.

On day 18, stop turning the eggs. Keep them tilted in the carton with the same side up or on their sides with the same side up. Add warm water to the little channels. Add a sponge that is heavy with warm water. Keep the humidity as close to 65% as possible. Make sure the vents on top of your bator are open if there are any. Keep the egg temp the same, or just a hair lower. I keep my still air at 95 degrees on the floor, or 99.5 on top of the eggs, as close to that as possible. Once you get the water in, and stop turning, DO NOT OPEN THE BATOR. If you have to add warm water to the sponges, do it through the top windows if possible or crack it open and go as past as possible, try not to let the heat and humidity escape at all.

At the end of day 22 if you do not see pips or hear chirping there is an option--it is controversial--but I have saved chicks this way that would have otherwise died in the shell at this point. You have to decide if you want to try it--you will likely lose some but that beats losing them all. You can tap the large end of the egg slightly with a ball point pen to make a small hole. The side of the egg that the air sac goes down is usually where the beak is and you can peel slightly and poke a hole in the membrane to get the beak out. If there is blood STOP do nothing else. So long as the beak is out and it is moving it will probably be fine. This is important----ONLY open the egg if you absolutely are not seeing anything, it is only a way to save chicks and they are WAY better off if they pip and come out alone. Let it work on the shell itself, and just peel a bit back after a few hours, again in a few hours, but if you see any blood stop.

 

[La Casa de Pollo]

To candle the egg put the light on top for the view of the air cell. Go in a dark room and hold the light against the egg and seal it with your hand so all the light goes into the egg. I look from the top and then at the bottom, you can see veins and an embryo small starting to develop. If they are clear at the 7 day point they are no good. I check mine once at day 7, throw out the ones that have no development, and keep the rest. Before lockdown you can also check, they will be big and moving all around at that point. If I have questions at this point I usually keep them in just to see.

If anybody else posts I would love to see all the methods---I am still learning, so any variances and other opinions are welcome!

 

[waw]

Thank you all do much!
I have a feeling that this is going to be my best hatch yet!
Though I do have one more question do you have to turn them the same numbers of times a day every day?
Thank you for the info on dry incubating.
And also thank you for telling me about when to candle cause I read a post last week say in it was okay to candle everyday unil hatch day.

 

[waw]

officially the end of day two
so far my tempature of the incuabtor has been at perfectly at100 degrees but the humidity is a little to high i do believe

 

[waw]

officially day four

 

[La Casa de Pollo]

Way to go! You can candle them soon to see the veins starting Good luck!