What are common bator mistakes??

[Crazy4Chicks]

I thought this could be a great way to help out so newbies when it comes to common incubator mistakes.....

so maybe some of you all hatchaloics can post what you have learned about hatching chickens, ducks - whatever LOL

I know it will be a great help to me since I just set some duck eggs 3 days ago.

thank you all for the help

Julie

 

[MissPrissy]

The biggest mistake I see is not keeping your hands off. Especially as day 21 (or 28 for ducks) approaches.

Sit on your hands. Pipping and hatching takes time. Just because things don't happen instantly in the given day doesn't mean all hope is lost and you need to help.

Don't be in too much of a hurry to help. hatching could take as long as 24- 36 hours or more from a pip.

 

[speckledhen]

Trying to cover all vent holes to keep humidity up and suffocating the eggs, which do 'breathe'.

 

[Katy]

A BIG amen to everything MissPrissy said!!!!!!!!

Patience is the hardest thing to have when you're hatching eggs!

 

[Tuffoldhen]

Agrees with all the above plus candling too much and too soon if your just learning to hatch....and not giving the rest of the eggs enough time to try to hatch before you call your hatch done!...always leave a few extra days ......give them time in the bator to fluff up and rest before taking them out...

 

[claud]

Too much opening and peeking. For goodness sakes, get a bator with a WINDOW!

 

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

"...common incubator mistakes....."

Add to the list:
- Incorrect thermometers and not measuring the temperature at egg height.

Lisa

 

[Smitty's Farm]

Great thread!!!!!!!

Thanks for starting it. Very helpul! I'm taking notes before I fire mine up.

I will try not to candle to much, I will try not to clog vent holes...so eggs can breathe, I'll try not to lift lid to much, b/c I only have a teeny tiny viewing window & I will sit on my hands after day 18. OK....Have I covered everything not to do?????? LOL!

I just realized that I sound like I'm being sworn into a secret hatch society w/ my right hand raised and my left hand on a hatching Bible.

 

[hinkjc]

All great advice and I encourage any newbie hatcher to follow it to get the best hatch rates possible.

Candling date recommendations:
White eggs - day 5 is the earliest
Brown and tinted eggs - day 7 or day 10 is the earliest

Typical recommendations for candling: days 7, 14 and 18 (if necessary)

In addition, I noticed some folks following the wrong temp setting based on incubator style.

Incubator with a fan - 99.7 F (forced air)
Incubator without a fan - 101-102 F (still air)

Still air does require temp reading at the top of eggs as Dipsy pointed out. And please don't open the incubator while a hatch is in progress. Good luck to all!

Jody

 

[sara]

I agree with all stated thoughts above. It's sometimes hard to read posts about people opening incubators and helping chicks that from all descriptions sound like they were doing exactly what they were to be doing on schedule. just because we get impatient doesn't mean there is a problem. I think plenty of research before incubating woud be helpful

I like this site for drawings of embryo development http://msucares.com/poultry/reproductions/poultry_chicks_embryo.html It breaks it down nice and simple.