What's going on here?

[MunchiesChicks]

I got a Little Giant still air being October there wasn't any but this brand available. I have them laid on the metal grate no turner I do that myself. In my bathroom where I can check often no drafts.

I started out with 14 eggs
2 didn't spider (gone day 9)
2 made it to day 10 then retracted into a blob (gone day 10)
1 is a green egg and too dark (still there)
1 I thought wasn't fertile suddenly I saw movement. (Thankful I didn't throw it out)

Temps stay between 99.5 - 102
Humidity 55% I add water every 2 days same level two outside troughs.

Check it and it was 101 then got up an hour or so later and it was 105/106 can't really tell. I didn't adjust the settings just opened the lid. Put it back on checked it an hour later and it was 99.5, 2 hours later 103.

I have 8 days till hatch and we are swinging temps pretty wild here and now I'm thinking I just got cooked eggs. Had no issues prior with temp, water level is the same, eggs have been the same since day 10. Help!?

 

[Pyxis]

What's the room temperature doing? I have an LG too and they're notoriously temperamental. If the temp of the room it's in is rising and falling that will affect the temperature. Sometimes you get spikes and lows for seemingly no reason, too - it's just the nature of the incubator since it's a relatively cheap one. Also, the eggs are now developed enough that the embryo inside is producing its own heat and that's also adding to the heat inside the incubator, which could be contributed to the temp rises. Don't be too worried about the eggs having died, though, especially if you caught it early both times. I once had an incubator spike to 112 for at least a couple hours and some eggs still made it.

 

[Manningjw]

An easy and relatively cheap way to make your bator more reliable is to add a fan. If you are crafty you likely can get one cheap or free from an old computer or computer power source. Any 5 or 12 volt DC power supply can power them depending on what type of fan. I put one in my hova bator for free using repurposed electronics.

 

[Pyxis]

An easy and relatively cheap way to make your bator more reliable is to add a fan. If you are crafty you likely can get one cheap or free from an old computer or computer power source. Any 5 or 12 volt DC power supply can power them depending on what type of fan. I put one in my hova bator for free using repurposed electronics.

This is a good idea too, and I actually did add a fan to my LG, but I didn't think to recommend it because there's no way you can do it now with you already having eggs incubating. A good thing to think about for next time though! An old cell phone charger works well for the power cord.

 

[Manningjw]

This is a good idea too, and I actually did add a fan to my LG, but I didn't think to recommend it because there's no way you can do it now with you already having eggs incubating. A good thing to think about for next time though! An old cell phone charger works well for the power cord.

Great point about it not being applicable to the current hatch. Also that is a great source for spare power supplies but the voltage is on the low end - then again that works to our favor spinning the fan a bit slower in such a small bator.

 

[Pyxis]

Great point about it not being applicable to the current hatch. Also that is a great source for spare power supplies but the voltage is on the low end - then again that works to our favor spinning the fan a bit slower in such a small bator.

If you don't mind me asking, how did you get yours to stick to the top of your bator? I glued mine up there but every other hatch it seems to come loose and I have to do it again. Once it came loose WHILE I was incubating and if I didn't have a second incubator that would have been a big problem.

 

[MunchiesChicks]

Thank you! I will either get a new one before I try this again or fix the one I have. The bathroom is the same temp other than showers but I haven't noticed any change. So far all of them are still wiggly. I'm keeping a more watchful eye now. I love the fan idea I have a few old computers laying around. Interested to also know how you attach them.

 

[Manningjw]

If you don't mind me asking, how did you get yours to stick to the top of your bator? I glued mine up there but every other hatch it seems to come loose and I have to do it again. Once it came loose WHILE I was incubating and if I didn't have a second incubator that would have been a big problem.

Happy to post some pictures/explain! Hova-bator comes pre-drilled for an 80 mm computer fan but my bolts were not long enough to space it off the top.

To get good air flow the fan should be mounted spaced away from the side/top (where-ever you are mounting it) the incubator but I also didn't want the fan low enough that the chicks could get caught in it! The bolts I had taken from the computer fan were too short to go through the lid of the incubator and still space the fan off so I had to get creative in the middle of the night (radio shack was closed for more hardware) and rig up my own solution. I used a single bolt to hold a plastic(plexiglass) mount to the roof of the bator, then spaced the fan off that plexiglass using the bolts I had through plastic spacers. Again I had to get creative, I used those blue plastic sheaths used for mounting into drywall as my spacers.

Here is how it looks from the top.

- Red line shows the center bolt holding the plexiglass mount.
- Black arrows show the bolt holes I could have used if I had longer bolts - but I did use one of them for the fan power supply which is the red/black wires near the blue tape.


And here is how it looks from the inside: Black arrows again showing mounting holes. Red showing air flow. The blue part between the plexiglass and the fan is the spacer. If you mount directly to the foam you should have a washer to prevent damage to the foam while still allowing you to tighten the bolt enough to hold the fan without falling.

 

[MunchiesChicks]

Thank you for the information!

 

[Farmer Viola]

Thank you! I will either get a new one before I try this again or fix the one I have. The bathroom is the same temp other than showers but I haven't noticed any change. So far all of them are still wiggly. I'm keeping a more watchful eye now. I love the fan idea I have a few old computers laying around. Interested to also know how you attach them.

I just wanted to chime in that I think the location (bathoom) is not good for your incubator.

There are big humidity swings in there, and 55% is quite high in general.. I am staying around 30-45% until lockdown. you want to have lower humidity so that the air cell in the egg grows larger (loses moisture).

"You begin by ONLY adding a small amount of water and keep Humidity between 28%-45% and adjusting as you weigh or candle depending on moisture loss."
from this thread https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-101

also make sure you have more than 1 thermometer and hygrometer and that you calibrate them to each other (I use 3!)