- May 20, 2013
- 20
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Like many I started my BYC journey when I first bought chicks. I read about incubating eggs and always checked into see the new babies. This year I decided to try it, with a home built incubator. If it could go wrong during those first two hatches, it did. I bought a thermostat from incubator warehouse to install in my incubator.
The thermostat was rated for 80-105 degrees. I had temperature swings in those first two hatches all the way up to 118. I literally drove myself insane with worry, because I couldn't figure out how come my temps were so high when the thermostat was only rated for 105. Did I burn the babies alive!?!?! Veterans will know that it was NOT my thermostat, but the result of cheap thermometers. I had several.... 10.... I might have went a bit overboard on buying them but because everything was so crazy, and it was my first hatch. I was monitoring temperature all over the place.
Digitals always read +3/+10 degrees higher, and glass ones read low. I would adjust the thermostat up and down, and up and down again, a yo/yo for the full 33 days. Because of all that yo/yo activity of temps up and down etc I had chicks that were overdue by 5 days, and sticky, or chicks overdue 5 days and shrinkwrapped. My problem after all?
Humidity effecting the thermometers. And my own mis-judgement getting the best of me. I wrote all of that to say, never give up! If you are having wild temp swings it may not be as bad as you think. If candling results still show good development in the eggs, keep them! 15 eggs made it alive to hatch date. I do have 8 healthy chicks. I know those numbers aren't great out of 24, but if I had thrown them all away I wouldn't have gotten anything. I learned a lot along the way, have made some adjustments and finally have thermometers that are reading what they should.
I set 23 eggs today and feel much calmer about going through this process again. I'll post a pic of the chicks as soon as I figure out how. Edited to add, can anyone tell my why this is one big block of text? My edit screen shows it is split up?
The thermostat was rated for 80-105 degrees. I had temperature swings in those first two hatches all the way up to 118. I literally drove myself insane with worry, because I couldn't figure out how come my temps were so high when the thermostat was only rated for 105. Did I burn the babies alive!?!?! Veterans will know that it was NOT my thermostat, but the result of cheap thermometers. I had several.... 10.... I might have went a bit overboard on buying them but because everything was so crazy, and it was my first hatch. I was monitoring temperature all over the place.
Digitals always read +3/+10 degrees higher, and glass ones read low. I would adjust the thermostat up and down, and up and down again, a yo/yo for the full 33 days. Because of all that yo/yo activity of temps up and down etc I had chicks that were overdue by 5 days, and sticky, or chicks overdue 5 days and shrinkwrapped. My problem after all?
Humidity effecting the thermometers. And my own mis-judgement getting the best of me. I wrote all of that to say, never give up! If you are having wild temp swings it may not be as bad as you think. If candling results still show good development in the eggs, keep them! 15 eggs made it alive to hatch date. I do have 8 healthy chicks. I know those numbers aren't great out of 24, but if I had thrown them all away I wouldn't have gotten anything. I learned a lot along the way, have made some adjustments and finally have thermometers that are reading what they should.
I set 23 eggs today and feel much calmer about going through this process again. I'll post a pic of the chicks as soon as I figure out how. Edited to add, can anyone tell my why this is one big block of text? My edit screen shows it is split up?
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