WK #3

[Sydney65]

Is that 10% with or without eggs? 10% is drier than I go, though R2elk might have different experiences. If eggs are in and warmed and it’s stable with a calibrated hygrometer, I’d add a touch of water to get it to at least 25% ish.

Without. Eggs aren't here yet, just letting unit run and regulated.

 

[Sydney65]

They're HERE... 7 little guinea eggs, wrapped in bubble wrap,tucked in a box full of bedding in a box full of peanuts. No cracks, no breaks, I didn't spin them, just stopped the top off of bubble wrap and moved into paper egg carton pointy side down.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

They're HERE... 7 little guinea eggs, wrapped in bubble wrap,tucked in a box full of bedding in a box full of peanuts. No cracks, no breaks, I didn't spin them, just stopped the top off of bubble wrap and moved into paper egg carton pointy side down.

Yeah! After letting sit undisturbed for 12 hr: How do the air cells look? Are they jiggly and odd shaped or smooth and firmly adhered to the large end?

 

[Sydney65]

Went back and recandled after some more reading.. Air cells of 5 are small and round. 2 I had a hard time deciphering bc the whole egg lights up so they may be duds or damaged or saddled or I just don't know what I'm looking at. Now I really am going to leave them alone. Lol.
They roll a lot..-l read somewhere that someone put sponge pieces to hold them in place - tell me if that's not OK, I can cut paper egg tray in pieces or something.. have marked 2 sides soI can rotate.
Got paranoid re thermostats and hygrometer so have another one on the way.- paranoid bc the 2 Temps don't match. Humidity reading w/incubator off was 46%. House unit says that's abt right. The unit's thermometer is at the top below heat & fan, and is much higher than probe of independent unit on base. My infrared gun pretty much says both are right, depending on where I point it-higher at top and humidity reservoir in center, lower on base. But hasn't been running longer and I kept fiddling so-. Anyway, have manual one coming that can be calibrated as suggested (had already ordered digital before). The one coming sits upright on a base so will probably have 3 diff numbers now.

 

[R2elk]

Went back and recandled after some more reading.. Air cells of 5 are small and round. 2 I had a hard time deciphering bc the whole egg lights up so they may be duds or damaged or saddled or I just don't know what I'm looking at. Now I really am going to leave them alone. Lol.
They roll a lot..-l read somewhere that someone put sponge pieces to hold them in place - tell me if that's not OK, I can cut paper egg tray in pieces or something.. have marked 2 sides soI can rotate.
Got paranoid re thermostats and hygrometer so have another one on the way.- paranoid bc the 2 Temps don't match. Humidity reading w/incubator off was 46%. House unit says that's abt right. The unit's thermometer is at the top below heat & fan, and is much higher than probe of independent unit on base. My infrared gun pretty much says both are right, depending on where I point it-higher at top and humidity reservoir in center, lower on base. But hasn't been running longer and I kept fiddling so-. Anyway, have manual one coming that can be calibrated as suggested (had already ordered digital before). The one coming sits upright on a base so will probably have 3 diff numbers now.

The temperature that you want to measure for a still air incubator is even with the top of the eggs.

The humidity in the incubator will be lower than the ambient humidity when the incubator is up to temperature. If your house is only 46% humidity, you may need to add a little water during incubation. You control the humidity by the surface area of the water. The more surface area, the higher the humidity will be. The only thing that deeper water does is to make it longer between refills.

 

[Sydney65]

Not still air, has a fan at top. - ok...dampened a piece of sponge and set to side - that brought it up from 21 to 39%
repositioned probe of independent so that it's laying on top of an egg. 100°
Unit thermo on top is 103,
Looked up use of infrared on egg and where to check- also 100°

Message to self- if I ever do this again, I will have my local handyman build an incubator w/a standard dial thermostat. Lol.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Not still air, has a fan at top. - ok...dampened a piece of sponge and set to side - that brought it up from 21 to 39%
repositioned probe of independent so that it's laying on top of an egg. 100°
Unit thermo on top is 103,
Looked up use of infrared on egg and where to check- also 100°

Message to self- if I ever do this again, I will have my local handyman build an incubator w/a standard dial thermostat. Lol.

On the cool side is better than too warm, so I’d turn the temp down a little to aim for 99.5 (or even a little cooler) at the top of egg level. Sponges are difficult to maintain long term, and encourage bacterial growth. I’d remove for now. I’ll take a pic of mine when I get home from work to show how to tape up the holes where the auto turner was made to go; that will help stabilize humidity. 20 something percent humidity will be ok for a bit. If air cells are loose, I’d incubate eggs upright in a cardboard carton with holes cut out the bottom to encourage airflow. Then you rotate back and forth instead of rolling side to side. If your air cells aren’t damaged then probably either way is ok, though I’d still turn very gently and slowly.

 

[R2elk]

Message to self- if I ever do this again, I will have my local handyman build an incubator w/a standard dial thermostat. Lol.

Nope, go for a digital PID thermostat.

 

[Sydney65]

Nope, go for a digital PID thermostat.

Hmm..,wonder where all those Keurigs ppl tossed out the window ended up?

 

[Sydney65]

On the cool side is better than too warm, so I’d turn the temp down a little to aim for 99.5 (or even a little cooler) at the top of egg level. Sponges are difficult to maintain long term, and encourage bacterial growth. I’d remove for now. I’ll take a pic of mine when I get home from work to show how to tape up the holes where the auto turner was made to go; that will help stabilize humidity. 20 something percent humidity will be ok for a bit. If air cells are loose, I’d incubate eggs upright in a cardboard carton with holes cut out the bottom to encourage airflow. Then you rotate back and forth instead of rolling side to side. If your air cells aren’t damaged then probably either way is ok, though I’d still turn very gently and slowly.

99.3° and 23%. Removed damp sponge, put tape over only hole I saw, which is at top & accommodates a semi-manual turn plate...which will be arriving Sunday. Lol