Yesterday was Day 21....

[Silkie Sue]

i have 20 Silkie eggs in a Brinsea eco 20
temp has been steady at 99.5 but my humidity has been all over the map from 48% to 71%
during lockdown i managed to keep it at 50% pretty steady
i've read the other posts that 21 days is just an estimate..... but shouldn't i see something by now????

i don't want to keep opening the incubater but someone suggested a water test where you float the eggs in warm water and see what happens..
i am going to the barn and staying there until noon.... when i come in and i don't see a change i'm gonna go for it, unless someone talks me out of it

 

[easttxchick]

Can you candle?
Maybe you had a tempertature dip that you didn't know about? Is that possible?

 

[Silkie Sue]

the temperature was very consistent
it was the humidity that gave me grief

 

[easttxchick]

Ugh, I HATE that(happens to everyone).
Can you make a homemade candler if you don't have one?
That'll tell you for sure what's happening in there.

 

[Silkie Sue]

I candled them the day before lockdown and ( i am not a professional) i could see dark at the bottom and an air sac at the top. it looked to me that something was in them.
the water test i heard about is kinda cool...
get a bowl of 99.5 degree water, wait for it to be still
put the egg in-- if it sinks--that is bad
if it floats high in the water---that is bad
if it makes little ripples in the water ---- that is

dry those ones off and put them back into the bater.
apparantly that is supposed to be accurate and it sounds like it would be

 

[piccolini]

The octogon 20 also gives me grief. I would love to know if anyone knows any tricks to keeping the humidity where you want it with this bator

 

[Silkie Sue]

Quote:
i think it would help if you could turn the fan off.

but in order to get it off you would have to unplug the whole thing.
maybe there next design will be better....

 

[piccolini]

Do you have the newly designed 20 or the old one? They redesigned it right after I purchased it. Maybe that design is better

 

[lynxs1981]

I would give them time. I've had some late hatches recently due to the bitter cold here in the midwest.

On my I haven't worried about the humidity until lockdown. I would add a little about once a week until lockdown(varying between 20-50%) This is really the only time it is important, as they need to loose water during growth. Just make sure you can keep it about 75% from day 19 out. This is very key here; so keep in mind for your next batch.

 

[Silkie Sue]

Quote:
it actually belongs to my SIL and she hatches quail with it with great success.
i think she has had it for about 2 years now, so i'm not sure it it is the new design.
now that i know what is important in an incubator i would defintiely buy one with a built in thermometer, hygrometer, a fan that you can shut off and and easy way to fill the water reservoirs without opening the lid all the time.
is there one out there like that??