your first incubator hatch experience - please share?

[BawGock]

My first hatch was actually my best so far but it was done with eggs from my own laying hens.
I set the eggs in my new hovabator 1588 without a hygrometer.
Found this forum (thank God!) and figured I should get a hygrometer about a week into it.
The humidity was almost 80%! So I backed it down to 45% range. Still 11 eggs out of 12 hatched on day 21.
Carolyn

 

[technodoll]

so much wisdom here!!

THANK YOU!

I found some local hobbyist RIR and EE eggs for cheap ($10 for a dozen if I go pick up) so I figure to try those with a few of mine, if no eggs hatch it won't have been a total drain on the bank but a good learning experience!

I'll also be able to see if my eggs hatch better...

Hey, I was told by some breeders to NOT give free-choice crushed oyster shells or added calcium to the hens while collecting eggs for hatching, in some cases it makes the eggshell too thick and hard for the chicks to break through - what's your opinion on this?

 

[BirdBrain]

My first try incubating was with 18 eggs I had picked up from a local farm. Half of them had been washed and refrigerated at 37 degrees farenheit gor 3 days or so. I made it go day 18 with 12. I ended up with 8 chicks and half of those were refrigerated ones. My second hatch I started with 39 shiped eggs and ended up with 33 chicks, two of which had to be culled and two that needed help and grew up to be favorite hens.

Some things I have learned:
--Run your bator bator dry for two days to get your temp set so it doesn't go over 102. Then add warm water to your trays and wait two hours. Then check your temps and humidity. Temps seem to go higher when the bator runs dry.
--More ventilation is better than less especially when the bator is really full.
--Placing the fan lower on the cooler wall seems to make temps more even throughout. I am still wondering how the height of an incubator affects air flow.
--Keep a very close eye on things after you make any changes but don't over react.
--Keep your hands off the lid until the hatch appears to be over.
--Somethings are out of your control.

 

[toejam]

You need to mess around with your incubator before because when I got my first eggs, none hatched. We candled them AFTER we knew they wouldnt hatch and 2 or3 wwerent fertile. We couldnt keep the humity right