![]() ![]() Eggs are placed pointed end down in the turners. The air vents should be open except while in lock down to prevent the chicks from becoming shrink wrapped. This allows oxygen to come in and the carbon dioxide produced by the developing eggs to go out. Allowing fresh air into the incubator is essential for the eggs. You'll keep the vents open during the first 18 days of incubation but closed during lock down. If you live in a very humid climate, have had eggs not lose enough moisture during incubation, experienced very low hatch rates or incidences of chicks pipping but drowning before hatching you might want to try the dry incubation method.Īll incubators should have vent holes. Don't assume there needs to be a certain level of water in the reservoirs. Humidity inside the incubator is also influenced by the humidity of the room it's kept in and a very humid or arid environment will affect humidity inside the incubator. To lower humidity, open the incubator briefly (less than a minute) to allow some air out, unless your incubator is currently in lockdown.Īlways check your hygrometer before adding water to the incubator. You could also add a piece of wet sponge. To raise humidity inside the incubator, add water to the water reservoir. With proper humidity, the air cell will grow properly and this won't be an issue. If the air cell is to big, it might trap the chick under it with no room to move. If the air cell doesn't grow to the right size, the chick might not be able to reach it to break through it, and can pip internally and drown in excess fluid. Too much humidity and the bubble does not grow at all. Not enough humidity in the incubator and the cell grows too big. The air cell get larger as the incubation time passes. This air cell helps to alleviate stress and pressure on the embryo as it grows. The chick will break through this membrane to hatch. The air cell is positioned between the shell and the membrane that contains the egg white and yolk. This air cell is located at the large end of the egg. When an egg is laid an air bubble forms inside it. I found a digital one with both temp and humidity readings in the kitchen section for about $5. You can pick a better one up at Walmart for a few bucks. Those thermometers are pretty well known for being wrong. ![]() If you happened to buy a Styrofoam incubator and it came with a stick thermometer, throw that out. Raise the humidity to 65% for the last 3 days off hatching. Keep your humidity between 40-50% for the first 18 dates of incubation. A hygrometer measures the humidity level inside the incubator. You'll want to use a thermometer and a hygrometer. It's very important to keep the air inside the incubator stable, as even 1 degree difference can terminate the embryos. In a still air incubator you want to measure the air at the top of the eggs since the heat is coming from above, the eggs are warmer at the top than at the bottom. In a forced air incubator you can measure the air temperature anywhere inside the incubator and it will be accurate since the air is circulating. ![]() A still air incubator should be kept at 101 -102 ° F, but is measured at the top of the eggs. It's important to know what kind of incubator you have because the temperature requirements are different for each one.Ī forced air incubator should be kept at 99-99.5° F. ![]() Forced air incubator means that the incubator has a fan inside it to circulate the air. Still air incubator means there is no artificial air flow inside the incubator. Related reading: Which incubator should you buy?įirst, you'll need to get an incubator. If you don't have a broody though you'll need to use an incubator and that's where it gets a little more complicated. This is easiest if you want to hatch chicks from your own flock. That way you don't have to worry about temperature, humidity and all that jazz. Obviously the easiest way to hatch chicks would be to just let a broody handle the egg hatching. Others just like to expand their flock by hatching eggs from their own chickens. That's how I get most of my chickens, especially the fancy breeds. You can buy hatching eggs from a flock clear across the country and have them shipped to you. Most people choose to incubate eggs that they purchased from a breeder to add a new breed to their flock. First, decide if you should hatch chicks instead of buying them already hatched. Since hatching season is rapidly approaching, I think now is the time to talk about incubating eggs and hatching chicks. ![]()
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