[Chookiechook]

I have been hatching eggs during the summer.... mostly quail and more recently bantams.

I only had a small cheap incubator so was not surprised that the results were not that fantastic  

But..... I have one common problem.... .late death in the shell with the membranes being sort of shrunk round the poor chick.

Now..... I have just treated myself to a Hovabator.... non auto.... and then was sold for £15 a Brinsea Polyhatch   automatic model

My last lot of chicks had the same problem.... of the 6 viable eggs at the 21st day... only 1 managed to hatch itself.... and I helped 2 out that had pipped the night before, but felt that they just could not get out (12 hours later).  They were both shrinkwrapped but did survive

The three that I have just cracked open were formed but again the membranes were stuck round the chick.

The autoturn brinsea runs at 37degrees, but only 50% humidity .... and the Hovabator will run again at 37degrees but rises to 65% humidity.

Will it be ok to cook them in the Brinsea and transfer them to the Hovabator for the last three days where they can stay undisturbed till they hatch???  Or are these humidity levels wrong??

Please help me have a more successful 2010 .......

[Vember]

So long as everything is ready and you make no hesitation you should be ok to transfer

Only other thing you can do is add a sponge or a small pot (if your incy allows) with water in or soaked on to


Sarah

[Chookiechook]

To get the Hovabator up to 65% I have to fill the trays at the bottom as directed in the instructions.... and have a 4x6" tray with 2 sponges in!!!   

I read on some of the google results that you need 85% humidity ..... I cannot get that at all!!!

The brinsea has channels under the moving tray, but it is hard to see them or get to them without disturbing the eggs

Do those humidity levels seem right to you?  The cheap incubator used to struggle to get up to 35% humidity and that is where I think it has all gone wrong before

It was so sad to crack open the shells tonight and find a perfectly formed and ready to hatch Lavender Leghorn, which I saw twitch last night, but didnt intervene as it hadnt pipped   The other two eggs were probably dead for a couple of days

[chickenlady]

I incubated in a large manual turn 60 egg incubator running at 37.5 and humidity 35-40% then 3 days before hatch i transferred them to my maino 24 incy! running at same temp and humidity till the 1st egg pipped then upped to 60%. to reach this humidity it wasnt enough to just fill the water resevoiur i also had to put cotton wool balls in soaked in water and use a syringe to keep them wet! the only really terrible hatch i had was after those bad thunder storms back in July where the electric must of been off for most of the night!  

Debbie

[Vember]

I'd try and get it to 70% at hatch but there are so many other factors to consider like which room the incy is in temp variations in that room, i get 3 degrees difference between night and day temps in my room where the incy is. It only needs to be another couple of degrees different for it to effect the incubator then inturn the eggs

40/45% for the beginning bit



Sarah

[Chookiechook]

Thats great information guys.....

The bators are in my utility room.... which is about 8 x 5'   The temps are pretty consistant.... no direct sunlight etc.

I have max/min digital thermometers on each bator and they never drop below 99degrees or go above 101.   That is except for the day that I turned the cheap bator off and by the morning the eggs were down to 70 degrees   But seven of the eight eggs are still viable.... and it is these that I am most wanting to hatch.... my silkie babes!!!

So with a week to go, I think that I will pop them into the brinsea till day 18 and then back into the hovabator to hatch

Any more help is so greatfully absorbed

I have pics of yesterdays babies.... can I post them by photobucket???  Does anyone want to see them

[Vember]

Start a thread off in Chicken Chat CChook,  we'd love to see them

Sarah

[Chookiechook]

Thanks .... Will do

[woodside farm]

Hi Chookiechook,
You say your incubator is 37 degrees, it needs to be 37.5.
As for humidity, I have a Brinsea ova easy 380, so I put eggs in at different times, I fill the water up when I put eggs in and at 20 days when they are due to hatch, I do not go much on humidity readings, but thats just me. 
I think the most important thing is the temperature during incubation, perhaps your thermometer could be wrong.

Michelle xx

[Chookiechook]

Thanks for the reply Michelle

I have four thermometers   One is the one that comes with the Hovabator.... basic flat thing with a red display that tells you roughly what is what

The next two  are  proper digital ones..... with min/max readings as well...... they both tend to read the same

The last was a Wilkinsons special , A weather station no less .... :biggrin:  But it has a hygrometer...... This is the one that only says 37... or 38 etc.... nothing inbetween

I am over thermometered... and dont know which one to believe

will half a degree make so much difference? 

Tomorrow I am off to get a reptile type hygrometer to keep in the brinsea.... I cant keep swapping the delux!! weather station over!!!

[woodside farm]

Yes, I think half a degree does make a difference, my new incubator is digital and it is set at  .1 degree lower or higher or an alarm goes off  :blink: I have always had brinsea incubators and always put water in at the beggining and end of incubation, at the moment I I have hundreds of chicks and growers from this year and my hatch rate is usually at least 90%, but I do usually incubate my own eggs.
In my old incubator I bought a hydrometer from ebay that you set amongst the eggs I found this to be more accurate.

Michelle xx

[Chookiechook]

I got a proper reptile hygrometer today  and it says that the Hovabator is running at about 75%..... have also managed to get the bator to run at 37.5 but I suppose that as it is a still air bator there will be a greater degree of variation??

I checked the eggs last night and thought that one had been cracked while rolling in the auto turner...... but it had actually pipped, and hatched out without sticky membranes this time... So that is encouraging

Thanks for all the help

[woodside farm]

Great 
If they are hatching, the auto turner should have been stopped at 18 days.
Let us know how you get on.

Michelle xx

[Chookiechook]

Yes I am not sure what has happened there

I have two lots of three eggs that I started off at slightly different dates after my lady quails pecked the males eyes out    I just wanted to give them a chance after he had his taken away

But somehow I must have mixed them up and the three that were ready to hatch were in the turner and the others were in the still one waiting to hatch.....

I am not sure how I mixed them up though, although they do all look the same.... 

I will wait and see what happens to them all now, seeing as they have been incorrectly turned etc.

[woodside farm]

Don't worry, I am always getting my dates mixed up 
I think the biggest danger is with the turntable turning, is that they can get trapped.

Michelle xx