# Incubator help?



## Bonfire98 (May 25, 2013)

I finally got an incubator!!! Im so excited to have new babies running around!!!  
... But there's one problem...i have no idea how to work it. Correct me please if im wrong about something... How much water to put in it? The temp is supposed to be 99.5 right? it has an automatic turner but im going to go read the box again to see how that works, but stop turning three days before they hatch?...any tips would be great  I've usually only had a hen hatch them but since none decided they wanted to


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## Bonfire98 (May 25, 2013)

It messed up before i could send it haha


...go broody then i guess ill try. I know im going to mess up somewhere but its a learning process i guess.


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## HerdMomma (Apr 4, 2013)

What type of incubator? 
Yes, 99.5 is correct temperature. You need to stop turning three days before hatch date. Humidity is as important as heat. Google egg incubation tips and you will find lots of help out there!
Good luck!!


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## Bonfire98 (May 25, 2013)

Thanks!  iafter reading the instructions 100 time i think i figured everything out.  it's a little giant and there's a spot to put water it has a meter on it for humidity and it says it needs to be 60-65 or something like that ill read it again it says to make sue its always filled...is it possible to have too much humidity? What should i do if it goes to 75 or something or should i not worry about it? 

After a few times using it i guess ill get the hang of it. I just have to figure out which hen to take eggs from haha.


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## Bonfire98 (May 25, 2013)

So my hens went on strike i think lol. So i have 5 Dominecker hens a a rooster and i love that kind thats what i wanted to hatch more of but then i have some other breeds including 3 turkens the ones with bald necks and heads but they are so ugly they are cute haha.

Well i decided to take the turkens out cause i didn't think i needed anymore of those lol and put them into a separate pen and thought oh with all the eggs from the others it will take 2 days tops to get enough eggs. 
Well as soon as i separated those they all stopped laying except a few and the ones that did lay would scratch all the shaving out then lay the egg and it would crack! So after about 2 days of this i just put the turkens back in and the next day they were all back to normal. It made me think how smart are my "dumb ole chickens". Lol so in about 3 weeks ill have some pretty baby chicks and probably a few funny looking turken crosses. But Is that not a little weird?

Aren't they just the cutest things ever  lol


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## clearwtrbeach (May 10, 2012)

I have a large brinsea incubator (new to me) that I'm getting ready to set up. I got the instructions online. I'm setting it up and will run it for a few weeks prior to putting any eggs in. That way I (or you) could be sure the temp and humidity is staying consistent.


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## nchen7 (Feb 25, 2013)

I read too much humidity is bad...makes the chicks develop too quickly. backyard chickens site has really good information on incubating.


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## Bonfire98 (May 25, 2013)

Thanks  ill start putting less water in it at a time and just fill it more often.


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## Little-Bits-N-Pieces (Apr 7, 2013)

I have a hovabator air flow incubator, I am never careful about everything being just right. I just dump in water, into the bottom tray, till its about full when it looks empty I dump more in, I am constanly lifting it to add more eggs, take chicks out, keep it at about 99.5 to 100, and I have the egg turner in there, But I never unplug it, I always keep it running. Sometimes on a really hot day the temp goes up to about 101-102, and I just dial it down, sometimes its at 96-98 and I just turn it back up. 
Really I am probably the worst person to ask about incubators, but I've hatched over 200 in the past year and a half. I hatch chickens, ducks, turkeys and peafowl.

I have about a 90% hatch rate with the unprofessional way I do it. lol


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## Little-Bits-N-Pieces (Apr 7, 2013)

But when the widows get water droplets, thats too much water, just wipe it off, and don't add more for a while.


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## Bonfire98 (May 25, 2013)

Hmm it hasent gotten to where it has droplets and i was just dumping water in too, but i get bored when i have nothing to do so i guess pouring a little at a time will add to my day lol. And you sound like a great person to ask with those results haha


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## Little-Bits-N-Pieces (Apr 7, 2013)

Haha, yeah but I'm sure somebody out there is an incubator specialist/expert and would throw a 2 year old fit if they saw how I do it.


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## Bonfire98 (May 25, 2013)

Haha...

Oh! And did you say you add eggs at different times? I put 10 in one night and the next morning i put 7 and there is still room for alot more but i didnt put any more in because i didn't know if it was ok or not... on the box it said to take the 2 vent plugs out when they hatch so, 

say if i had eggs hatching today and i have eggs that are due 2 weeks from now and i take the plugs out to let the chicks dry would it mess up the other eggs? Or would they be ok you think? Also how long are you supposed to leave the chicks in the incubator after they hatch? (I keep coming up with questions as soon as i finish typing one sorry) The temp is always around 85-110 here usually, do you think they need a heat lamp? I dont want them to over heat? 

Thanks...again


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## Bonfire98 (May 25, 2013)

Last question referring to after they hatch and are out of the incubator... not sure if that was clear enough...


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## Little-Bits-N-Pieces (Apr 7, 2013)

Yeah, I add more eggs every day, to every other day, due to chicks hatching and eggs being lain all the time. 

The instructions say "do not lift lid during incubation" Pff, I ALWAYS do that! I lift it multiple times a day, whether I'm adding eggs, removing chicks, cadling eggs, adding water, checking the thermometer, etc.
I just take the lid completley off, set it down, candle all the eggs, normally takes a minute ir two, and put the lid back. MY way of thinking, the eggs aren't ALWAY being sat on by the hen, she has to get up sometime! So I don't think a little air and temp change will kill them. 

Personally, I've played around with it a lot, they dry just as fast with or without the plugs, and removing them will not mess anything up, the incubator will just stay on to keep it the same temp.

I wait until they are all dry and fluffy to take them out. But be careful and check on the hatched chicks every so often because they can get their little chicken legs stuck in the turner gaps. But the space that is left over on the side of the turner, I will put the chicks there. And sometimes the hatching eggs if I need more space.

However I have left them in there for like 3 days at a time after hatching, either because I didn't have a spot to put them, or I was a space cadet....


I don't think they'd need a light at any temps over 100, but maybe just a light bulb in a lamp put over them if its lower than 84. But to avoid doing anything extra like that..... I just put them in a cage in the sun with a shadey spot they can get out of the sun.


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## chelsboers (Mar 25, 2010)

If you have a still air incubator you want to keep the temp around 100. For the ones with fans 99.5. I keep my humidity between 40-50% until day 18. After that I raise it to around 60%. Humidity isn't a set number just check your air cells and go from there. I have a Brinsea so it gets pretty crowded at hatching time. I take the chicks out once they dry and as long as the temps are over 90 I don't worry about a heat lamp.


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## Bonfire98 (May 25, 2013)

So i would have replied sooner but for some reason my brain decided it would be cool to throw my ipod in the water  ....but some how it works fine now i have no idea how but im glad haha 

Thank you guys!  i candled them for the first time today and saw the little veins it was so cool! I can't wait till next week when i might be able to see little babies! Im starting to appreciate the white eggs i put in because i would have had no idea where to look for veins in the brown eggs cause i can barely see squat in those so the few white eggs sure did help me figure it out.


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## Little-Bits-N-Pieces (Apr 7, 2013)

With the dark eggs, I use a mag light. Has to be SUPER bright though


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## Bonfire98 (May 25, 2013)

The "candler" that came with it is pretty much a rubber dim flashlight that plugs into the wall lol and the first time i used it was today so maybe tomorrow ill try with a regular bright small flashlight maybe it will work better...

i found the yolk in most of them and then there was a little dot that i could see veins in that spot easy on most but there was some that looked like the yolk had busted or something because i couldn't really find the round yolk... It was only some darker eggs though so that might have been it or they might not have grown cause when the hens were on "strike" i had some eggs that wasn't put in for about 3-5 days so im not quite sure, i guess ill leave them in just in case they do have something in them and i just can't see them. Is their any tips you have for candling?

Yall have helped a whole lot with all of this cause im clueless. Thank you


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## Little-Bits-N-Pieces (Apr 7, 2013)

Basically in the first few days I look for the red dot, and a small branch of veins. After that I look for thick veins all over the egg except for the rounder, larger size, that should remain clear, that is where the air sack is. After that you should be able to see less and less into the egg. It will get darker and fuller as the chick forms. If you have a really bright light you can see them moving and breathing. 
What I do if I can't candle them is I take a pencil and write the date I put the egg in there and 21 days from that date (the due date), for chickens. If they don't hatch 25 days after I put them in, I toss them.


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## Little-Bits-N-Pieces (Apr 7, 2013)

Oh and if the incubator is dry, they sometimes die in the egg because of lack of humidity, so if they are taking a long time to hatch, dump more water in.
I had several that were stuck in the eggs trying to hatch for over 7 hours, so I figured it was too dry, I poured water in the tray, and like magic, they were hatched within 30 minutes.
And DO NOT help them hatch.


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## still (Mar 16, 2013)

Little-Bits-N-Pieces-ADG said:


> Yeah, I add more eggs every day, to every other day, due to chicks hatching and eggs being lain all the time.
> 
> The instructions say "do not lift lid during incubation" Pff, I ALWAYS do that! I lift it multiple times a day, whether I'm adding eggs, removing chicks, cadling eggs, adding water, checking the thermometer, etc.
> I just take the lid completley off, set it down, candle all the eggs, normally takes a minute ir two, and put the lid back. MY way of thinking, the eggs aren't ALWAY being sat on by the hen, she has to get up sometime! So I don't think a little air and temp change will kill them.
> ...


Omg!!! You made me laugh out loud!! That sounds exactly like the way I incubated eggs too! And your right! The hen gets up for an hour or so at time and those babies are fine. I even left some eggs in my incubator after I "thought" I was done hatching....nope! More babies a few days later.......your description cracks me up!


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## Little-Bits-N-Pieces (Apr 7, 2013)

still said:


> Omg!!! You made me laugh out loud!! That sounds exactly like the way I incubated eggs too! And your right! The hen gets up for an hour or so at time and those babies are fine. I even left some eggs in my incubator after I "thought" I was done hatching....nope! More babies a few days later.......your description cracks me up!


:laugh: See.... We're doin good! Lol, for whatever reason, I don't go by the book, I HATE following instructions, and I still hatch eggs. Its not rocket science, even though that is just _oh so contrare_ to the instructions. 

My mother always says " There's a method to madness", and well she always said I was a little warped and an original, and you know what, I think she was right! :ROFL:


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## still (Mar 16, 2013)

Little-Bits-N-Pieces-ADG said:


> :laugh: See.... We're doin good! Lol, for whatever reason, I don't go by the book, I HATE following instructions, and I still hatch eggs. Its not rocket science, even though that is just oh so contrare to the instructions.
> 
> My mother always says " There's a method to madness", and well she always said I was a little warped and an original, and you know what, I think she was right! :ROFL:


Lol!!!! Mothers are usually right too!


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## Huff_farm (Jun 9, 2013)

Keep 2 thermometers in the incubator to ensure the tempature. I keep a 45-60 % humidity intill the last few days, then add it to 70%. Keep in mind the water will change the tempature, so dont freak out and turn the heat up. I NEVER open it unless im adding water wich now pour through a liitle hose into the incubator threw a hole ot if I am candling the first week. I keep the turner in there intill 18 days, then I take it out. I like tk keep the temp at 99.8. No more than 101 for sure ! 103 and you have cooked egss!!!! Dont throw the eggs out at 21 days , they somtimes take longer. Do not open the incubator on the last three days.some people wait till all the eggs hatch to takw out the chicks, but I dont because it messes up the other eggs.the humidity isnt that huge of a deal, some people dont even add water. How much humdity is under a chickens butt? Well have fun hatching, and fell free to ask questions. P.s there is a chicken fourm by the same creators.


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## Bonfire98 (May 25, 2013)

Thanks for all the great info guys! 

Well i haven't hatched chicks in 4 years cause my good old broody hen got caught. So i finally get an incubator and 5-6 days in what happens... One of my favorite hens goes broody lol my luck i dont know if i should be mad or happy haha after all this just for a few new chicks and then my hen decides to help me out a little


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