Today is the big day!!!
Start counting down.... we are 21 days from hatching day!
After setting up and calibrating the temp and humidity levels in the incubator, today was the day to set the eggs! I picked our main floor laundry room to house the bator, there are no windows in there and it keeps a pretty constant temp with no drafts.
That is a digital thermometer you see through the bator window on the right. It will show min and max temps along with humidity. I'm shooting for 99.5 and 60 - 65% humidity.
This unit has an automatic egg turner! Which is great if you are forgetful like me : )
You may notice the temp and humidity readings aren't were they need to be in this picture. That's because I had the cover off to load in the eggs and it cooled off. I'll be checking on them quite often today to make sure it levels off where it needs to be.
I had been setting aside the best eggs for the last week and keeping them in our cool basement until it was time to load them up.
On the 18th day the incubator will go into Lockdown. Meaning no more egg turning, no opening or peaking, totally hands off. The humidity will need to be raised to 80 - 85% at the time to keep the chicks healthy as they hatch.
I'll keep you posted on the progress!
And now what you've all been waiting for.
The answer to that age old question...
"What came first, the chicken or the egg??"
A chicken and an egg are lying in bed. The chicken is
leaning against the headboard smoking a cigarette with a
satisfied smile on its face.
The egg, looking a bit pissed off, grabs the sheet,
rolls over and snorts,
"Well, I guess we finally know the answer to THAT question!"
3 comments:
I can't wait to see the progress! How fun!
I'm really interested in how this incubator works out for you. I used a similar one in my classroom and had a difficult time keeping the humidity up. Out of 30 eggs only 6 hatched & 3 survived.
Stacy, I'm having the same problem. What I've done to help keep the humidity levels up is put a piece of wet sponge. I have to keep re-wetting it, but it has helped. The water reservoirs need to be refilled pretty often too. I'm hoping that does the trick!
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