# Egg turner working correctly?



## alwaysoutdoor (11 mo ago)

This is my first time incubating eggs in a brand new (China) incubator. I am almost through the first day. I have been extremely careful to be by the book and have 55 really nice eggs in there: I am getting the temperature and humidity perfect but every 2 hours the incubator turner motor clicks on- it takes the eggs to the opposite side and then keeps going and ends back up in the same position it was about 4 seconds later.... so do the eggs stay in the same position the whole process? I thought they were supposed to stay on the opposite side for 2 hours and then back again for 2 hours back and forth??? Help! I don’t want them all to die.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

They won't die but they might have a harder time hatching. 

What does the owner's manual say? I'm unfamiliar with one that operates in that manner.


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## alwaysoutdoor (11 mo ago)

The manual doesn’t say anything about the egg turner at all- only talks about temperature and humidity calibration and such- my guess is that the eggs are just ending up in a tiny bit different orientation each time so by 24+ hours they might be in the opposite direction?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Everything is (China) any more. Let me see if I can get @JediPat to stop by. He knows quite a bit about different incubators.


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## alwaysoutdoor (11 mo ago)

So now it has been exactly 24 hours since I started the machine with the eggs. It has gone through 11 cycles (4 seconds each) of moving and it seems like it is slightly in a different orientation


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Could you be a little more clear on what you mean by a different orientation? Remember, we can't see what you are.


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## alwaysoutdoor (11 mo ago)

I put all the eggs in and press the reset button.. the automatic turner takes the eggs for about 4 seconds and stops so all of them are about 20*to the side.. 2 hours later it takes the eggs to the opposite 20* angle and then back to the original 20*angle (this takes about 4 seconds) - this happens every 2 hours. That means that they sit at the same position all the time except for about 4 seconds every 2 hours when they are moving... it actually does seem like it just barely leaves them in a very slightly different position (maybe 1* or 2* or every 2 hours) so this means the eggs would be resting in the opposing direction after about 36 hours... I was under the impression that incubators should go back and forth and stay there (opposite direction every 2-4 hours) ?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

The turners I had moved back & forth but did it slowly. They were constantly moving. It sounds like yours only moves every couple of hours and then doesn't stay in the opposite position for any amount of time. 

I would contact the company and ask then it's functioning properly. I can't guarantee when JediPat will pop in to provide his insight.


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## alwaysoutdoor (11 mo ago)

I am leaning towards just leaving it do its thing and hope for the best- I can’t see a way to program the turning motor and I won’t be at the house every 4 hours to do it manually


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

You understand you're now obligated to let us know how the hatch goes. With pics as a bonus?


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## alwaysoutdoor (11 mo ago)

Heh- yah I get a little obsessive with projects sometimes. My wife is already rolling her eyes at me now that I am on a chicken forum on the Internet  I’ll see if I can be here to hopefully celebrate a successful hatch with y’all (in 3 weeks)


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## janamsingh (Mar 31, 2020)

looking forward to it. it will be wonderful to see those little tiny chicks


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

alwaysoutdoor said:


> Heh- yah I get a little obsessive with projects sometimes. My wife is already rolling her eyes at me now that I am on a chicken forum on the Internet  I’ll see if I can be here to hopefully celebrate a successful hatch with y’all (in 3 weeks)


Just wait until she sees those little peeps. She's going to lose it. 

Being obsessive when it comes to hatching is actually a good thing. Are you going to candle in 7 days?


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## Poultry Judge (Jul 15, 2020)

If I remember correctly, you are describing the turner's motion correctly, it is frustrating if you keep hitting the switch, and seems to work best if the timer does the work. If it's the incubator I'm thinking of, it is sold by various U.S. distributors and is a fairly good value for the cost.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

You know, you all can identify the manufacturer. We're not that picky here. sheesh


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## alwaysoutdoor (11 mo ago)

Here is my set up- don’t know the manufacturer as it doesn’t say anything- I have heard lots of different places sell this same one online... I woke up in the middle of the night and realized I am too much of a crazy person to let the machine keep doing what it does- I am now pressing the reset button over and over to get the eggs to be where I want them (opposing sides every 4 hours) . Now I feel better but have more work to do : and while I’m gone for work they will just will get the regular machine treatment :-(


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## alwaysoutdoor (11 mo ago)

Yes I was planning on candling all of them on day 7! Flashlight at the end of a toilet paper roll is what my old farmer mom says.? She is getting a bit loopy in her old age but I usually trust her expertise when it comes to animals and farming: she forgets my name but forgets nothing about animals I have learned . If you notice that 1 really poopy white egg in the picture- my 5 year old boy wouldn’t let me cull it out: he already named that one ‘butt’ and he talks to it frequently 😂


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

OH crap, I'm glad I wasn't drinking anything. It would be all over my computer. Still laughing here. 

I was going to be all serious about what a slick looking machine that was but then you just had to add in that last bit. 

I didn't use the toilet paper roll but I can see how it would be beneficial on focusing the light. Loopy or not that's good thinking.


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## alwaysoutdoor (11 mo ago)

Yah 5 year olds sure have a good sense of humor! The question “guess what?” Always has the answer “chicken butt” and “guess who?” = “chicken poo” ... 

Try to never start a sentence with this in my house is what I’m trying to say ;-) you’ll never hear the end of it!


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

And they don't know it. I forget how literal they can be. Talk about setting up a bunch of mine fields when that happens. . .


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## powderhogg01 (Jun 4, 2013)

In nature the hen doesn’t flip eggs over perfectly, nor does she need to. 
the concept is to not let the fetus inside become attached to the side. This can be done with aside to side rocking like you see in the hovabators, or by the spinning style like you get in the brinsea minis. 
the main goal is a little movement. 
you may also benefit from cool down periods, though that portion of my research remains untested and unproven. 
looks like you already have another temp gauge, I’d add one more even. and make sure they are accurate.. other then that just let the machine work. Enjoy the trip, document what you can and learn along the way!


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## jnde207 (Dec 1, 2021)

I have a China made incubator myself, I ordered it cause I could run it off 24v if I needed to in an emergency, but it came with instructions to get into the factory settings, so I can offset temp or humidity or alarms and even the length of time between turns and how long it turned when it came on, but maybe you can contact the seller and see if there's a sequence you can push on the buttons to get into it to change the factory settings, I'm sure there would be, the Chinese always have lil stuff like that they put in their electronics, that's why I buy them tbh. 





alwaysoutdoor said:


> This is my first time incubating eggs in a brand new (China) incubator. I am almost through the first day. I have been extremely careful to be by the book and have 55 really nice eggs in there: I am getting the temperature and humidity perfect but every 2 hours the incubator turner motor clicks on- it takes the eggs to the opposite side and then keeps going and ends back up in the same position it was about 4 seconds later.... so do the eggs stay in the same position the whole process? I thought they were supposed to stay on the opposite side for 2 hours and then back again for 2 hours back and forth??? Help! I don’t want them all to die.


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## alwaysoutdoor (11 mo ago)

Well I just about lost all the eggs last night and almost lost my marriage too :-0 - we had a Valley wide power outage that went out at 1:56am and I was the only one that noticed —- about a foot of super wet snow :-(. I woke up instantly and my mind went straight to how much effort I have put into these eggs so far and not wanting to kill them all: I drove over to my neighbors house (I know where they keep their generator) so I grabbed that and brought it back started it up and ran an extension cord into the house through all the snow - woke up my wife first with the loud generator and she wasn’t too happy- 5 minutes later the dragging the extension cord through the front door into the living room and into the laundry room woke up both our kids and my wife lost it on me... I really hope some chickens hatch (still a long way off) so I can at least show her that it was worth this ;-)


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## jnde207 (Dec 1, 2021)

Dude, you'll be fine, you shouldn't have to worry until atleast 8+hours.
Like I was saying in my last post, I purchased my Chinese incubator because it will run off a 12v battery incase of emergencies like that. You have a really nice incubator but if you have a lot of issues like you did last night then you should look into one, mine holds 70 eggs, I purchased it off ebay, so far its really great, but I'll keep you updated on it if you would like, I also bought 2 very small thermometer/hygrometers to place inside the incubator to verify the readings and the temp was spot on but the humidity ran about 10% high from the factory. Just to back those up I bought another digital thermometer/hygrometer witth an extension to place inside the incubator and it verified everything was correct, I also am OCD about pri much anything, especially my lil chick's, lol. 
If you have any questions feel free to ask and I'm sure you'll run into something that I haven't that you could keep me updated on. 
Good luck on raising the chick's and keep us updated, thank you. 




alwaysoutdoor said:


> Well I just about lost all the eggs last night and almost lost my marriage too :-0 - we had a Valley wide power outage that went out at 1:56am and I was the only one that noticed —- about a foot of super wet snow :-(. I woke up instantly and my mind went straight to how much effort I have put into these eggs so far and not wanting to kill them all: I drove over to my neighbors house (I know where they keep their generator) so I grabbed that and brought it back started it up and ran an extension cord into the house through all the snow - woke up my wife first with the loud generator and she wasn’t too happy- 5 minutes later the dragging the extension cord through the front door into the living room and into the laundry room woke up both our kids and my wife lost it on me... I really hope some chickens hatch (still a long way off) so I can at least show her that it was worth this ;-)


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## alwaysoutdoor (11 mo ago)

Thanks for the help everyone! Yah we were without power for almost 7 hours which luckily is pretty short around here! The eggs were without power for about 35 minutes (I was working quickly). Anywhere between 2 hours and 3 weeks is normal for loosing power around here. Usually less than 8-10 hours when it comes to snow thankfully. As the days pass I am getting less worried about how the machine turns the eggs: after extensive research it seems like my worries are for nothing as long as they move a little and stay a decently consistent temperature 98.5-102. Even the humidity seems like people argue over what is best. The more I learn about incubation and the normal procedures I hear about the less worried and neurotic i get- there is a bit of wiggle room on all the numbers 👍


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I know middle of the night and I'm guessing you're out West so in a different time zone which means we were all asleep while you were flipping out. 

Yes, the eggs can take a long cool down period without dying. It will delay the hatch date but that's pretty much as bad as it gets. 

And @powderhogg01 has been missing in action for a while now. Feel honored that he chose to help you feel better about your setup. (kidding. sort of)


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## alwaysoutdoor (11 mo ago)

In the west  little mountain town in the north Cascade’s: the power stayed on and I got a good night sleep this time! I think the big learning curve might be over for me: still lots to learn but now can be at a slower more enjoyable pace. I have put myself and my family through a lot the last 4 days 😩. This upcoming Sunday I will try to candle them for the first time! Now I’m getting excited again!


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## alwaysoutdoor (11 mo ago)

Power hog must have found himself some good snow to ride somewhere.... or got into a big cocaine bender = its hard to tell what he is going for with that name. ;-)


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## powderhogg01 (Jun 4, 2013)

alwaysoutdoor said:


> Power hog must have found himself some good snow to ride somewhere.... or got into a big cocaine bender = its hard to tell what he is going for with that name. ;-)


Could have been both… the world may just never know. Haha. If I was you, living in an area with unreliable grid, I’d look into a solar generator. Something like the bluetti or goalzero products. Can run anything you need, and charge back up with the power turns on or the sun comes out. Worst case you can charge them off a car while you go to work or run errands.


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## alwaysoutdoor (11 mo ago)

Yah I will look into my options- I might just sink a bunch of money into a few solar panels and batteries: I’m not a fan of running a generator all the time like all my friends do (also expensive but just too loud!)


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## powderhogg01 (Jun 4, 2013)

alwaysoutdoor said:


> Yah I will look into my options- I might just sink a bunch of money into a few solar panels and batteries: I’m not a fan of running a generator all the time like all my friends do (also expensive but just too loud!)


Check out some of diy solar power with will prowse videos on YouTube. The guys a little dry.. but what tech nerd isn’t?? He does a great job of making sense of everything. And even tests stuff and shows the real differences.. so as to not waste money.


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## alwaysoutdoor (11 mo ago)

I just candled a few of my eggs (day 7.5) and they have the blood veins inside that I can see! I seem to not be very good at candling because I can only see through the white and light blue eggs- all the brown eggs I can’t see anything :-(. What would be the harm in just leaving all the eggs in the incubator for the whole 21 days whether they are fertile and hatch or not? Thanks


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

OK, I can see some of the brown eggs would be tough. Are you using a little Maglight? Those puppies put out a powerful light beam. 

You can leave them. Even though I sense you're already hovering, keep a close eye on them for any signs of "sweating" or smell. Get those out ASAP.


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## alwaysoutdoor (11 mo ago)

I’ll try the mini mag- I was using my brightest headlamp through a toilet paper roll and could see extremely clearly on the light colored eggs.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

And a totally dark room.

Like I mentioned before, I didn't do the toilet paper roll trick. I just placed the flashlight at the base of the egg to see what was what.


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## alwaysoutdoor (11 mo ago)

The only thing I can see in the dark eggs is the yolk? It is darker on the bottom and if you flip the egg it falls to the bottom again I think- can’t see the blood veins


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Were these eggs shipped? Other than a heartbeat you shouldn't be seeing any type of movement inside. And the veins.

The air cell should be on the fat end and fixed in place.

I was looking for good actual egg candling pics but I wasn't happy with any of them. I'm going to holler at @JediPat to see if he has something close by.


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## alwaysoutdoor (11 mo ago)

All my eggs are from my chickens and my neighbors chickens- I am thinking that maybe only half of my eggs are growing babies inside- I guess I will candle again in another week or so to really see what is going on inside


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I can not imagine what you were seeing in movement if these are not shipped eggs. There really shouldn't be any.


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## alwaysoutdoor (11 mo ago)

I am on day 10 now and this morning I thought I would give the candling thing another try: I am super glad I did! So fun!!! I either got way better at it or the babies are just easier to see and move around!!! Out of 55 eggs to start with I have 10 that are for sure DEAD/not fertilized and only 2 that were inconclusive. So in the incubator I have 43 that are alive and moving around and 2 that I couldn’t tell on... is this a good rate while being 10 days in? Out of the 10 for sure dead eggs 3 of them looked like something happened inside for a couple days maybe (there is a blood line/chunky substance)- the other 7 just must have not been fertilized because the whole egg lights up and I don’t see anything inside at all, no air pocket or yolk or anything. The 2 that I couldn’t tell on- 1 of them was just too dark to see through and the other one looks super strange (the extra air space/bubble isn’t at the top of the egg like all the others but is located directly on the side of the egg and I didn’t see as much movement inside like the other ones... I was mainly surprised about how much they move= after seeing 10,000 candling pictures on the internet I thought they just kind of lay there pretty still but they are not boring like that at all!


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## alwaysoutdoor (11 mo ago)

Just cracked the 10 dead eggs open- 1 of them was light brown goo inside and almost made me gag how bad it smelled, 2 had strings of red blood around the yolk and 1 had a little baby chicken a little bigger than 1/4” long inside! It was stuck to the top of the shell and wasn’t moving :-(. The others just looked like cracking a normal egg except the yolk was more of a watery substance.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

The one that had the red is the ones you want to watch out for. They will make a mess in an incubator when they explode. 

It sounds like things are going well. It does take time to learn to read eggs as they progress. I know I almost dropped an egg the first time I saw a heartbeat. 

Don't toss the oddball air cell just yet. Sometimes they do get misplaced but usually in the opposite end of the egg. Yours on the side is the first I've ever heard of.


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## alwaysoutdoor (11 mo ago)

I started my eggs 2 Saturday’s ago (feb 26 in the afternoon) so they warmed up to temperature by Sunday— that means today is day 18? Technically day 19 but I have read you minus a day in the beginning because they need to warm up first? So my question is how I put the eggs on the bottom of the incubator? Does it matter? Should I try to keep the larger round part of the egg pointing up like they have been all along? I tried candling again yesterday but it is getting harder to see anything inside: my sweet spot was day 10-15 where I easily could see what was going on.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

You can put them down now. Just in case there are any early birds. (pun intended)

And just lay them down on the wire. They need to be able to move around as they unzip their shell.

If you run into any complications or during the hatch concerns you know you can come back here and we'll walk you through.

Are you hovering now?


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## alwaysoutdoor (11 mo ago)

Boy I don’t know if incubating eggs is for me... I might just go back the natural way in the future- all night last night i I was thinking I heard things coming from the incubator (little pecking) and while I’m in bed i would freak out a bit and tell my wife “oh no they are still on the egg turner, I should have put them on lockdown earlier- I was envisioning the baby chicks hatching and getting bludgeoned to death by the egg turner going back and forth like if a roller coaster went under an over- pass that was too low.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Yep, that's about right. Especially the first few times you venture into the world of the unknown.


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## alwaysoutdoor (11 mo ago)

So yesterday (Thursday) morning I started the “lockdown” it was day 19 (put them in incubator feb26 in the afternoon) so it was technically day 18 and I had the first baby crack open the shell and start peeping! Just looked again this morning and it is still the only one who has made the first hole: this seems really early- I wasn’t expecting anything to happen until Saturday or Sunday... very exciting- I’ll have to go get my brooder box ready soon. My wife and I stayed up pretty late yesterday evening watching and listening to the little beak and head we could see through the tiny hole- when the kids wake up they are gonna flip out . Still waiting for the other 44 to do something now... I can see the eggs moving a tiny bit as they must be shifting around a bunch ?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Yes, you're seeing correctly. Movement is important for positioning to start zipping the egg open.

OK, baby one. It is early but that does happen. There might be challenges with this one since it was early. The inside tends to dry out when exposed to the air for too long and they get stuck. But don't do anything at this point. Chances are all the yolk isn't absorbed which is deadly for them.

If you hear distressed crying in the next day or two, it will be time to look at giving it a hand.


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## alwaysoutdoor (11 mo ago)

Oh- ok.. I wasn’t aware that I needed to intervene in any way... I’ll wait till I see it struggling and peeping more. Right now there is a small hole about the size of 2 pencil erasers and inside that hole I see a floppy wet bag with a small hole in that where the baby beak is coming out of.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

It happens. There always seems to be that one that's in a huge hurry. Days before it's actually ready to face the world.

You will know the distressed sound if it's stuck. It's quite different from the other little peeps made by those that are doing fine.

But it's OK. Any of us that have used incubators have faced the same thing. Interceding at the right time has saved many peeps that wouldn't have made it without us.

Editing to add: Try not to stress over this. Being patient and careful the first early bird should be just fine.


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## alwaysoutdoor (11 mo ago)

Today is day 20 (technically day 19) - just got back home from taking my family out to dinner and we had 2 baby chickens out of their shells and we literally just watched the third one push itself out a few minutes ago! Does it look like my setup is ok for them?


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## alwaysoutdoor (11 mo ago)




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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Congrats on the new babies. What about that early baby?

If that's your brooder I don't care for it. But it's not your brooder, it's your incubator. Isn't it? 

What you need is a separate area with heat for the peeps that are all dried and moving around. I used a bell lamp with a 65 watt red bulb. Not a heat lamp type thing. At first it was a big plastic bin then I moved to using a cage later when I realized that me looking over the top of the bin scared the pants off them.


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## Poultry Judge (Jul 15, 2020)

As folks around here know, I always use 2 to 3 thermometers in both our incubators and brooders. The inexpensive ones are about ten dollars for the combination thermometer/hygrometer. They are never exactly right so you still need one reliable calibrated thermometer to measure them against. As Robin said a tub is a good start for your brooder setup. If you are planning on hatching chicks every year, a stock tub or waterer makes an excellent brooder. Don't try to keep a brooder evenly heated, the chicks need to be able to move under a heat source when they are cold and away from it when they are too warm.


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## alwaysoutdoor (11 mo ago)

Thanks for the help- yah I was told to leave them in the incubator until all of them hatch? I have a sweet brooder box made out of an old chest of drawers layer on its back- I am getting quite a few chickens hatching now including the really early one... I am probably gonna transfer the hatched ones this morning so the other eggs have more room and aren’t getting so bumped around


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

When I was still raising chickens I often challenged the old beliefs. The leaving in the incubator was one of them. Once dried they were transferred to the brooder. 

Very happy to learn early peep did it on it's own and didn't need help.


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## alwaysoutdoor (11 mo ago)

I am amazed how rough and humbly these little chickens are straight out of the egg- they just flop all over the place and have tons of energy


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Don't panic when they suddenly drop over. They are going to need rest soon. Hatching is very hard work and just like little kids keep pushing until they keel over in sleep.


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## alwaysoutdoor (11 mo ago)

16 so far (out of 45) as of day 21 (day 20 technically) and it really looks like most of them are gonna hatch today: only about 10eggs don’t have any peep hole yet . The humidity sure went way up once they start hatching- when they were still all in the shells I wasn’t able to get the humidity above 71 and now I haven’t seen it go below 76.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Yeah, all those samp bodies can ramp the humidity up. That's pretty normal.


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## Poultry Judge (Jul 15, 2020)

Looks like your diligence is paying off!


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## alwaysoutdoor (11 mo ago)

All of the chicks have hatched now- 39 in total!
55 eggs, 48 fertile, 43or44 past day 10, 40 made it till hatch day and 1 died during hatching : thanks for the help everyone!!!!


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Now how do you feel about hatching? For a first time to have that kind of success rate you are now a hatching king.

That truly was a hatching success.


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## alwaysoutdoor (11 mo ago)

I am technically starting day 21 today (day 22 from putting the eggs in) and my incubator is already washed and put away! I have 2 really weak chicks in the brooder and I’m thinking they aren’t gonna make it past today. I was thinking from starting with 55 eggs having 36-37 wasn’t doing too good? I am happy with that number but I wasn’t expecting so many unfertilized eggs from the beginning


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Give the two some time. Remember I mentioned hatching is hard work? They could just need the extra time to recover. 

Considering how many you had hatch after removing the infertile eggs the percentage is quite good. 

One thing, your temps were probably running a bit high for them to begin hatching early. Remember Poultry Judge mentioned having extra thermos to double check for accuracy? It's a good idea.

I used one that read both humidity and temp that was actually for reptiles. It was a bit expensive but the thing was spot on. They have to be since reptiles can be quite sensitive to incorrect temps and humidity.


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## alwaysoutdoor (11 mo ago)

So I had the thermometer and humidity gauge on the machine and I also had another thermometer and humidity gauge that seemed more accurate compared to the digital thermometer I used every other day or so- I tried to keep everything right at 99.5 and humidity stayed 55-65... in actuality I could see that I was more like 100- 100.4 degrees.. most of the chicks hatched yesterday which was exactly 21 days from putting in the incubator- they all must have warmed up quickly on the first day and I probably was a smidge high on the temperature


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## alwaysoutdoor (11 mo ago)

All in all this was a really fun experience for my family! Thanks for helping us through it! We are already talking about if we want to do 1 more round to give to our friends and neighbors :-0 eeek!


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

LOL I'm warning you, it's an addictive pass time. Some like it so much they hatch for other people as a way to earn some side money. 

Trust me, it's exciting even from this side of the monitor when things work out so well.


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## Poultry Judge (Jul 15, 2020)

robin416 said:


> LOL I'm warning you, it's an addictive pass time. Some like it so much they hatch for other people as a way to earn some side money.
> 
> Trust me, it's exciting even from this side of the monitor when things work out so well.


Thanks for the update and great pictures!


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