Egg turning and humidity/temp questions in incubator

[talkinboutchickens]

Hello I was just wondering what everyone's favorite temperature and humidity is in order to get the most successful hatch rates. There are so many mixed results out there on the internet that I am just not sure at all which temp/humidity levels to go with! I've read somewhere to go with 60% humidity for the first 18 days, but other sites say to do 45%-55%! And for the temp levels they vary as well.
It is not that urgent, I am going to be hatching in 1-2 months but I just want to be all prepared and not researching something at the last moment before I put my eggs in the incubator.
I also have 1 last question, since my incubator's egg holes aren't big enough in the tray, I have to manually hand-turn them now. How do I do that? I watched this video (see 3:01) and it said that I turn them one way and then the other and not just one way. I've seen that you mark one side of the egg and then the opposite side, but the guy in the video just put the "o" and "x" close to each other. Why is that? Am I supposed to do that?

Thank you!

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

For chicken eggs i like the temp to be at 99.5 in my nuture right. It bounces between 99.5 and 100 percent. The humidity i like it to be at 50%.
Then at day 17 they go into lockdown and i raise the humidity to 65%.


I put a x and o to see if the eggs are being turned .


Im not sure about the manual egg turning.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I've read somewhere to go with 60% humidity for the first 18 days, but other sites say to do 45%-55%!

There is no one humidity that works best for all of us. Eah incubator can be different, even if it is the same make and model. The conditions in the room the incubator is in can make a difference. Differences in eggs can make a difference. The commercial hatcheries have to tune the humidity on what to use for a specific incubator if they move it from one place to another in the incubating room.

What I suggest is to pick a certain humidity and keep that throughout your first incubation. If your incubator came with a recommendation that would be a good place to start. Be as consistent as you can and see what happens. Tweak it if you need to.

The good news is that a fairly wide range of humidities will still give you a pretty good hatch. You don't have to be really precise. But try it and see what happens, adjusting as necessary.

And for the temp levels they vary as well.

A lot of this depends on your type of incubator. If you have a forced air (has a fan) the temperature should be pretty consistent throughout, but in a still air (no fan) the temperature will vary according to the elevation. Warm air rises and colder air sinks. Where you take the temperature in a still air makes a big difference. The general recommendations for a forced air is 99.5 Fahrenheit (37.5 C) taken anywhere inside. For a still air you want 101.5 F (38.6 C) taken at the top of the eggs.

since my incubator's egg holes aren't big enough in the tray, I have to manually hand-turn them now. How do I do that?

What make and model of incubator do you have? Can you provide a link to the incubator you are using so I have a better idea what is going on. Maybe someone will see this thread that has your incubator and will be able to really help you.

There are many different ways you could turn the eggs. I prefer the automatic turners so I don't have to fool with it and it doesn't get forgotten. The way I suggest you manually turn the eggs is to put an "x" on one side and an "o" 180 degrees on the other side. Lay them flat with one mark up. Then when you turn them totally turn them over so the other sign it up. It doesn't matter if you turn them to the left or right or even end over end as long as you don't drop them and crack them. People try to make things as confusing and complex as they can. They don't always have to be hard. I don't know why that guy only turned them part way.

Keep it as simple as you can. Start out with an x on top and an o on the bottom. When you turn them the o is on top and the x is on the bottom. Next time it is reversed.

 

[talkinboutchickens]

People try to make things as confusing and complex as they can. They don't always have to be hard. I don't know why that guy only turned them part way.

I know right! That's what I think all the time.

What make and model of incubator do you have? Can you provide a link to the incubator you are using so I have a better idea what is going on.

I have a MeeF incubator. You can go to this link to visit my post about my incubator. It includes some pics as well.
Thank you so much for clearing things up!

 

[7daywonder]

My eggs are in.
I have 37.7 temperature and a steady 60% humidity.
These are silkie eggs, is that ok?
Are they placed ok or should they be closer together?

 

[talkinboutchickens]

Then when you turn them totally turn them over so the other sign it up. It doesn't matter if you turn them to the left or right or even end over end as long as you don't drop them and crack them.

Do you keep on turning it one way, for instance, right, or do you switch it up and turn it right left right left etc.?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Do you keep on turning it one way, for instance, right, or do you switch it up and turn it right left right left etc.?

Do you have a turner? How does it work? Some rotate back and forth, some turners roll the eggs.

If turning by hand, how do you do that? Some people put the eggs in a carton and use a block of wood or something to raise one side and then switch it to the other end of the carton. So they lean about 45 degrees to the left or right and go through a 90 degree turn each time.

I lay the eggs flat and put an "x" on one side and an "o" on the other. When I turn them either all x's or all o's are on top so I know I turned all of them. Left or right doesn't matter as long as they are turned over.

Hens turn them several times a day and don't worry about left or right. They also do not worry about turning them exactly a certain amount. But I'm not a hen and don't turn them that often. I have to be more careful.

 

[talkinboutchickens]

Do you have a turner? How does it work? Some rotate back and forth, some turners roll the eggs.

I do, and it works great, that is for the little eggs. It rolls them perfectly fine but not the bigger eggs, so I have to hand-turn the bigger ones.
Thanks so much for your advice!

 

[Eggs_Over_EZ]

The Meed looks similiar to a Nurture Right. Using an egg carton may not work due to the size. I understood to manually turn eggs you place an O on one side and an X on another and just turn them back and forth. As already mentioned if the incubator has a fan you can hatch at 99.5 Fahrenheit but if not fan 101.5. Humidity depends on the humidity where the incubator is located. I was able to dry hatch because of living in a humid client but even then the humidity the first 18 days stayed 25 - 30% during that period. No water had been added. At lockdown I did add water to one chamber of our Maticoopx 30 and the humidity was 50-79.9% depending if a chick was hatching which always raises the it. My temp ranges from 99.3- 99.9 as we have a fan. One recommendation is to use a hygrometer in the incubator if you have the room. We used a Govee and it worked well. It has an app that you can set ranges and will receive notices if the incubator goes out of what you set on the app. I wish you the best on your first hatch. There is no denying it, it can be nerve racking.

 

[talkinboutchickens]

My eggs are in.
I have 37.7 temperature and a steady 60% humidity.
These are silkie eggs, is that ok?
Are they placed ok or should they be closer together?

Yes that should be a good temp, I saw that silkies do better at a low temp, like below:

99 F = 37 C
98.5 F = 36 C

Could you insert a pic of the silkie eggs so I can get a better idea of how they are placed?