Need help with incubator setup

[Happy]

Jaye I had issues in my basement. I think the cheaper incubators (which is what I have) are more finicky when it comes to room temp and humidity. My humidity levels were all over the map. And unlike most on this forum I am NOT good at being diligent. I am more of a winger
I may try one more hatch in my incubator just to see if I should just sell it cheap to someone with more patience than me or junk it altogether.
I have my fingers crossed for you!

[Jaye]

OMG! I candled tonight, but wasn't expecting much, due to my many newbie errors. I set 18, 5 of which were my Welsummer hen Biscuit's eggs. Biscuit couldn't stand Charlie, and let him know in no uncertain terms, so I am counting on them all being yolkers (I can't tell whether they are fertile or not because her eggs are pretty dark).
However, of the 5 Cilla eggs that I set, 4 are fertile, and the embryo is distinct, eye and all! Cilla is my Brabanter pullet.
All 4 of Memphis's eggs set are fertile. Unfortunately, Memphis lays torpedo shaped eggs, so the chicks may have trouble hatching. They will be blue Ameraucana_Brabanter chicks if they make it.
2 of 4 of Deanie's are fertile, 2 I'm not sure about, but the 2 confirmed fertile have air sacs too far down the side. :-My fault - I. didn't store them upright; they were in our egg skelter. Deanie is my olive egger.
I guess we need to get moving on building a growout coop.

[Happy]

Yay!

[Kbr42]

Congratulations!!!

[kenya]

Congratulations, I never had any trouble hatching the torpedo eggs they should be fine.

[Jaye]

Thanks, @kenya , that's good to know. If they do hatch, I am curious to see how they will turn out ...

[Jaye]

Oh, boy.
Incubator should be in an area or room away from drafts, windows, doors, or anything that might cause sudden temperature changes. A hallway closet is ideal.
1.) Keep eggs cool until you're ready. Above 3 degrees Celsius but below 10 degrees if you can. Fridge works great for this. Cold storage in a stone cellar is what I used to use until I found the fridge worked better for me. Cooling and humidity containment all in one, as long as the fridge isn't too cold and doesn't get opened 10 times a day. Flip/turn the eggs once a day or once every two days. You will still have some fertile, hatchable eggs in 4 weeks, or possibly longer depending on evaporation and bacterial infiltration. I have hatched an egg that was 60 days old, but that's a very rare exception. 1-2 weeks is best, but some will still hatch much older than that if clean and kept cool.
2.) Plug in your incubator, let it get up to pre-set temperature. Buy other thermometers, even just a good meat probe, or a cheapie Chinese weather station. Find out if they're accurate by placing the probes in boiling water (100 C) or in ice slush (O C) and then place in the center and edge in your empty incubator and adjust heat controls accordingly after 1/2 hour. Set at 37-38 C if you have a fan, or 38-39 if you don't. Watch like a hawk all night and day to make sure temperatures stay reasonably steady.
3. WASH YOUR HANDS. Put in eggs. WASH YOUR HANDS before turning eggs (if hand turning), turn them twice or three times a day. If you have a turner, WASH YOUR HANDS and move eggs around the incubator once a day. I take the top left four out, move the rest all left/up, and put the first 4 back in bottom right. Even a fan incubator has hot and cold spots. Bald styrofoam isn't really that great for insulation, so if eggs aren't in a turner, ideally don't let them stay in contact with it for long.
4.) Check temperature often. CANDLE often. Daily if you can. Candling is your best friend. It will teach you what eggs are doing and why, and when. If you have an old egg, or a dirty one, or forget to wash your hands, or have illness in one bird or your entire flock, or there was a temperature spike or prolonged dip, or if humidity is way too high, or too dry, you will see the results in the egg within a DAY with experience.
5.) You hatched chicks with an oven, this is the same principle, except the incubator companies promise (and fail) to do all the hard OCD work for you . If I can hatch chicks with fire, you absolutely got this.

Okay, so here's how I scored on the points you listed:
1. I didn't really pay attention to the storage temperature of the eggs; they were sitting on the peninsula in the kitchen until I I made the spur of the moment decision to go for it (try to incubate some). I didn't start flipping them until then either. So, big fail on point #1.
2. I plugged in the incubator, then stuck a meat thermometer in the turner right under the heater/fan at egg level. I started panicking about the discrepancy between meat thermometer and incubator temperature. Tried calibrating the meat thermometer and got even wilder variation. DH installed some Arduino probes and I thought the incubator needed adjusting, so I did. Set the eggs once I thought things were stabilized. Two days later DH discovered that the probes were in fact inaccurate because of a coding error, so I reset the incubator temperature back to where it was. I bought a portable humidifier to try to raise what I thought was too low. When I went into the incubator room the following morning it was like walking into a rain forest. So, another fail on point #2.
3. Well, I actually did all right on the hand washing
- with a couple of minor infractions. I rate them minor because my hands had been recently washed, but I hadn't remembered to use hand sanitizer before moving the eggs around inside the incubator. So, I would say that I passed hand sanitation.
4. I get a passing grade in the checking temperature often department, if 2-3 times a day is considered often. So far I have only candled once, but really want to try to see something in Biscuit's eggs tonight. I am beginning to get how this can become an obsession.
5. Yes, I did hatch chicks in an oven, and one even made it to being a big healthy regular egg laying hen. But Gracie did all the heavy lifting - I just came in at the end after she was forced to quit. It was only four days of nail biting and OCD temperature checking and adjusting for me. But I get what you're saying: in spite of all my missteps, I may actually have some success!
P.S., @windwalkingwolf , you need to write a book; I so enjoy reading all your posts.

[Ontario Chick]

Just like @kenya said, the "torpedo" eggs should be no problem, I have never seen a difference in hatchability and there have been few from my Ameraucanas over the years.
Otherwise, nice work!!!!

[Jaye]

Just like @kenya said, the "torpedo" eggs should be no problem, I have never seen a difference in hatchability and there have been few from my Ameraucanas over the years.
Otherwise, nice work!!!!

Thanks for the moral support and reassurance, OC. Good to know that torpedo eggs are not necessarily bad news.

[Jaye]

Example developing egg. Although the camera didn't pick up the embryo, it was definitely there, and moving around ...