Poultry Talk Ontario (pto.ca)

Heading into Lockdown in a day or two.
The questions is: When should I open the vent in the top of the (Hova-bator 1588 with turner) incubator?
As per PTO Sticky instructions, it says"Unobstructed ventilation holes, both above and below the eggs are essential for proper air exchange. ...... The air vents should be almost fully open during the latter stages of hatching."
This is what I have been doing so far:
- shuffling eggs on the turner almost daily, thus allowing in fresh air.
- adding water in troughs 3 & 4, as needed, to maintain H in the 40's for first week, 50's thereafter.
- quickly spot candling during shuffle, except the 2 times I candled all; air sacs seem properly sized.
So, do I open the vent at Lockdown, or at first sign of hatching?

i opened mine once the majority were zipped and hatched otherwise i had shrinkwrapping issues....

It really is a huge relief to learn that chickens don't get vent plugs that have to be dealt with :).

Sorry about that, but I'm bathing a chicken every day because she has vent gleet.....

Linda

LOL. OMG that is exactly what i thought when i read the subject but then i held back LOL

Je m'excuse. The title should be the incubator vent plug, not to be confused with a plugged vent, although the incubator vent is plugged but only with masking tape, at this point. And it is an issue because, now that I have my "new to me" incubator, I DO NOT WANT ANOTHER DISMAL FAILURE!!!
Aaaaaannnd, this thread is in the topic of Incubating and Hatching! Sheesh!!!!

labradors wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 18, 2018 1:12 pm

It really is a huge relief to learn that chickens don't get vent plugs that have to be dealt with :).

Sorry about that, but I'm bathing a chicken every day because she has vent gleet.....

Linda

Have you tried administering an antifungal? It's worked for a couple of my hens when they had vent gleet. I can find the particulars if you are interested in trying it.

I'm sorry to hijack your thread KimChick.

I am bathing, drying, and putting Canesten into the vent and smearing a little around. Hope that is correct.

Linda

That's OK, Linda. I hope I never have to deal with what you are dealing with.

Just ending Day 21 of incubation, into the hatch. So far, 1 has hatched (woohoo!!!) and six more, that I can see, have pipped.
So... with the fan circulating, H at around 68%, should I still keep the air vent covered?
From what I have read, the most important thing is to keep air circulating, as in fresh air in and out, and steady humidity.
Does that mean uncover the air vent half way? Keep it covered until all have hatched?

2 hrs later, another one hatched. Boy, the first chick, being alone for 2 hrs. was really interested in the second egg hatching. Now the other eggs are getting jostled around with their activity.