25 days instead of 23

[bobby white]

I bought a new hova-bator incubator this spring and have it full of eggs from my bobwhite quail.  It has a fan and the auto-turner features which is very nice compared to the old hova-bator incubator that I was using which had neither.  I am using the older model for a hatcher.  The instructions said to run the new incubator at 99.5 degrees instead of 101 because the fan circulates the air. so I've been doing that.  After 20 days I took the eggs out of the new and improved incubator and placed them in the old incubator to allow them to hatch.  I have this incubator set at 101 degrees.  The eggs didn't hatch on the 23rd day but rather on the 25th day.  I am wondering if the reduced temp. of 99.5 slowed them up a bit and am also wondering if I should have changed the temp. between the two incubators.  Is it ok to run different temps. between the two environments or should they be the same?  I have read posts before that have stated that reduced temps. can indeed slow the hatching process, but the instructions that came with the incubator made no mention of this.  If anyone can shed some light on this it would be of great help....Bobby....

[Reeves]

Sounds like you need another thermometer.

[Superbird]

Sounds like you need another thermometer.

Reeves is right. If your hatch is 2 days late the temp. in your incubator is a little low.

[Don McGowan]

I used 3 foam incubators with fans last summer this year bought a sportsman and use the foam ones for hatchers. bump up the temp on the one you are using as the Incubator to 100 and drop the temp on the Hatcher to about 98.5 this seems to work really well for me.  sounds like the incubator temp is a little low.
hope this helps

[bobby white]

My thermometers are new, but are not necessarily accurate I guess- I need to calibrate them I suppose.  The new hova-bator came with instructions and a bright orange sticker that warned not to run the thing above 99.5 degrees.  I don't really understand why it has to be run at 99.5 and not at 101, especially since it has the fan feature.  I was able to hatch 20 out of 23, so I guess I really can't complain about my results, other than they were almost two days late!....Bobby....

[Fourche River Quail]

Bobby, I  had the same thing happen to me, my setup is almost exactly like yours, eggs were supposed to hatch the 14th of this month, had one egg hatch on the 14th, then about 200 hatch out between the 15th and 17th which the 17th was 25 days. Today is the 22nd and I am still getting 3-5 birds a day. Every time I think it's over and start to pitch the rest of my eggs, there will be two or three more hatched out in the  hatcher. I am just going to leave them in there until it goes a couple of days without hatching one. this has been weird, A guy gave me all these eggs, they came from cumberland farms, I think it is in tenn. but not sure, but the day he got them in ,we went to incubating them. my temps and humidity I thought, were perfect. Have three thermometers and a humidity thing in each of my 3 incubators, they were in my basement, which stays 68 degrees. It has got me very puzzled :roll:  But,,, It has been somewhat of an expereance :o