ack!! incubating eggs panic

[Missy]

darnit again!!! My homemade incubator is giving me fits. The temp isn't staying constant and today it rocketed up real high. I am scared to death i cooked my babies! One thermometer read the temp 100 ...right where it should be...the other??? ack..115!!! way too high, by more than ten degrees!! I could just cry. I need a real incubator. I followed online directions to the lettter. and still...

[madhen]

Hi Missy,

If you have one thermometer reading 15F different than the other, it sounds like the thing you need is an accurate thermometer! Right now, if you go by the first thermometer, you are okay, but if the second one is right, you are too low.

If you have not been at 115F for more than a few minutes, the eggs are probably okay. Do you have a candler? Depending on how long they've been incubating, you can candle them in a day or two to make sure they are still developing.

I like the thermometers from Williams Brewing Company. They are typically very accurate.

[lisettelovebug]

i don't know what kind of thermometer you have, but you can calibrate / test it by putting it in ice and water (let sit for a minute) it should read 32 degrees.