• Turn the eggs twice a day
• Automatic turners are convenient but not better
• Stop turning eggs on day eighteen

• 99.5 degrees is the target temperature
• Adjust the temperature based on the hatch date, no matter what the thermometer says
• If the hatch is early turn down the temperature
• If the hatch is late turn up the temperature

• Measure the humidity.
• 50% relative humidity for days 0-18.
• 65% relative humidity for days 19-21.

• Forced air is the only way to go; it gives a more uniform temperature inside the incubator. The best is with the fan on all the time not just when the heat is on. Hovabators fans are only on when the heat is on; that OK just not best.

• Wafer thermostats change set point when the atmospheric pressure changes. I strongly recommend electronic temperature control. The Little Giant's electronic control disappointed me; it drifts as much or more than the wafer thermostats

• Both wafer and the electronic thermostat in my GQF Sportsman change set point when the inside humidity changes (for example when the humidity pan dries out.)

• Keep the incubator in a room with a constant temperature and no drafts. Wafer and electronic thermostats change set point when the room they are in changes temperature

• Keep the incubator clean. Clean and disinfect it after each hatch. Soap is the primary line of defense; it removes the organic debris on which bacteria grow. If you hatch in a separate hatcher, you still must clean and disinfect the incubator every 3-4 weeks

We use the small GQF electronic egg thermometer. It is accurate to +/-0.18 Fahrenheit degrees. Many larger digital thermometers and thermometers/hydrometers are only accurate to +/-1.8 Fahrenheit degrees . Since this is exactly a factor of ten and catalogs are printed on newsprint, you have to read the catalog very carefully. We like the larger thermometer/hydrometer for measuring humidity even though their thermometers are useless.

Another benefit of the GQF digital thermometer is it responds quickly to temperature changes. To control a Hovabator, we averaged the minimum temperature (when the heat turns on) and the maximum temperature (when the heat turns off). The thermometer/hydrometer takes tens of minutes to settle to the inside temperature. Make sure you place the probe of the thermometer at the height of an egg's top, just where the Hovabator manual shows

We were happily hatching with the Hovabator with me adjusting the temperature twice a day. Then the Styrofoam got bacteria in it. I always scrubbed the Styrofoam and submerged it in bleach solution for an hour. To clear up the infection, I soaked in bleach solution for 24 hours and left it in direct sun for a day

I hear there are now inserts for the Hovabator bottoms. These should make disinfecting much easier.

High humidity prevents moisture from leaving eggs and the chicks drown. Low humidity at hatching gives stuck chicks and chicks that don't hatch at all. The membrane inside the shell gets tough and the chicks can't poke through. Even if they pip, many stick to the membrane and either can't get out or get deformed feet, beaks, and I assume other parts too.