Newbie to Incubation

[rossfam06]

Hi everyone!!! I just bought a little giant still air incubator and automatic egg turner. I would like some advice before I order my eggs and start that process. I want to have a very successful hatch rate, esp if I spend money on hatching eggs! Please help, and all advice is appreciated!!! Thank You so much!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Hi everyone!!! I just bought a little giant still air incubator and automatic egg turner. I would like some advice before I order my eggs and start that process. I want to have a very successful hatch rate, esp if I spend money on hatching eggs! Please help, and all advice is appreciated!!! Thank You so much!

Welcome to BYC. Well, the LGs can be tricky. They are a incubator that needs closer monitoring than your more pricier models. I am assuming you have one of the newer digital ones. (I have an older model w/fan kit installed.)
Number one, the styro bators need to be in a room where the temp is stable and doesn't very widely. They need to be out of direct sun light or out from under room lights. These things will help steady the temp in the incubator. (They are very affected by the ambient temps.) Make sure they are not in a draft or you will surely be fighting temp swings.
Number two, still air bators should be maintained at 101-102F with the temp taken near the top of the eggs. (Despite any incubator instructions. 99.5 is the recommended temps for forced air.)
Number three, the best thing you can do is learn about humidity, why we need it, and how to use either air cell growth or weight loss to know if your humidity is good. Do not listen to any source that says 'fill your water trays.wells [this] full for the first 17 days.....blah blah blah' Also, just because [this] percentage works for person a does not mean it will work for person b. I am a firm believer that the air cells will guide you. Consider dry incubation. Seems to work better in styro bators.
Number 4, if you don't have a full incubator/turner, try not to use the egg spots closest to the turner motor, that baby gets hot and can make the egg or two closest develope more rapidly.
Number 5, use more than one accurate thermometer. Never rely on just one and never think because a thermometer is brand new that it is accurate. A couple good thermometers and a good hygrometer (even and especially if you are dry hatching a good hygrometer is needed,) can be the difference in a good hatch or a bad.
NEVER trust the thermometers built into the bators unless they are checked for accuracy...
I'm sure I will think of more later....lol

 

[rossfam06]

Thank you so much!! I will head out and get some more thermometers and a hydrometer.

 

[scflock]

Thank you so much!! I will head out and get some more thermometers and a hydrometer.

I hope you will stay hooked up with AmyLynn and keep us updated on this thread when you start incubating. This incubator has gotten a bad rap, and I think a lot of it is due to first timers, including me, using it per the instructions given in the manual. I am very interested to see if someone incubating for the first time can have a successful hatch following the advice of someone else who is more experienced

 

[AmyLynn2374]

If you'd like my opinions on humidity I can give you those too...lol

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I hope you will stay hooked up with AmyLynn and keep us updated on this thread when you start incubating. This incubator has gotten a bad rap, and I think a lot of it is due to first timers, including me, using it per the instructions given in the manual. I am very interested to see if someone incubating for the first time can have a successful hatch following the advice of someone else who is more experienced

I would love to see that too. Especially since my first hatch was so bad. I think that if it hadn't been for relying on one thermometer that was (unknowingly) way off, I think I would have had a good hatch. I love to have the opportunity to keep that from happening from sometone else and I love seeing good first hatches!! I know how dissapointing it is to be so pumped up and then have your expectations doused

 

[scflock]

If you'd like my opinions on humidity I can give you those too...lol

Honestly, I would love to watch a first time LG incubation totally following your advice. The directions that come with it are horrible, and many people have been terribly disappointed. You have success with one, have been using it for a while, and if I still had mine I would follow your advice over the manual. Not saying that your setup is ideal for everyone, but it has been very obvious that the operator's instructions are sorely lacking. I vote for dry incubation, and let AmyLynn coach you through your first. I would love to see a first timer have a successful hatch in this incubator, especially if you are paying for eggs. If it is successful, I think this thread should be pinned

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Honestly, I would love to watch a first time LG incubation totally following your advice. The directions that come with it are horrible, and many people have been terribly disappointed. You have success with one, have been using it for a while, and if I still had mine I would follow your advice over the manual. Not saying that your setup is ideal for everyone, but it has been very obvious that the operator's instructions are sorely lacking. I vote for dry incubation, and let AmyLynn coach you through your first. I would love to see a first timer have a successful hatch in this incubator, especially if you are paying for eggs. If it is successful, I think this thread should be pinned

I hate those manuals so bad. They mislead newbies soooo bad.


Oh and another tip, get your bator and set it up a good week before you plan to set (if you can) so that you can try it in more than one place in the house if needs be and so you can see how it's going to do with temp and what your humidity will run w/o water water in. Run it a couple days after you get your temp set to make sure that it stays stable and see what periods of the day might be a problem. (A lot of user find a slight temp drop evening/night hours when the outside air gets cooler.)

 

[rossfam06]

I will keep everyone posted. And I have not ordered any eggs yet. Still looking for frizzle polish eggs to try. So I will set it up and run it just as you said, with two thermos and a hydrometer. I am still trying to figure out where the best place to put the bator so I have not even plugged them up yet. I'm excited to have so much help with some one who has lots of experience. I think that I will do the dry incubation because I live in savannah ga where the humidity levels are high naturally.

 

[rossfam06]

So I test ran my incubator all day. The temp held steady at 100.9, and with no water the humidity level was between 39% and 42%. Is this good @AmyLynn2374 for my eggs I am going to start next week?