THE Brinsea Octagon 20 Eco Thread; Hatches, etc. (PICS) - Page 43

Quote:

Originally Posted by babymakes6 

I have 11 healthy chicks this morning! Two eggs are still in-but only one is pipped. The other two chicks were deformed. Both had their intestines on the outside of their bodies. One died after pipping, the other I took care of. I have never had that happen before. So, out of 15 eggs, 14 pipped and 11 hatched. I am very pleased! That is the best I have ever done!

 

Where are you located? Also, is your vent on top open or closed? Remember, SURFACE AREA is what raises the humidity, not depth of water.

That is just great. I'm really happy for you. About the same % as my last one was. 13 eggs, 3 were infertile and 10 hatched out 10 healthy babies now 4 weeks old today. lol  

Jim

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmc 

Aha, I see you do not actually have the O20E bator,which is the topic of this thread, actually.

 

However, I never add any spare towel, cloth, felt or whatever to absorb bumps. I even do incomplete rows without anything at the end, and the eggs don't fall over.....GENTLE NOW.....!

 

You don't need that stuff, unless you are tossing your bator up into the air or something! Think of what the eggs go through when the hen turns them and they topple over one another. Besides the instructions mention that a bit of 'egg rocking' is nothing to worry about. From my experience of hatching almost continuously with three O20E s for the past 6+ months, I feel I have no need to EVER add 'cushion' material...

 

Now let's keep those OCTAGON 20 ECO posts a-comin'

 

(I have repeatedly suggested that people start threads like this one for their own 'breed' of bator, but none or almost none have done so) 

Thanks for the info.  Sorry I posted here, guess I got excited about the octagon 20 part and didn't notice the eco. 

Where I live it is relatively dry plus I run a wood stove in the house, so that makes it worse. Hmm, I think the vent was open when I got that reading. I have some yellow felt, so maybe i'll do some experimenting.

How much do you all leave the vent open for the first 18 and then for lockdown?

Quote:

Originally Posted by babymakes6 

 

Where are you located? Also, is your vent on top open or closed? Remember, SURFACE AREA is what raises the humidity, not depth of water.

I leave the vent open all the way until lockdown, and then I close it completely.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmc 

Aha, I see you do not actually have the O20E bator,which is the topic of this thread, actually.

 

However, I never add any spare towel, cloth, felt or whatever to absorb bumps. I even do incomplete rows without anything at the end, and the eggs don't fall over.....GENTLE NOW.....!

 

You don't need that stuff, unless you are tossing your bator up into the air or something! Think of what the eggs go through when the hen turns them and they topple over one another. Besides the instructions mention that a bit of 'egg rocking' is nothing to worry about. From my experience of hatching almost continuously with three O20E s for the past 6+ months, I feel I have no need to EVER add 'cushion' material...

 

Now let's keep those OCTAGON 20 ECO posts a-comin'

 

(I have repeatedly suggested that people start threads like this one for their own 'breed' of bator, but none or almost none have done so) 

I've been hatching in the Brinseas for awhile and have several which were running pretty much non-stop.. I own several of them and have also sent several to the dump for being defective with frayed wires.. so it's not like I just started incubating in them last week..

for the record.. eggs CAN fall over and crack in an incomplete row and that's with the normal turning of the autoturner..... shipped eggs can also have thinner shells which CAN make them more fragile..

I've also seen broody hens break a lot of eggs.. just because Brinsea says that eggs banging around won't hurt them does not make it a fact.. along with hairline cracks.. the jarring of eggs can also cause early embryo death..

since the papertowels do not harm the egg or the hatch rate it's better to add them than to regret it later if the eggs to happen to fall.. and for the record.. even though I have been tempted to throw a few of the Brinseas against a wall.. I have never done it yet

but to each his own... add them for peace of mind or don't and risk cracked eggs or early embryo death.. the choice is up to who ever owns the bator and the eggs

Quote:

Originally Posted by WyoChickenMamma 

Thanks for the info.  Sorry I posted here, guess I got excited about the octagon 20 part and didn't notice the eco. 

no need to apologize.. Brinseas are all pretty much the same .. made by the same company and designed to hatch eggs.. many of the people who posted in this thread have owned one or more.. and not all were the eco 20's

I've owned way too many of them and several of their models .. and even though they are not my favorite bator (mainly because of defective parts, frayed wires and bad customer service) many people are happy with them

I'm on day 20 now- shouldn't I be seeing pips by now? Yesterday I thought I heard a chirp or two, but today jus the fan. I thought I'd wake up to at least a few pips- anything wrong? Should I open and check?

I am editing this to say, I checked another thread for others who had no pips on day 20- and they pipped AND hatched on day 21 and 22- so I guess I'll keep sitting on my hands:-)