Reptipro 5000 Hatch-A-Long (= - Page 36

Quote:

Originally Posted by skyking 

Hatch report - Hatch Attempt Number 4

 

Set on Apr 20, lockdown May 8, hatch May 11. Started with 13, ended up with 5 that had good development plus 3 that were Auracanas and are impossible to see into, so I always just leave them and hope for the best. Today the 14th I gave up and pulled them out. I had 5 fully developed but dead chicks. This makes my 4th batch in a row since Jan 21st and not a single live chick has hatched. Temp 99.5 using middle shelf and auto turner and humidity around 30%. Roo is a NH Red with 3 Auracanas, 2 NH Reds, and 8 Red Stars (Sexlinks). I'm going to try this one more time then give up trying to hatch chicks using this incubator.

are you opening the door any to allow for air exchange?

I open the door every other day for about a minute.

Quote:

Originally Posted by skyking 

I open the door every other day for about a minute.

there's your problem.. you should open that door several times a day

the Reptipro doesn't have "vents" like other bators.. so you need to open the door several times a day for air exchange.. otherwise you're depriving the eggs and hatching chicks of oxygen..

I open mine all through incubation (hand turning eggs) as well as several times a day during hatch.. and I have had excellent results

just remember..

hot air holds less oxygen than cool air

humid air holds less oxygen than dry air

developing embryos (and especially hatching chicks) NEED oxygen

hot humid air doesn't hold enough oxygen for hatching chicks and developing embryos

I even drop the eggs down to the lower shelf at hatch since there is a temperature gradient.. so if the top shelf is reading 99.5.. I lower the eggs so they are hatching at 98.5 temps... that plus increased humidity works beautifully for most birds..

lately since I have been doing staggered hatches I haven't been raising the humidity at hatch since I am still hand turning other eggs.. as the eggs start to pip and hatch they are naturally raising the humidity enough .. I've even opened the door in order to remove chicks, shells and to lower the humidity a bit for the incubating eggs.. now that won't work as well for ALL birds.. turkeys for instance require a higher hatch humidity.. so adding a pan of water to the bottom still allows me to open the door several times a day and the humidity goes right back up as soon as I close the door

during the average day I open the door at least 5 times a day while I candle eggs, move eggs around or turn eggs.. so it's open for several minutes at a time

if you're afraid of losing humidity just remember.. it's easier to save a sticky chick than it is to revive a dead one

Quote:

Originally Posted by mayberrygirl 

Just got my reptipro 6000 today. I am still stabilizing, but have noticed a 2* difference from the very top shelf placement and the bottom of the incubator. Is this normal? Also I have egg flats and PVC pipes for home made turners, what is the best placement? I am thinking one on the floor, and one on the middle shelf setting. If I leave the second shelf in on it's lowest setting, I can put the water there for humidity. Will this work? Anyone have pics of how they set up with homemade turners instead of auto turners.

yup.. it's normal.. so I take advantage of it.. i incubate on the top shelf then drop the eggs down to the lower shelf for hatch .. since there's a 1 degree difference between the two it works great

just figure out where you want your eggs.. then measure the temp at that shelf.. then adjust the temp as necessary to get that shelf where you want it to be

when I was incubating emu eggs i rotated them from shelf to shelf each day so they would all have about the same temp during incubation (pics are in the link in my signature)

since they are so big I made my own shelf base for the lower eggs to sit on

Quote:

Originally Posted by mayberrygirl 

The 6000 will just be for incubation, I have a homemade Igloo-cooler-bator that will be my hatcher. I could make some legs to make the bottom shelf lower to keep my turners off the floor. I have 2 4x4 egg flats ready to go in tomorrow.

experiment with the temp at different levels and see what you come up with

just remember.. the temp at shelf level is what matters.. not what is on the display

Quote:

Originally Posted by mayberrygirl 

Wondering what is up... I put my eggs in this morning and all went fine till I turned them an hour ago, and now I am getting wild temp spikes. Up to 103* at the top shelf, and my other turner is on the floor, it is going from 97-100*. Not sure what to do here.
I have cut down cardboard egg flats to 4x4 eggs and put holes in the bottom of the cups, they teeter totter on a PVC pipe. I have one on the top shelf at the top setting, one on the floor, with my water on the lower shelf on the lowest shelf setting.

did you allow for gaps around the eggs for air circulation between the shelves?...

I will try to open the door for a minute and air it out at least three times a day for the next hatch attempt.