Janoel 12

I had a my first broody gal a few weeks back and was excited because I preferred to hatch that way and let her do all the work. But as I read up on BYC about broodies I decided I needed an incubator in case my girl quit with some expensive eggs under her. She ended up quitting before that point. Anyway I ordered the Janoel 12. It really only holds about 9 decent sized chickens eggs. I decided I just had to try it out and used some of my own eggs. They will be a barnyard mix as I don't keep the breeds separate at this point. The instructions that came with it are pretty incomprehensible but between the pics and YouTube it wasn't too hard to figure out what I needed to know. I plugged it in and it maintained a pretty consistent temp that was close to what I had it set at, 38*C. I didn't have a hygrometer but I got one that was a set of thermometer and hygrometer at the pet store. They look kind of cheap but it was $11.00 for them or a digital for $40.00. If they are accurate the temp is staying just below 100*F and about 50% humidity. As one person had mentioned in a thread I only added a small amount of water. Not the 100ml it called for. I just put in a couple of tablespoons the first time and then another tablespoon the next day. It seems to keep the humidity with little water unless I open it to check a couple of times. I started the eggs on 1/30/15, just 2days ago. I'll try to keep this up to date as things progress.

Good luck! Sounds like you have pretty good numbers going. BTW, barnyard mixes are awesome! lol

AmyLynn2374 said:

Good luck! Sounds like you have pretty good numbers going. BTW, barnyard mixes are awesome! lol

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Thanks! Hope all the eggs are fertile. Our CCL roo is all about it but the barred rock girls are not overly cooperative when I'm around. I check off and on and it seems most are fertile but I haven't paid a lot of attention lately. My BLRW roo is more timid and seems to only go after the smaller mixed CCL/white leghorn pullets. I have a BLRW pullet and I haven't actually seen any roo with her but I caught her just after she laid and put that egg in the incubator. I didn't think to mark it and now I'm not sure which it is. But it doesn't really matter. I just could use more egg layers. I have more and more people wanting to buy eggs and all my girls lay really well so maybe they will make babies that grow to be good egg layers.

Congrats on your new incubator Hope you have a great hatch and looking forward to your updates

Well the temp in the Janoel 12 seems to stay steady judging from the fact that it stays 38*C on incubator temp and 99-100 on analog temp. The humidity is another issue. It seems that I put about 2 teaspoons of warm water in it and check about 1-1 1/2 hous later and the humidity increases from 20% to 60-70%. But I leave the top off a few extra seconds and when I check several hours after it will be around 40-50%. Several hours later it will usually be still 40-50 but a few more hours will be back to 20% and I add another 2 tsp of water. I seem to be adding water once a day. Does all that sound okay? I believe a little low is preferable to high. Right?

All sounds good! Adding water once a day sounds ok. As long as the average is ok during incubation and checking your air sacs so they are growing right and your eggs should be fine. It's the surface area of water that creates the humidity so when you need it higher for lockdown wet sponges or cloths can increase it by wicking the water on them.
Good luck

I have an incubator like yours and it's been great for hatching! I don't use the auto turner though because 12 eggs isn't enough - lol! More eggs and hand turning works
I don't add any water during the incubation period (increase it at lockdown for the hatch though) as it is humid enough where I am, so can't help there sorry!

Lalegid said:

I have an incubator like yours and it's been great for hatching! I don't use the auto turner though because 12 eggs isn't enough - lol! More eggs and hand turning works  
I don't add any water during the incubation period (increase it at lockdown for the hatch though) as it is humid enough where I am, so can't help there sorry!

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Thanks for that info. It would normally be humid here in the spring, summer and fall but with the heat running in winter it is pretty dry. Do you check the humidity in the incubator during incubation? What does it run if you do? When you don't use the auto turner how often do you turn the eggs? On the days I work I do a twelve hour shift and was afraid that was too long to go without turning.

Humidity sits around 30-40% without any water (summer here in NZ) I have a hygrometer to show what the humidity levels are but I don't worry about it until day 18-21.
Hand turning is 3-5 times a day (mostly just 3!), first thing in the morning, middle of the day and before bed. I'm at home in the day though so I can manage that - not so easy if you're working I guess!

Lalegid said:

Humidity sits around 30-40% without any water (summer here in NZ)   I have a hygrometer to show what the humidity levels are but I don't worry about it until day 18-21. 
Hand turning is 3-5 times a day (mostly just 3!), first thing in the morning, middle of the day and before bed. I'm at home in the day though so I can manage that - not so easy if you're working I guess!

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Thanks, helps to know.