Help! Need clear lockdown instruction for useless husband

Maria G

In the Brooder
Feb 1, 2015
59
3
41
Help!

I set my two incubators on late evening Monday 8th of June. Little did I know that I would be travelling from June 19 to June 26. This means that I need to leave the lockdown procedure to my anti-chicken husband. Luckily he loves his wife, and might make an effort to follow my instructions
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I have had lots of trouble with my old incubator (Brinsea Mini Advance), and I am not familiar with my new one (Brinsea Octagon Advance Ex). So, here are my questions:

- Is lockdown 26th or 27th of June? (or 28th? I am a bit confused)
- Is it safest to opt for 75% humidity from lockdown? (My eggs in the Octagon have lost a bit too much weight at the moment - I have increased humidity)
- Should he remove the black padding/foam thing at the bottom of the Octagon?
- Should he remove the separators? They are stacked pretty tight now..
- Should he lay the eggs down on their side? They are standing with the wide end upwards now.


Very grateful for any help here!!!

M.
 
Help!

I set my two incubators on late evening Monday 8th of June. Little did I know that I would be travelling from June 19 to June 26. This means that I need to leave the lockdown procedure to my anti-chicken husband. Luckily he loves his wife, and might make an effort to follow my instructions
big_smile.png


I have had lots of trouble with my old incubator (Brinsea Mini Advance), and I am not familiar with my new one (Brinsea Octagon Advance Ex). So, here are my questions:

- Is lockdown 26th or 27th of June? (or 28th? I am a bit confused)
- Is it safest to opt for 75% humidity from lockdown? (My eggs in the Octagon have lost a bit too much weight at the moment - I have increased humidity)
- Should he remove the black padding/foam thing at the bottom of the Octagon?
- Should he remove the separators? They are stacked pretty tight now..
- Should he lay the eggs down on their side? They are standing with the wide end upwards now.


Very grateful for any help here!!!

M.
I am a useless husband, and I have an Octagon 20 Advance, so I will try to help
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Lockdown is very easy in the Octagon. Does he know how to change the humidity setting? That's the only semi-technical thing here. I usually shoot for 65%, but you said why you are going for 75%, so as long as he knows how to change it, you are good. Lockdown is Friday the 26th
Take the foam out, take the dividers out. I have laid them on their side, and I have tried them more straight up and down. Both ways work. If the incubator is full, I prefer to take the dividers out, then kind of let the eggs settle like they fall. If you don't have a full load, lay them on their sides. The only thing left in the tray will be the eggs. Since you have the humidity pump, you may be able to maintain 75% with the vent fully open, but if not he can close it to halfway. I run without the pump, so I have to close mine halfway and that is still plenty of air flow. Are you putting water in the channels along with the pump, or relying solely on the pump for humidity? If you are only using the pump, you may want to fill one or both channels with water. This will let the pump be used just to maintain the higher humidity, and it won't constantly be running. I'm sure he knows to take it off the turning cradle, but I'm mentioning it just in case. That's it, very simple. Just remind him that when they start hatching, humidity will rise. Mine has gotten as high as 85%, but drops as the chicks start drying. If it gets that high, and you feel it is too high, he can open the vent more. With the EX model, once you lock it down it is pretty much on cruise control. Even us ham fisted husbands can do that
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PS. You can also put a paper towel or shelf liner under the eggs to give the fresh hatchers a little more traction, if you so desire. I don't, and have no problems with splayed legs, but I can see why some people do. That's a personal choice, but not totally necessary
 
Thank you so much! My husband is a tech geek, so fixing the settings will be a breeze.(It is the anti-chicken-my-wife-is-crazy-thing that is the problem...)

Then I will write a note that he
- take it out of the turning cradle next Friday
- remove the dividers and the foam thing, (I put this on the bottom of the incubator, not inside the tray - is that correct?),
- let the eggs fall as they might
- increase humidity and adds some water.

Then I have definitely maxed his helpful husband capacity
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I thought 75% humidity would be good, since the weight loss was a bit high at day 7. I increased humidity to 40% then, but I won't have time to see if it had any impact. I will weigh them again tomorrow and make adjustment. Maybe I'll go for 65%? I had too high humidity and temp last time, so I am trying to dry hatch now.

This has got to work!
 
Thank you so much! My husband is a tech geek, so fixing the settings will be a breeze.(It is the anti-chicken-my-wife-is-crazy-thing that is the problem...)

Then I will write a note that he
- take it out of the turning cradle next Friday
- remove the dividers and the foam thing, (I put this on the bottom of the incubator, not inside the tray - is that correct?),
- let the eggs fall as they might
- increase humidity and adds some water.

Then I have definitely maxed his helpful husband capacity
clap.gif


I thought 75% humidity would be good, since the weight loss was a bit high at day 7. I increased humidity to 40% then, but I won't have time to see if it had any impact. I will weigh them again tomorrow and make adjustment. Maybe I'll go for 65%? I had too high humidity and temp last time, so I am trying to dry hatch now.

This has got to work!
I have read a lot of success stories about dry hatching in styrofoam, so I dropped to 35% as an experiment. It didn't work for me. Most Brinsea users I talk to have the most success between 40 and 45%. My magic number is 40-42%. I have hatched 5 batches like that this year, and my lowest hatch rate was 87%. If you are having a little too much weight loss, then I would try 40% next time. I never weigh eggs, I just experimented until I found the parameters that worked for me, so I don't feel like I can give an educated response to 65 vs 75% at lockdown. I think you will have to use your own judgement on that.
I'm a little confused on the foam. The advance doesn't come with it, but I know the EX does come with foam for the divider rails. Is that what you are talking about? Those are little strips that go on the rails to cushion the eggs. I can't think of anything that would go under the tray. Is there any chance you could take a picture of what you are talking about?
 
Ok, never mind. I read the EX usermanual. There is an egg cushion pad. I didn't know that. It is meant to go in between the eggs and the tray. It's an extra that comes with the EX, but isn't totally necessary. It would serve the same purpose as the shelf liner or paper towel that I described in my first post
 
Wife not so tech savvy, so no pics, but I am good with words
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Lots of stuff that came with the machine but wasn't mentioned in the manual...

  • Metal rails which are used as separators between the rows of eggs. Presume these go out before hatching, otherwise the chicks will get trapped?
  • Long black strips of foam. Weird German guy on Youtube used these to cushion the rails, but he had quail eggs. I couldn't find how to use them - either the eggs were squeezed, or I couldn't fit more than 18 eggs.
  • Black foam mat the same size as the tray. The seller told me she put it underneath the tray (on top of the water channels). I did the same, though I have no idea what good it does. When I put it in the egg tray, the eggs looked dangerously elevated, and I was worried that they would topple off the tray when the turner started. Perhaps another quail thing?
  • Stiff, thick, white folded paper which seems to go into some plastic clips underneath the fan/where the water from the humidity pump enters the machine. Presume it is used to capture/disperse the moisture evenly and keep it from dripping on the eggs. Who knows...

I really wish Brinsea could provide some instruction videos and a warning that the display temp might be off - would have saved me a lot of worry and expenses.

I weighed my eggs just now, and they are spot on target for loosing 15% at lock down. Humidity has been at 30% the first 7 days, then at 40% the last 2 days. I will adjust to 35% now. After failing miserable, I now have a gigantic spreadsheet with charts and statistics and fancy calculations for weight loss, humidity, temperature etc. My PhD is finally useful!
tongue.png
 
Wife not so tech savvy, so no pics, but I am good with words
big_smile.png


Lots of stuff that came with the machine but wasn't mentioned in the manual...

  • Metal rails which are used as separators between the rows of eggs. Presume these go out before hatching, otherwise the chicks will get trapped?
  • Long black strips of foam. Weird German guy on Youtube used these to cushion the rails, but he had quail eggs. I couldn't find how to use them - either the eggs were squeezed, or I couldn't fit more than 18 eggs.
  • Black foam mat the same size as the tray. The seller told me she put it underneath the tray (on top of the water channels). I did the same, though I have no idea what good it does. When I put it in the egg tray, the eggs looked dangerously elevated, and I was worried that they would topple off the tray when the turner started. Perhaps another quail thing?
  • Stiff, thick, white folded paper which seems to go into some plastic clips underneath the fan/where the water from the humidity pump enters the machine. Presume it is used to capture/disperse the moisture evenly and keep it from dripping on the eggs. Who knows...

I really wish Brinsea could provide some instruction videos and a warning that the display temp might be off - would have saved me a lot of worry and expenses.

I weighed my eggs just now, and they are spot on target for loosing 15% at lock down. Humidity has been at 30% the first 7 days, then at 40% the last 2 days. I will adjust to 35% now. After failing miserable, I now have a gigantic spreadsheet with charts and statistics and fancy calculations for weight loss, humidity, temperature etc. My PhD is finally useful!
tongue.png
Ok, I understand now. The metal rails separate the eggs. The foam to cover the rails is an extra with the EX, but not necessary, and I could see how it would reduce capacity. I place the rails in the slot closest to the eggs without touching. If you have them tight against the eggs, the eggs can crack when they heat up.
The seller was wrong about the mat, and I have no idea why they thought it should go under the tray. If you didn't have the pump, and only used the wells for humidity, that would actually hurt you. That mat is meant to go under the eggs to give them something soft to sit on, and give the hatching chicks something to grip. If I had it, I would use it, but again, not necessary.
Yes, the stiff white paper is the evaporator pad, and works exactly as you described. That's why I said you may want to add water to the wells at lockdown. To maintain 75% humidity, that pump will be running a lot to keep the humidity up. I have to fill both wells just to get to 60%, and usually have to add a paper towel under the tray to wick enough water to get to 65%. If you fill the wells at lockdown, the pump won't have to work nearly as hard to maintain 65 or 75%. If you enjoy the charts and spreadsheets, then weighing and tracking will probably be fun for you. Like I said, I'm a useless husband, so my first three hatches were trial and error to see what temp and humidity worked for me. 40-42% is my ideal humidity, but it could be different for you. You are also right about the display temp. My first two hatches were drawn out from days 22-23, so I ordered a Spot Check to double check temps. It has a malleable wire attached to the probe, so with a little effort you can "drive" it anywhere in the incubator. I took temps all over the incubator, and measured anywhere from 97.9 to 100.0. If you like spreadsheets, this will be right up your alley. I took an average of all temps, and it was 99.0. I bumped the display temp up to 100.0 and my hatches have been like popcorn on day 21 ever since. I still measure temps from 98.9-100.0, and one side is always a little warmer than the other, so every 4 days I rotate the egg tray 180 degrees.
The Octagon is really a phenomenal incubator, and I'm sure people get sick of hearing me talk about it, but once you find your ideal parameters, it is mind numbingly simple to use. Especially the EX model
 
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Oh, great - now I know where everything should go! Misplaced mat is out now.

I really need this hatch to work, because the chicks are going to finance the completion of my coop (Useless husband only finished it halfway, and at the end, i was not allowed to utter a single word while we were working - so for the sake of harmony I will hire some useful guys to complete it - cheaper than getting divorced/killed). Feels really bad to leave my beloved bators alone with my five (beloved) morons - all likely to unplug the bator, kick a football on it, chain smoke next to it (useless husband's mother) or push all the buttons at once.

I had beginners luck with my first hatches, but then complete failure with zero hatching, fox taking the whole flock, and then marten taking 4 of the replacements. Hence my neurotic spreadsheeting and measuring!

I'll add water in the channels - that makes a lot of sense.

Thanks - I'll name the first chick after you :)
 
Oh, great - now I know where everything should go! Misplaced mat is out now.

I really need this hatch to work, because the chicks are going to finance the completion of my coop (Useless husband only finished it halfway, and at the end, i was not allowed to utter a single word while we were working - so for the sake of harmony I will hire some useful guys to complete it - cheaper than getting divorced/killed). Feels really bad to leave my beloved bators alone with my five (beloved) morons - all likely to unplug the bator, kick a football on it, chain smoke next to it (useless husband's mother) or push all the buttons at once.

I had beginners luck with my first hatches, but then complete failure with zero hatching, fox taking the whole flock, and then marten taking 4 of the replacements. Hence my neurotic spreadsheeting and measuring!

I'll add water in the channels - that makes a lot of sense.

Thanks - I'll name the first chick after you :)
Better not, it will be a rooster. I call all mine "she" until they prove me wrong
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I just realized that you are just a little over a week into the incubation. Really, I have read several posts that say running dry isn't the same in a Brinsea as styrofoam. If you are already ahead of schedule on weight loss this early, I would definitely go up to at least 35%. No one humidity works for every person in every place, but every incubation I have done at 40% has been over 87%, and had one that was 22/23. The only low hatch rate I had was 11/22, and that was at 35%
 

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