Brinsea Mini II Advance - Humidity Issue

[birds4c]

I have the Brinsea Mini II Advance incubator and had a couple questions. At lockdown I’ve been filling both parts of the water reservoir but still seem to be having trouble with the chicks hatching (possibly shrink wrapped) even though I don’t open the incubator during lockdown and have filled both water compartments. I incubated eggs last year with no problems. This year though most of my eggs are not hatching with quite a few dying during lockdown. I do have one chick hatch normally each time though! I’ve been assist hatching lately for the chicks that are struggling and all I can think is they are being shrink wrapped. I’ve been incubating chicken eggs and button quail eggs. Any suggestions?

 

[WVduckchick]

Many possibilities.
Are the air cells getting too large? Are you monitoring them throughout? You might need to add a little water sooner than lockdown.
Could it be an issue with the parents?
Are they shipped eggs?
Did you verify the temperature settings? I know the Mini is a fantastic incubator, but they still need to be verified.
How old are the eggs being set, and how are they handled prior to set?

I’m just throwing out other ideas to consider.

 

[birds4c]

Many possibilities.
Are the air cells getting too large? Are you monitoring them throughout? You might need to add a little water sooner than lockdown.
Could it be an issue with the parents?
Are they shipped eggs?
Did you verify the temperature settings? I know the Mini is a fantastic incubator, but they still need to be verified.
How old are the eggs being set, and how are they handled prior to set?

I’m just throwing out other ideas to consider.

Thank you for all the help! Yes, I had quite a few of the issues you mentioned. These could be reasons for them dying at the end?

I don’t know how to monitor the egg cells. I’ve tried reading about that but just don’t understand it. Also, I can’t see when I try to candle the button quail eggs. I am able to see when I candle the lighter colored chicken eggs though.

There is a possibility from the parents from one of the batches I did. The female died soon after I don’t know why. This must have had an effect.

One batch was shipped eggs. I incubated seven. 3 hatched (1 on its own that was near a little bottle cap of water and 2 we helped hatch) a fourth pipped but died before we were able to help it (it hadn’t pulled in its yolk yet so I guess we couldn’t have helped anyways). I think the other three didn’t develop.

How do I verify the temperature settings on the mini? I’m incubating at 99.5F. I love the incubator. I just want to figure out what mistakes I’m making.

I don’t know for some of the batches how they’re being set beforehand or their ages since they’re chicken eggs from someone in the area. There could be a problem here too I suppose.

Thank you for all the ideas. Last year, I had a pretty much perfect situation: healthy parents, no shipping, and eggs from my own quail that I knew the age and how they were set. I couldn’t remember if I put extra water (more than the water reservoir in the middle) in the incubator last year and if I should at lockdown?

 

[WVduckchick]

Sometimes we just overthink it. I’d say it was a combination of some of the issues, or just plain ole bad luck. If it continues, I’d worry more, but a single bad hatch is bound to happen sometimes.

There’s a link in my signature block below that may help you with air cell development and humidity adjustments. Incubation Humidity Guide. (If you’re on a phone, you have to turn the phone sideways to see signature blocks)

 

[birds4c]

Sometimes we just overthink it. I’d say it was a combination of some of the issues, or just plain ole bad luck. If it continues, I’d worry more, but a single bad hatch is bound to happen sometimes.

There’s a link in my signature block below that may help you with air cell development and humidity adjustments. Incubation Humidity Guide. (If you’re on a phone, you have to turn the phone sideways to see signature blocks)

Thank you! Hopefully, the problems were from issues you mentioned! I’m going to take a look at the Incubation Humidity Guide. Thank you for the tips for finding it. Now I know why I didn’t see it before!

 

[HeatherKellyB]

@BrinseaUS

 

[HeatherKellyB]

@WVduckchick is phenomenal and an experienced help, so I'm not tagging Brinsea because you shouldn't take her advice. She's very knowledgeable and always offers the best tips and tricks to help with any questions.

I ran into this with my last batch in this incubator. I use a tray that will hold a clean sponge and I add water to the sponge/in the tray as needed to adjust humidity. This helps in my experience. I used a dropper and lifted the lid just enough to squirt a small amount of water to the sponge. I also filled the exterior water port. In the end, I stopped filling the interior port that is only accessible with the lid off

Edited to add that I use warm water to keep temp more steady

Edited again because I'm not sure what the difference is between the Maxi and Mini. I use the Maxi. Hopefully they're very similar so this may be helpful. If not, I apologize

 

[birds4c]

@WVduckchick is phenomenal and an experienced help, so I'm not tagging Brinsea because you shouldn't take her advice. She's very knowledgeable and always offers the best tips and tricks to help with any questions.

I ran into this with my last batch in this incubator. I use a tray that will hold a clean sponge and I add water to the sponge/in the tray as needed to adjust humidity. This helps in my experience. I used a dropper and lifted the lid just enough to squirt a small amount of water to the sponge. I also filled the exterior water port. In the end, I stopped filling the interior port that is only accessible with the lid off

Edited to add that I use warm water to keep temp more steady

Edited again because I'm not sure what the difference is between the Maxi and Mini. I use the Maxi. Hopefully they're very similar so this may be helpful. If not, I apologize

Thank you! I’ll have to try the sponge idea next time. I tried a sponge but without a dish under it and the sponge just dried up really quickly so I’m going to need to add the dish under it. I didn’t use warm water for my sponge either. Could that be part of the reason I had so much trouble with the hatching? Hopefully Brinsea will respond too!

 

[BrinseaUS]

So if the humidity isn't getting high enough with water alone then adding a dish or a sponge could do the trick. Make sure that the sponge is in the water well but sticking out into the air slightly. This will allow it to draw up water and increase the water surface area. Let us know if you have any other questions!

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Thank you! I’ll have to try the sponge idea next time. I tried a sponge but without a dish under it and the sponge just dried up really quickly so I’m going to need to add the dish under it. I didn’t use warm water for my sponge either. Could that be part of the reason I had so much trouble with the hatching? Hopefully Brinsea will respond too!

I found that using warm water helped with getting the temperature back up quickly and the humidity also increases and stabilizes quickly. I'll take a picture of my sponge and tray that I use whenever I get finished up with work.
Hatching issues arise from so many factors, in my experience. Did you use eggs that shipped to you? What about the turner? Did you stop turning in time for them to get into proper position before hatching? What were you hatching? Did you keep an alternate calibrated thermometer and hydrometer in the incubator? These questions are just some of the possibilities. How did your hatch end up? Did you have to do any assisting? Hopefully your next clutch will go better for you.