Brinsea Octagon 20 Advance EX with automatic Humidity Pump and Trader Joe eggs

[BathrobeGardner]

FINAL UPDATE: One more TJ egg hatched overnight. I did another float test and there was no movement from the other 2 eggs that had shown signs of life yesterday. I opened them up and both were fully formed chicks but had died without pipping at all . The other 2 dark eggs had died sometime halfway but because I couldn't see them when I candled, I didn't know. Anyway, 20 out of 24 (especially with TJ eggs) was a fantastic experience. I have cleaned my Brinsea and I am ready to go again LOL. Happy hatching everyone.

 

[taymar's flock]

20 out of 24 is fantastic!! I cannot wait to see how my hatch goes with my new Brinsea. You have made me very optimistic about its' success.

 

[BathrobeGardner]

20 out of 24 is fantastic!! I cannot wait to see how my hatch goes with my new Brinsea. You have made me very optimistic about its' success.

Good luck. I am sure you will be successful also. I have bought some more TJ eggs just to be sure my first experience was not a fluke. Let me know how your hatch goes.

 

[Heron's Nest Farm]

Thanks for posting this thread!

I had originally wanted this incubator, but hubby and I decided that it was too expensive for our first go. I am pleased with your results and feel confident that we may buy one eventually.

Props to trader joes. Those are FRESH EGGS! Who'd a thunk it?!

I bought a Janoel and I am calibrating the temp right now. It's nerve racking getting ready to hatch by incubator! I will do a similar thread to chart my progress.

Thanks again. This was a great thread!

April
Heron's Nest Farm

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

FINAL UPDATE:  One more TJ egg hatched overnight.  I did another float test and there was no movement from the other 2 eggs that had shown signs of life yesterday.  I opened them up and both were fully formed chicks but had died without pipping at all .  The other 2 dark eggs had died sometime halfway but because I couldn't see them when I candled, I didn't know.  Anyway, 20 out of 24 (especially with TJ eggs) was a fantastic experience.  I have cleaned my Brinsea and I am ready to go again LOL.  Happy hatching everyone.

Congratulations on 20/24 that is a fantastic hatch. Enjoy your babies and good luck for the next time. So pleased that the Brinsea has worked well for you!

 

[BathrobeGardner]

Thanks for posting this thread!

I had originally wanted this incubator, but hubby and I decided that it was too expensive for our first go. I am pleased with your results and feel confident that we may buy one eventually.

Props to trader joes. Those are FRESH EGGS! Who'd a thunk it?!

I bought a Janoel and I am calibrating the temp right now. It's nerve racking getting ready to hatch by incubator! I will do a similar thread to chart my progress.

Thanks again. This was a great thread!

April
Heron's Nest Farm

My pleasure. Good luck with your hatch and I look forward to reading about your experience.

 

[scflock]

I did run the cooling down feature but only after I candled at the 7 day mark. I don't plan to use the feature for my next incubation just to see what the difference will be. When my Buff is sitting on her eggs, she never gets up for a hour a day - 10 mins at most - and she's back to her eggs. The cooling down feature's minimum time is 1 hour. I am presuming that is why the hatch seems slow (although today is really only day 22 - I think I should take some "chill down" pills LOL).

Question: How do you clean the incubator? It is covered in down feathers and the plastic is almost completely covered.

I cleaned the yellow part with an antibacterial dishwashing liquid. I didn't emerse it, just did it with a wet cloth and rinsed. A blowdryer does a great job on the top and fan. Do it outside, though, that fluff goes everywhere. After a couple of runs, I will take the fan guard off and brush it lightly with a soft brush. That's my favorite part about the Octagon, it's so easy to clean

 

[FridayYet]

I just ordered the Advance with the humidity pump. It's so dry here and our home fluctuates in temperature, so I wanted an incubator I didn't have to hover over all the time.

Other threads talk about problems setting up the humidity pump. Any problems here? Thanks! I'm sure I'll have a ton of questions once It gets here.

 

[BathrobeGardner]

I just ordered the Advance with the humidity pump. It's so dry here and our home fluctuates in temperature, so I wanted an incubator I didn't have to hover over all the time.

Other threads talk about problems setting up the humidity pump. Any problems here? Thanks! I'm sure I'll have a ton of questions once It gets here.

Congrats on your purchase. I definitely had problems setting up myself and not much sympathy from the Brinsea customer service but, once I set up the first one, I had no problems setting up the next one. It is a little tricky and I wish Brinsea would make a how-to video.

That being said, I absolutely love it. It is "set it and forget it" and you will definitely enjoy having it. If you have any problems, send me a private email and I will give you my phone number and "walk" you through it.

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

I just ordered the Advance with the humidity pump.  It's so dry here and our home fluctuates in temperature, so I wanted an incubator I didn't have to hover over all the time.

Other threads talk about problems setting up the humidity pump. Any problems here?  Thanks!  I'm sure I'll have a ton of questions once It gets here.

Congrats on your choice of incubator. I too had a little trouble at first with the pump. I found though if you suck the water through the pipe before putting it around the turning part on the pump it's not constantly pumping to get water through it at first.
Good luck with your new bator