Little Giant Incubator Tricks

[Avonshire]

I have the opposite problem. My temp always goes down and I have to adjust up--which I hate doing! I need two--one for incubating and one for lock down!

 

[cmom]

I used to incubate and hatch in my LG's but now I just use them as hatchers.

 

[chicknadventure]

Thanks for this thread I am learning so much!

 

[Arielle]

I have the opposite problem. My temp always goes down and I have to adjust up--which I hate doing! I need two--one for incubating and one for lock down!

Why do you think the temp drops? THe effects of humidity? Different location?

I used to incubate and hatch in my LG's but now I just use them as hatchers.

I use my cooler incubator which hold 80-100 eggs and hatch in the LG up to 55 eggs at a time. Less adjusting that finicky knob. I was using the red plugs to adjust temps, too, until I read how many people just threw them away to keep the air flowing well. I really liked how I could minutely change the temp using those plugs.LG instructions say to have BOTH plugs out going into lockdown.

I feel like I need to have a jungle of potted plants in the room to up the oxygen level.

 

[doubleatraining]

I am using my LG as a hatcher but have only hatched 1 out of 9 chicks. Everyone was shrink wrapped. The next hatch I will have extra sponges in there AND have both plugs in. There are holes all around that oxygen can get in.....I need to keep the humidity in the bator!

 

[Arielle]

I am using my LG as a hatcher but have only hatched 1 out of 9 chicks. Everyone was shrink wrapped. The next hatch I will have extra sponges in there AND have both plugs in. There are holes all around that oxygen can get in.....I need to keep the humidity in the bator!

Chicks die in their eggs if they don't get enough oxygen. We can help you with how to manage high humidity. I can get mine to 80-90% for hatching turkey eggs.

Shrink wrapping happens when the moisture needs to be higher, and that could include the time of incubation not just lockdown days.It could also be the effect of the fan: How is your fan oriented, if you use a fan? Does it blow on the eggs or on the wall / ceiling? Did any of the shrink warpped eggs pip??

 

[cmom]

I am using my LG as a hatcher but have only hatched 1 out of 9 chicks. Everyone was shrink wrapped. The next hatch I will have extra sponges in there AND have both plugs in. There are holes all around that oxygen can get in.....I need to keep the humidity in the bator!

I have kept the plugs in too to keep my humidity up when it has been extremely dry weather. I just add an extra sponge or two and put it under the little holes in the corner so I can use my wash bottle to wet the sponges if I need to without opening the lid.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/601352/little-giant-incubator-tricks#post_7906557

 

[Avonshire]

Well I think it has to do with positioning and humidity. The first hatch I did after the first chick hatched my therm fell from on top of the eggs to the grate and the temp went from 99 to 93. I was worried the temp was too low so I increased it. This time I used a turner and also tried dry incubation. So I dropped the level of the eggs and tried with egg cartons to get the height right but was not successful. So I had to increase the temp. I also finally had a huge increase in humdity too. I am worried about shrink wrap this time with the dry incubation approach. Tpday is haych day. I did not add water the whole time before lockdown. If this is a bad hatch I think I will try to keep my uumidity around 30 during incubation. I also use a still air lg if that makes a difference in the whole temp discussion.

 

[cmom]

I incubate with the humidity around 35% for the first 18 days then I raise the humidity to around 70% to 75% for the last 3 days. My last hatch all eggs piped but the last one that piped expired before it hatched, so 31 out of 32 eggs hatched. I have had no issues with shrink wrapping. As long as the temp is around 99ºF to 100ºF the chicks will hatch out on time. If the temp is a little low then they may take a little longer to hatch and if the temp is a little high then they will hatch a little sooner. I also take the chicks and shells out of the incubator when they hatch.

 

[Avonshire]

cmom--do you have one of those egg therms? If I do this again I want one of those! I need a good therm. Mine are all over the place. I started out with them all giving me the same temp but then midway thru I was getting temps all over the place. They weren't all in the exact same place which is all I can figure is my problem--uneven heat throughout!