Little Giant Incubator Tricks

[cmom]

I got a bottle cap & asked my hubby to attach it to the incubator for a knob & when I got home, he had used an actual knob! I'm calibrating it now & I'm so excited! I have the best hubby ever!!!

I used the bottle cap because at the time it was the right size and handy but a knob is great. The adjustment is so much easier. Moving the thermostat just a hair can make a big difference. Good luck and have fun...

 

[Arielle]

We got a new dAnver hen today & she's broody! She's even back on her eggs after moving her! Fingers crossed she will hatch my JG eggs! (I'm definitely going to keep the incubator going, just in case she doesn't make it all the way through the hatch!)

Sorry the little one didn't make it. ( hugs)

A broody can be very useful, and I do keep my incubator up and running as a back up just in case.

Good luck.

 

[RickaRae]

I used the bottle cap because at the time it was the right size and handy but a knob is great. The adjustment is so much easier. Moving the thermostat just a hair can make a big difference. Good luck and have fun... 

I thought the cap was a great idea! My hubby (who is a computer tech) decided to get all "techy" on it. I was thrilled & just wanted to share.

 

[Arielle]

Turned the incubator back on--- still at the summer setting. And as the house is now at 55 instead of 75, it is not getting up to temp. Bcause we cleaned the chimney yesterday, and plan to get the wood stove going, I'm not going to mess withthe setting YET. Eggs are waiting to go in thoug-- the pressure is on.

 

[aart]

There were 2 spread sheets linked in this long thread......and I forgot to save one of them and now I can't find it...anyone have a copy they can post? One was called 'eggs WEEKS' but it was the other one I missed. TIA

 

[QueenofKings]

Hate to revive such an old thread, but I've found several helpful tips in this thread! I have 10 eggs currently, planning to plug them in on New Year's Day or January 1st. Could someone please explain how I am supposed to attach the milk jug cap onto the top so I can turn it?

Also, I calibrated my thermometer with the ice and water trick (see page 15) and it is 2 degrees higher. I will be running another trial after I let it sit and adjust to the house temperature again. Either later today or tomorrow, I'll head off and get myself a hydrometer so I can see how humid the air is in the room we've set aside for the incubator. Right now, my main concern is the thermometer since the incubator is still air and I've decided to go with the 'dry hatch' method.

 

[cmom]

Hate to revive such an old thread, but I've found several helpful tips in this thread! I have 10 eggs currently, planning to plug them in on New Year's Day or January 1st. Could someone please explain how I am supposed to attach the milk jug cap onto the top so I can turn it?

Also, I calibrated my thermometer with the ice and water trick (see page 15) and it is 2 degrees higher. I will be running another trial after I let it sit and adjust to the house temperature again. Either later today or tomorrow, I'll head off and get myself a hydrometer so I can see how humid the air is in the room we've set aside for the incubator. Right now, my main concern is the thermometer since the incubator is still air and I've decided to go with the 'dry hatch' method.

No problem. Here is a picture of what I did. First drill a small hole in the middle of the milk cap, next find a screw that will fit tight inside the thermostat. I made a mark on the bottle cap so I could pretty much tell where the cap should be set for the temperature to be fairly accurate. One thing about the styrofoam incubators is they are very sensitive to environmental changes. Many people keep them in a closed climate controlled room or even a closet to keep the environment as stable as possible with the least influences. If the incubator is by a window that can affect the temperature stability of the incubator. Initially you will need little to no water. My incubator usually stays around 35% on the humidity during incubation which is good because the eggs need to loose some moisture as the chicks develop. The last 3 days then I raise the humidity to around 75% as then they need the humidity so they don't get stuck in their shells and can move around to pip and zip and hatch. The more eggs you put in the incubator the better and the more stable the temperature will stay. Good luck and have fun...

 

[QueenofKings]

Thanks cmon, ah, I should've clarified. I was hoping you could explain how it's done. The thing you use to adjust the temp on mine is just plain black and it looks a bit like one of those lego pieces you use for the axles. I've noticed in other pictures, there seems to be a white capping surrounding.

I was hoping that someone could provide a written explanation of what was done, since I can't gather much from a picture.

 

[Arielle]

I used a dimmer knob kit,

IT has two differnt attachment sizes to fit on that pin. One might work for your design. Once that is fitted on . Press on the dimmer knob. Press firmly but not enough to damage the stryofoam. Makes adjustting easier, better fine tuning very tiny changes with big fingers like mine. lol

 

[aart]

After laboriously reading this entire thread a couple months ago, I found many tips and experiences helped...but the milk cap tip was one of the best!
From my own experience, stable room temps and patience is the key to temp control. If you make a change...wait, like an hour at least...for it to stabilize or you'll just start ping ponging the temp and never get it to settle. Playing with changing the temps during testing, before eggs, helps the learning curve.

Here's how I installed my temp knob.
I just drilled a hole in the milk cap very close in size, but a bit smaller, than the stem on the LG.
I measured the stem and drill bit with caliper, but you could just guess - starting smaller is better.
I used a tapered awl to enlarge the hole a bit and very carefully pressed it on.
Added the increase/decrease label for easier visual.

It is a borrowed incubator so I didn't want to risk cracking the stem it by inserting a screw.

Q of K.....it might help if you posted a pic of your incubator temp control......maybe it's just me but pics are worth a thousand words.