THE Brinsea Octagon 20 Eco Thread; Hatches, etc. (PICS)

[fatcatx]

I always use my turner because I'm not able to hand turn often enough. With shipped eggs, I usually sit it in the turner, i just don't plug the turner in for a day or two, depending on how bad the air cells look. Hopefully your eggs won't be too bad.

I have 2 Octagon 20s. One has a pump, the other doesn't. I tried something new a couple of weeks ago with the non-pump one. Used a piece of quilt batting (the thin cotton inner layer) thru the wells for extra humidity. Worked well!

Hope your eggs arrive in great condition. I have more on the way also.

Do you place shipped eggs on their sides for the hatch? What kind of hatch rates are you getting? I was really worried about using the turner with damaged cells. Maybe I'm worrying too much?

The batting cloth is a great idea. My go-to method is the Viva paper towel. Seems to hold a lot more water (than regular towels) and regulates well. Easy to tear into smaller pieces when necessary.

 

[WVduckchick]

Do you place shipped eggs on their sides for the hatch? What kind of hatch rates are you getting? I was really worried about using the turner with damaged cells. Maybe I'm worrying too much?

The batting cloth is a great idea. My go-to method is the Viva paper towel. Seems to hold a lot more water (than regular towels) and regulates well. Easy to tear into smaller pieces when necessary.

Viva is a good one! That's a great option.

Shipped eggs are always a gamble, as I'm sure you know. But I still always incubate vertically, and lay them down to hatch. After probably 10+ sets of shipped eggs, i feel it all depends on how well they are packed, and how hard the postal workers are on them. One of my best hatches came from FL to WV, 90%+ hatched. KY to WV was excellent also, but they didn't travel far at all. California to me....well, the air cells were pretty bad. Several totally detached, only one of those even started growing and it quit on day 8.

And i think egg freshness plays a part too. The smaller the air cells, the better they travel.

Here's my plan for the ones on their way to me now. I will candle first to see how bad they are. I circle air cells, and do dotted lines for loose membrane. I will set them vertically, in the rails, on the turner, but won't turn the turner on yet. Check some of the worst ones after 24-36 hours of heat, and see if they are more stable. Won't wait longer than day 3 to turn on the turner though. Some people even wait 24 hours before starting incubation. I don't do that, but it's another option. If just a few come with slighly wobbly cells, I plug in the turner from the start.

 

[fatcatx]

Viva is a good one! That's a great option.

Shipped eggs are always a gamble, as I'm sure you know. But I still always incubate vertically, and lay them down to hatch. After probably 10+ sets of shipped eggs, i feel it all depends on how well they are packed, and how hard the postal workers are on them. One of my best hatches came from FL to WV, 90%+ hatched. KY to WV was excellent also, but they didn't travel far at all. California to me....well, the air cells were pretty bad. Several totally detached, only one of those even started growing and it quit on day 8.

And i think egg freshness plays a part too. The smaller the air cells, the better they travel.

Here's my plan for the ones on their way to me now. I will candle first to see how bad they are. I circle air cells, and do dotted lines for loose membrane. I will set them vertically, in the rails, on the turner, but won't turn the turner on yet. Check some of the worst ones after 24-36 hours of heat, and see if they are more stable. Won't wait longer than day 3 to turn on the turner though. Some people even wait 24 hours before starting incubation. I don't do that, but it's another option. If just a few come with slighly wobbly cells, I plug in the turner from the start.

Thx for sharing technique. Mine are coming quite a distance unfortunately - couldn't find any closer. This is only my 3rd set of shipped - first in the Brinsea.
My tentative plan was to candle and mark on arrival, let rest for 12 hours and then start incubation with no turning for the first 2 days. My DH and I are in debates on what to do at that point. I had planned on incubating in a carton and manually doing the slight tilt to keep cell as stable as possible. The turner is DH vote. Honestly I am torn. Both ways have pros and cons. I know how important turning is in the first week so doing a lot of hand wringing. We'll see how the cells look. Maybe I'll get lucky.

Do you find that wobbly cells become pretty stable after a few days upright? Do you bother trying to incubate the "rollers"?

Had I been a sane person I would have experimented on a cheap barnyard mix first!

 

[WVduckchick]

Thx for sharing technique. Mine are coming quite a distance unfortunately - couldn't find any closer. This is only my 3rd set of shipped - first in the Brinsea.
My tentative plan was to candle and mark on arrival, let rest for 12 hours and then start incubation with no turning for the first 2 days. My DH and I are in debates on what to do at that point. I had planned on incubating in a carton and manually doing the slight tilt to keep cell as stable as possible. The turner is DH vote. Honestly I am torn. Both ways have pros and cons. I know how important turning is in the first week so doing a lot of hand wringing. We'll see how the cells look. Maybe I'll get lucky.

Do you find that wobbly cells become pretty stable after a few days upright? Do you bother trying to incubate the "rollers"?

Had I been a sane person I would have experimented on a cheap barnyard mix first!

Honestly, I see pros and cons both ways also, but hand turning is out for me, so that makes it easier for me not to fret over.

Obviously I wouldn't chuck any egg, I was surprised when one of my worst detached ones even started! I think, had I not turned for a couple of days, it might have reatached, but what does that cost the others? The turner does tilt them wayyyy up on their side, so I can see that a gentle turning could be beneficial.

Slightly wobbly air cells seem to reattach within 48 hours, in my experience. Many times faster.

Oh, saddled ones.... If it slopes down opposite sides, but not all the way around... (like 3 and 9 o'clock, but not 6 and noon), i would recommend placing those perpendicular to the tilt. Hope that makes sense lol

 

[enggass]

I've always had decent luck with shipped eggs in my Oct 20 Eco. Had a 90% hatch on some eggs once from Cali and I'm in Maine. Usually between 65-85%.

I let eggs sit outside of Incubator 24hrs after arrival - no turning. I then set them and immediately start turner. The turner moves extremely slowly back and forth 45° each way. I try to stay at 30% humidity during incubation, then about 65% during hatch.
My 2¢

 

[fatcatx]

Oh, saddled ones.... If it slopes down opposite sides, but not all the way around... (like 3 and 9 o'clock, but not 6 and noon), i would recommend placing those perpendicular to the tilt. Hope that makes sense lol

*thumbs up* that is what I planned on doing. Thx for confirming that my logic made sense.

I've always had decent luck with shipped eggs in my Oct 20 Eco. Had a 90% hatch on some eggs once from Cali and I'm in Maine. Usually between 65-85%.

I let eggs sit outside of Incubator 24hrs after arrival - no turning. I then set them and immediately start turner. The turner moves extremely slowly back and forth 45° each way. I try to stay at 30% humidity during incubation, then about 65% during hatch.
My 2¢

Wow! 90% - that is pretty amazing considering the distance. I'm hoping the Brinsea can make that kind of magic happen (though I won't hold my breath.) ;-) It sure pops them out like popcorn when conditions are right.

 

[Double Barrel]

Hello Brinseaddicts,
Has anyone replaced the factory egg tray with some other type of tray?
My reason for asking, is I do not have a tray.
Looking to see if I can find some ideas before building one or buying a new Brinsea factory replacement.
Thanks,
DB

 

[amynrichie]

Hello Brinseaddicts,
Has anyone replaced the factory egg tray with some other type of tray?
My reason for asking, is I do not have a tray.
Looking to see if I can find some ideas before building one or buying a new Brinsea factory replacement.
Thanks,
DB

I would think you could very easily use something else. Those little dollar store plastic baskets with holes drilled in the bottom for ventilation, craft plastic mesh made into a basket, or even ordering a new tray from Brinsea are the ideas I have right off the bat. I think the key would be: good ventilation, easy to clean, sturdy enough not to fold and break eggs if you try to move it.

 

[Double Barrel]

I would think you could very easily use something else. Those little dollar store plastic baskets with holes drilled in the bottom for ventilation, craft plastic mesh made into a basket, or even ordering a new tray from Brinsea are the ideas I have right off the bat. I think the key would be: good ventilation, easy to clean, sturdy enough not to fold and break eggs if you try to move it.

Thanks for the ideas..I figured just about anything would work. I was hoping a few people have found or engineered their own. Would like to find one that holds eggs upright, like a gqf tray and trim it to fit. Problem is finding one with good spacing for the octagon. So far, from what I've found, wouldnt have very good capacity once cut to fit.

 

[QuailKing86]

How big of wicks do u use. I've been running mine a day and it's at 54%. Just need a tip to jump the humidity during lockdown. Got 60 quail eggs in transit as I'm typing lol. Brinsea Oct 20 advance thanks. I will start a new post win the quail hatch begins.