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

[Hawkeye95]

you may also find that the temperature under the hen at the bottom of the nest is cooler than the area directly under her at skin and feather level. That's one of the reasons why hens turn their eggs about 96 times a day.. it keeps the temperatures more consistent inside the eggs since the bottom (touching the ground) would naturally be cooler than skin and feather level

good call!! I noticed that instead of being too hot, now I'm too cool. I've hatched many times in my Brinsea Eco so far and not had these troubles. WHY now?? Anyway, I got it adjusted back and all is well, but I'll be keeping a close eye on it from now on. Sigh.

ETA: BTW, my temp dipped down to about 98.8 for several hours, I'm guessing. I was gone most of the day. I got it back up and it's running steady at 99.4 right now. I'm leaving it. But.... what about the eggs?? Think they'll be okay or could I have done them in?

 

[yinepu]

good call!!  I noticed that instead of being too hot, now I'm too cool.  I've hatched many times in my Brinsea Eco so far and not had these troubles.  WHY now??  Anyway, I got it adjusted back and all is well, but I'll be keeping a close eye on it from now on.  Sigh.

ETA:  BTW, my temp dipped down to about 98.8 for several hours, I'm guessing.  I was gone most of the day.  I got it back up and it's running steady at 99.4 right now.  I'm leaving it.  But.... what about the eggs??  Think they'll be okay or could I have done them in?  

it really depends on how far along the embryos are.. what day are you on?
Usually a slight temp drop only results in the hatch taking an extra day or two.. however if the embryos get too cold for too long it can kill them..


at hatch I drop the temps down into the 98 - 98.5 degree range.. but I doubt you are at that stage with this batch of eggs yet

 

[Hawkeye95]

it really depends on how far along the embryos are.. what day are you on?
Usually a slight temp drop only results in the hatch taking an extra day or two.. however if the embryos get too cold for too long it can kill them..
at hatch I drop the temps down into the 98 - 98.5 degree range.. but I doubt you are at that stage with this batch of eggs yet

No, I'm not. They are on Day 10. what do you think???

 

[yinepu]

No, I'm not. They are on Day 10. what do you think???

Hopefully they are just a day late.. after they warm up for a few hours candle a few and see if you see any movement.. (but even if you don't .. don't toss them until several days after their due date.). then give them a few more days and candle the same eggs again and see if they have developed further

 

[Hawkeye95]

Hopefully they are just a day late.. after they warm up for a few hours candle a few and see if you see any movement.. (but even if you don't .. don't toss them until several days after their due date.). then give them a few more days and candle the same eggs again and see if they have developed further

Thanks! This machine has never done this before, what a mess.

 

[yinepu]

Thanks!  This machine has never done this before, what a mess.

now you know why i resorted to using fans directed at mine.. and also why I'm not thrilled with brinseas anymore (one of many reasons)!
I wish I had never bought so many of them... ugh!

btw.. it's easier to keep a small fan handy than to touch the temp knob...

 

[Squawkbox]

Hawkeye i'm sure yours will be totally fine

. With my last hatch my eggs were left alone on I believe it was day 14, for 12+ hours. When I got back they were at 88-89 and I have no idea how long they were at that temp...and this was in a still air. They made it to lockdown.

 

[zekii]

Yes I am monitoring the temps closely, but right now seem to be stable.
I might try the fan method you use next setting, especially if the air temps get warmer here.
Tomorrow is day 20 for me so I'll candle the last time.

as the embryos grow they do generate a certain amount of heat.. not enough to keep them warm and make it through incubation to hatch though

One of the things I hate about Brinseas is the pitiful thermostats they use.. even when we were having a heatwave here they would continue to heat instead of shutting the heat function off.. I ended up having to direct a fan blowing directly onto the Brinseas that i had running at the time. One went to the dump because it continued to try to cook the eggs at a completely unacceptable level

in a perfectly functioning incubator the heat should shut off when the thermostat recognizes that the temp has hit the max level.

Just be sure to continue to monitor the temps since Brinseas can also stop heating just as quickly.. since you adjusted the temperature you may come in to find later on that the temp has dropped and you now have cold eggs

 

[Hawkeye95]

Thanks everyone! I have the machine running steady since last night now. Still looking good this morning. What a scare! I came home to find it so low and I was just in a panic! I think they will be okay, I have a staggered hatch in there and a chick hatched early this morning-- I woke up and there it was! I have 8 eggs due to hatch on the 20th now. Those are the ones at Day 10 (well, today it's Day 11). I'm most worried about them because I shipped them in and you know how it goes, spent a lot of money on them and REALLY want them to be fine! They are all silkies and I've read a lot about low temps in early incubation causing them to start to absorb their extra toes. I sure hope that doesn't happen, I would just be so upset! Sigh. I just hope it wasn't low enough for too long that it actually caused them to suffer any damage.

 

[Squawkbox]

Hmm that's very strange... all of my last hatch was born with 3 toes and one stub thing that has no nail. Coincidence or...?

They are all silkies and I've read a lot about low temps in early incubation causing them to start to absorb their extra toes.