tips and secrets of the GQF 1502 sportsman...

[ajcress]

I recently purchased a 1502 sportsman cabinet incubator. I used and still have an LG still air incubator I have hatched from for almost 5 years with good luck... Well I wanted to upgrade to the caddie. I started up the bator like I was suppose to and everything was fine for over 24 hours so I sat some eggs... then everything went haywire. I finally found out that the humidity pan valve was not working properly. the water wasn't running from the 5 gallon holding bucket. inside the humidity pan theres a floating device when it drops so low it is suppose to fill up with water. on the top of the floating device there is a pin that can be pushed to the left or right. could this matter which direction this pin is in for water flow to the pan?

I think for right now everything will be ok. any tricks tips or secrets to the sportsman would greatly be appriciated...thanks in advance. I hope I explained my problem well enough.. for back up I have jars full of water with spounges inside for more humidity and still is only @ 48 to 50% on day 21 in lockdown..

God Bless!!!

 

[cmom]

I have an older Sportsman 1202. We have modified it as originally it had a wafer thermostat that we converted over to an electronic thermostat and put a clear door on it. It works great. I still use my styrofoam incubators as hatchers as I do a lot of staggered hatches. I have never had any problems with my humidity pan. I do have the bucket too. I adjust the humidity with the vents on the back. The incubator is on vacation until after New Years.

 

[ajcress]

it has been my dream for a long time to own one as well! I got one heck of a deal on this bator. The gentleman I purchased it in May of 2011 and then injured himself and had to have back surgery. during this time he was not able to keep his cgickens and soon after got rid of them all and decided he would sell me the bator. I got all the paperwork and also was able to transfer the warrenty. I paid him half of what he paid! I got all the egg racks and he also had the 5 gal bucket for the humidity. I do feel for him as I am sure it was a hard decision but he still had the older 1200 model he decided to keep. Just keep your eyes open for a good deal. Everyone deserves to "treat" themselves once in a while!! It makes me feel good because I am a mother and a wife and always put everyone elses needs and wants before my own! I guess I can say I have used up my getting something for myself for a few years if not more !!!!!! Again Good luck and when my bator and I come to an agreement I will be happy to hatch eggs for anyone!!

 

[cmom]

Quote: I bought the shell and modified it to use as a brooder.

 

[bdfive]

Can't remember if I posted to this thread but if I did regarding hatching the AUSTRALIAN BLACK SWAN and 4 EGYPTIAN GOSLINGS want to report they are doing great at a little over 3 weeks old. The geese went to a new home today and I believe the Swan is not lonely at all but instead enjoying the peace and quiet. Those goslings were so bothersome to the swan. I love my GQF Cabinet Incubator I bought a few years ago. It's working well hatching peafowl and now rare waterfowl. I started using the 5 gallon bucket on top last year and that is a huge time saver not having to constantly fill the water tray. I'm actually thinking about getting another but my husband is reminding me this is a hobby and I'm nuts wanting to hatch more eggs, LOL!! Problem is the swan eggs are large so don't know how I'm going to have enough room with peafowl breeding starting soon. Love this thread and all the photos shared. Thanks much.

 

[cmom]

if you want you humidity to stay 55-60 only open the middle holes in back of incubator enough for your finger to fit in it the hole should never be wide open this is how mine is and if i put 100 eggs in the bottom to hatch i hatch 90 to 95 of the eggs i hope this helps

i also control my humidity by using the vents in the back of my incubator. Mine is an older one I have had for many years but it works great.

 

[cmom]

Quote:
I have a couple of old Hova-Bators and a couple of old Little Giants and my home-made cooler incubator/hatcher. The styrofoam boxes in front of the island are what I put the chicks in while they dry out.





Some of these are ready for the grow-out coop.

First grow-out coop.


Getting ready to clean out this coop. It is the next coop they go into. It does have nest boxes but I will block them off at first until they start laying.

 

[JetCat]

What is your cleaning ratio? Just wondering as I never bleached the eggs because of the bloom. Very interesting.

500 ppm unscented bleach, i also scrub them with a scotchbrite pad under cold city (chlorinated) water prior to a dip in the sanitizing bath.

 

[cmom]

Quote:
Looks like you have a good plan. I have about 200 eggs in my incubator and room for another 100. My bottom tray is empty but I will fill it this next week then I will decide if I want to hatch any more. These are test hatches. I have some people that want eggs from my pure Rhode Island Reds and Rhode Island Whites. I show them at poultry shows and have done pretty well with them. I am hopeful I will have a good hatch rate before I ship any eggs out. I have some projects in the incubator too.

I have been replacing wire in my pens and almost done. It's hard for this old lady but I'm getting it done. Hubby has Parkinson's so he isn't too steady. I am replacing the chicken wire with welded wire and hopefully will never have to replace it again as long as I have to live. I have had some breaches and escape artists. I have done the worst fences first. I have replaced a couple of pens with chicken wire and since the chicken wire is relatively new fencing, I'm leaving it for now and working on the other pens. I have 10 coops and pens. I need a new coop for my Leghorns so we are in the planning stages for it and the pen. I am quite surprised my hubby agreed to it. After we built the last two coops he said no more.

I have not used that fan/heater element, but it looked interesting to me too.

 

[cmom]

Quote:
Some people candle their eggs and watch the expansion of the large end of the shell that the chick pips to get it's first gulp of air. I do not check this as it is not going to change the hatch rate. It is what it is. Also some people weigh the eggs to see how much moisture they loose and I don't do that either. This is not rocket science. As long as the parent stock is fed good feed the chicks should be strong. I feed my birds a good 20% protein feed for breeders. My youngsters get a 20% protein grower feed and my chicks get a good medicated chick starter. People are what they eat and the same applies to most creatures. As long as the humidity and temperature are kept within a certain range (my incubation is usually between 30 & 40% and my hatchers around 75%, and my temperature around 99.5 I have good hatches). It doesn't have to be exact but close. My temperature generally varies around ½ degree.