tips and secrets of the GQF 1502 sportsman...

[stryker]

I don't hatch in my cabinet, I only incubate in it. I use my styrofoam incubators as hatchers and get the humidity up to around 75% +/-. I try to keep my humidity low during incubation. Currently here it is very humid and rain on and off so I'm having a hard time getting my humidity below 40% incubating. My cabinet is an older one I have had for years but I'm sure it still works the same. I don't know how many air holes yours has in back my cabinet has 6, 3 lower and 3 upper. I do open and close them to control the humidity and have put foil or something over the water tray too. Currently I have a old license plate on it. I have posted quite a few pictures in this thread. Good luck and have fun...

I ended up with putting two pint jars instead of a pan for better humidity. I have the supplies but now need to make the hatcher before next week.

 

[duluthralphie]

I have hawks circling today. I had King George and the British gals out free ranging. Luckily King George must have seen the hawks before I did, as he had them all back in their covered run.

No birds are going outside today, It is hawk migration time here.

I hatch in the foam incubators too.

I do not hatch in the 1202.

I think I am going to get a float and set the buck thing up. I will make my own. I am too cheap to buy the set up.




The jars may not have enough surface area to get moisture up..

 

[JetCat]

I am becoming a NPIP hatchery.  I went to the required classroom school (Minnesota rules might be different than other states) we were told there hatching in the same machine you incubate in is cause for disqualification.   They actually want the incubator and hatcher in different rooms/areas.  The hatching process is considered the most dirty part of chick raising.

Of course, they make us wash our eggs in a chlorine solution also. Let me tell you, it seems wrong to have to wash my eggs for hatching!   I have yet to hatch a batch I washed so time will tell on that.

I wash my eggs in chlorinated water before incubating and have excellent hatches. Nothing for you to worry about.

 

[duluthralphie]

I wash my eggs in chlorinated water before incubating and have excellent hatches. Nothing for you to worry about.

that is what they claimed at the NPIP school. they said it is better than hatches where bacteria gets into the incubator.

But I have read on here, people that swear even water rinsing an egg kills it. I have to learn to only believe half of what I read..

Thanks. It comforts me to know you do this, even if you are lying to me!

I think it is like the "lockdown" myth. So many claim you cannot open the hatcher. But it has never affected my hatch to open it.

 

[OHfarmerswife]

Luck!!!!
Even though my Sportsman is quite old I love it. I have incubated thousands of eggs in it. I did hatch in it years ago but now I use my styrofoam incubators as hatchers. Since I have several breeding pens it also helps to keep the chicks straight, as to what eggs came out of what coop. I do mark the eggs before I put them in the incubator. I just put around 200 eggs in it. The bottom tray is still empty so I can put more in.

cmom what type of styrofoam incubator do you use to hatch in? I have 2 brinsea Octo 20 that I have been incubating in. I planned on using those for hatching. I might need another to hatch in.
Thx

 

[duluthralphie]

I have 2 farm innovators and one Little giant. I use the turning racks from them to store my pre-incubation eggs. It kind of helps me keep track of how many I have, and how old the eggs are before I put them in the incubator..


And it gives my wife something to complain about so she is happy... The sit on the countertop/serving area. We never use it anyways. so it is good place for eggs.....

Besides if she did not complain about the eggs, she might find something important to complain about.

 

[OHfarmerswife]

I have 2 farm innovators and one Little giant.  I use the turning racks from them to store my pre-incubation eggs.  It kind of helps me keep track of how many I have, and how old the eggs are before I put them in the incubator..


And it gives my wife something to complain about so she is happy... The sit on the countertop/serving area.  We never use it anyways. so it is good place for eggs.....

Besides if she did not complain about the eggs, she might find something important to complain about.

In my case it's my hubby who shows concern lol
Of the 2 types you use as hatchers which one do you prefer.

 

[duluthralphie]

In my case it's my hubby who shows concern lol
Of the 2 types you use as hatchers which one do you prefer.

I prefer the little giant It has more head space and the thermostat olds tighter

 

[JetCat]

that is what they claimed at the NPIP school. they said it is better than hatches where bacteria gets into the incubator.

But I have read on here, people that swear even water rinsing an egg kills it. I have to learn to only believe half of what I read..

Thanks. It comforts me to know you do this, even if you are lying to me!

I think it is like the "lockdown" myth. So many claim you cannot open the hatcher. But it has never affected my hatch to open it.

i've always washed my hatching eggs because to me the egg in a mostly sterile incubator doesn't need a bloom to protect it from the environment, and i don't want to introduce any contaminant into my incubators that may be on an egg regardless of how clean the egg may look.

i also don't hatch in my incubators but i guess a lot of people do, and maybe some of them have really nasty incubators that haven't ever been cleaned and their eggs need the bloom for protection. I had someone say just this morning on another post here that an infertile egg if incubated will become toxic and explode!!! i guess they have one of those nasty incubators!! i quiet often don't candle eggs at all and i've cracked open hundreds if not thousands that were infertile that had been incubated 23+ days and none of them exploded, they even looked remarkable like fresh eggs when cracked open before tossing them.

 

[duluthralphie]

Prior to this I have washed the nasty stuff off but never did the disinfecting. I always wiped the sand off the turkey eggs.

I have only had one egg explode, It was an egg I had bought from a pheasant farm. I am thinking it was on the "way old" side of fresh....


My non-hatchers (most are non-starters) I break open and they do look real fresh for having spend 23- 24 days in an incubator.

I am fairly confidant washing and disinfecting is the way to go, I use the method they taught at the school. Two basins of chlorine mixture one for wash one for rinse. They sure look better going in cleaned.