tips for farm innovators model 4200

[ebeppe1788]

I'm looking for tips on how to get the best hatch rate for chickens in my incubator. I've attempted this 2 other times and the best hatch rate I've gotten is about 33 %.I'm open for any suggestions I just wanna Learn the best way to do this. I don't use the automatic egg turner as of now and I try to keep the humidity around 40-50% and temp between 99-100 and that's about all I got so far. I'm not sure if your supposed to use the vent clips or not I've read a little about both ways to do it. Also heard different ways to run the incubator after day 18. I'm warming up the incubator as we speak so I can hopefully put eggs in it in about 6 or 7 days and it boils down to I'm a newbie and don't know enough about this. Thank you for your help.

 

[Blooie]

I'm gonna go look at the one on my Farm Innovator right now!!

 

[newwestchick]

Ok! Day 22 over here any I have some further advice. Please bear in mind it's turned out I'm a big time meddler so that'll affect what you do in your own FI incubation lol

Once chicks started to hatch I got major high humidity spikes. This resulted in them being unable to fluff, so I moved chicks out of the incubator into the brooder as soon as I had two or three and they were able to hold up their heads and move around without a major stagger. This did not result in any kind of "shrink wrap" of any pippers but just to be safe anytime the humidity went below 65% I popped a clean wet paper towel in there and it came right back up.

The only chicks with issues hatching seemed to be ones who pipped a HUGE hole, then were not yet ready so stayed that way for several hours, they got a little glued up and needed moistening or hatching help ONLY if they were near the fan. What I would suggest is when you arrange the eggs at lockdown put them away from the fan end of the incubator. Regular sized pips hatched out just fine even when near the fan.

21 of 23 have hatched out, 3 needed help. The other two haven't yet pipped so I'm not sure if they will or not. You do need to monitor this model incubator, it's definitely not a set and forget kind of incubation, but I would call this an overwhelming success.

Out of the hatched chicks, only one has any deformity, she is spraddled pretty good. This one was super glued and needed a lot of extra attention (if you want more info see the hands on hatching thread) so she may have been mal positioned. I'm too new to say exactly but my feeling is that it wasn't anything to do with the incubator or temperature issues.

Happy hatching fellow FI owners!

 

[newwestchick]

Did you get a brace around the spraddle legged chick?

Yes! She's braced and in a little elevated nest so the others can't bully her. They're savages I tell ya! She's starting to lift her body up now, fingers crossed she will recover in the next few days. I'm calling it a "she" for good luck LOL

 

[newwestchick]

Spraddled chick is mended now and running around with her friends, amazing how fast they recover!
All in all I'm extremely satisfied with my FI

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I'm looking for tips on how to get the best hatch rate for chickens in my incubator. I've attempted this 2 other times and the best hatch rate I've gotten is about 33 %.I'm open for any suggestions I just wanna Learn the best way to do this. I don't use the automatic egg turner as of now and I try to keep the humidity around 40-50% and temp between 99-100 and that's about all I got so far. I'm not sure if your supposed to use the vent clips or not I've read a little about both ways to do it. Also heard different ways to run the incubator after day 18. I'm warming up the incubator as we speak so I can hopefully put eggs in it in about 6 or 7 days and it boils down to I'm a newbie and don't know enough about this. Thank you for your help.

I would highly recommend trying a low humidity incubation (if you are not in a high elevation) and monitoring the air cells to know if and when to adjust humidity. You can learn more about it here: http://letsraisechickens.weebly.com...anuals-understanding-and-controlling-humidity I use this method with 90% + hatches. I also leave my vents open for the entire incubation. (If you leave them closed or one closed for incubation, make sure they are open for the hatch. Turning is best done either 3 or 5 times a day. I usually only get in 3 turns. I believe your incubator has a fan, right? So temps are good at 99.5-100F. If you have never checked your thermometers/hygrometer for accuracy do that first. Seriously that is important. If they are off and you don't know it, it can be detrimental to your hatch. I never rely on one either. I don't incubate with less than 2 and normally use three. If they don't coincide w/in tenths of a degree, I investigate. Never trust the thermometers that come in the bators until they have been checked. Most people stop turning at day 18, I stop at the end of day 13. Day 18 the humidity gets highered. If you are hands off and are not going to open the bator during hatch you should be able to easily run at 65% w/o a problem. If you are not a hands off hatcher, (that would be me) I'd shoot for 70%+ (I prefer 75%).

There is no right way/wrong way, but many that have had bad hatches and have tried this method have had much better. @kuchchicks was having results like yours until she tried this method. Now she has great hatches. There is no guarentee no matter what you try, it's a matter of trial and error, but it's definitely worth a try. Good luck.

 

[ebeppe1788]

Thank you for the info I read through it last night and it's very helpful. I will deff let you know how it goes for me once I hatch out this batch.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Thank you for the info I read through it last night and it's very helpful. I will deff let you know how it goes for me once I hatch out this batch.

I'm very curious to see if you have improvement.

 

[Blooie]

Well, Amy, my friend from the days of Gilligan - remember that sweet little duckling? - I just bought one of these Farm Innovators 4200's (automatic turner and fan) and I'm a tad apprehensive. I may be bending your ear from time to time.....I tried the Hatching Friends thread but this geriatric brain couldn't keep up and so many answers seem to end up buried. <sigh> I have a Brinsea Eco 20 but MyPetChickens decided they really like me and the 9 eggs I ordered plus the 12 that @LocalYokel won and gifted to me somehow became 15 in one box and 13 in the other - too many eggs, not enough incubator!

Hope I can figure this thing out....right now the eggs are just sitting, waiting for air cells to settle and do their thing while Ken tries to get the temp and humidity up in the Farm Innovators.

Anyway, wish me luck!!

 

[LocalYokel]

I have sadly only heard bad things of that professional incubator they're selling with the turner at TSC
I think it's the farm innovator one , only mentions I've heard of it are fluctuations in temp.
Maybe some have had no problems but I wish the best to those of you that have them.

I would return it if I had bought it

Just me and my two cents