I have like 5 little giants and I love them. Here are the hints tricks of the trade I have figured out with them. I mainly use them for hatchers but have done the whole thing in them.
1) buy a thermometer/hygrometer from
Walmart ($6 bucks) because the thermometer that comes with it stinkos.
2) run around the aisle in
Walmart and get a dimmer switch knob (99 cents) and apply it to the knob on your little giant. This saves tons of headaches trying to adjust the temp.
3) when adjusting the temp, adjust and wait 2-3 hours before adjusting again. This will drive you nuts if you do it any sooner. (exception if it gets over 102.5 open the bator up and let it cool a bit.
4) Put down a piece of shelf liner or cheesecloth. The shelf liner I am talking about is the woven shelf liner that has holes in it. This helps for footing for the little guys and keeps humidity dispersed to the whole incubator. The cheesecloth sucks it up a little
5) if using a turner, make sure you rotate the eggs from the middle section to the outside section and vice-a-versa, especially if you use still air. The middle section does not get as much heat it seems
6) Keep the humidity around 40-45% for the first 18 days. I do not up the humidity until I see a pip, then I up it with an extra bowl of water. Get a bowl that almost touches the top of the bator so the chicks wont drown in it by accident.
7) when you clean your bator, I use bleach water to bleach out the icky coloring but you HAVE to rinse it really really well. Let it air dry before using again.
