Anyone up for a Hatchalong?

[Yoda]

Mine is the new model the 6000 and it has 2 holes on the handle side. They cannot be air tight or else all eggs will die in them and it would not need to turn back on for hours. Once you get a good circulation going, mine will pull fresh air through the "cord" cutouts (or notches) above and below the door handle. I was thinking of building a shelf stand frame out of 1/4 inch pieces of wood so the plastic shelf could sit on to get the third shelf higher in mine.

Ok I have a question for everyone & I'm stsring to really worry about this. I have a Repripro & as you know it can be put into 3 levels. Well the middle level won't fit emu eggs if I set the shelf on the brackets so what I did is used DVD cases to stack up & put the shelf on, well one of the fans was covered so I used a piece of plastic to put behind the stack of DVD cases that directed the air flow up. So 1 out of the 3 levels of the incubator is "solid" or filled in, I have 3 eggs on the top & the 4th below them. Normally the middle level was a degree or 2 lower but since I made the inside of the bator smaller, it stays 97.5 just like the top, so that's good.
Ok here's my dilemma, since the Reptipro just recycles the air inside the bator & doesn't bring new air in, I'm worried about the chicks not getting enough oxygen with them being in day 44 & needing more oxygen daily. With the bottom 3rd of my bator filled that's that much less oxygen they'll get after every time they get turned. I started my new job last week & since they're pretty far along I can only turn them twice a day & sometimes 3. I'm worried only opening the bator up 2-3 times in 24 hours isn't enough to get them the oxygen they need, especially with the bottom blocking room for oxygen.
What would you do? How many times a day is the MINIMUM you would open the bator? My husband is staying home with our 2 kids right now so I can remind him to open the door however many times needed while I'm at work.
Also, I was thinking of getting something that might help & wanted everyone's opinions as to if it could work. At Walmart they have a pump for fish tanks tjat is just a little pump with a clear skinny tube attached to it & when plugged in it runs oxygen/air out the end of the tube. It's the pumps that when you run the tuning under rocks in the tank it creates a ton of bubbles. So anyway if I ran that tube inside the bator, would that work? I'm just terrified of making it all the way to day 44 only to cause them to not hatch due to carbon monoxide poisoning...
Thanks for any advice

 

[msheets]

Oh ok thanks Yoda, I'll look in the morning but mine is the 5000 & I've never noticed any holes for like the turner cords but they make turners for mine so I'm guessing it'd have to go throug somewhere...it just makes me nervous because I remember on the Reptipro Hatch-A-Long thread Chris mentioned it just recycles the air in the bator rather than bringing in fresh air from the outside to circulate...but you're right I would say there has to be holes somewhere either by mistake or on purpose.

Awwwh Irine, that seriously brought tears to my eyes reading it...he wanted you there with him I had a dog once when I was 9 that I was really close to, he got hit by a car & my mom swore he waited for me to get there to pass on...

 

[msheets]

Also that's what I'm wanting to do before my next big hatch. It wouldn't take much to have 3 shelves & there's certainly room to, especially for any eggs other than ratites. That's one of the many reasons I love the Reptipro, it has the potential to hatch a bunch of eggs on 4 maybe even 5 levels with a 4th shelf (& it looks sleek, it's a cabinet incubator, it fits several emu eggs, it holds temp, it controls humidity like a dream, yada, yada, yada lol...I could go on & on)

 

[msheets]

 

[yinepu]

So Emu eggs will fit in a standard Brinsea? I have an Advance EX. I assume I'd have to take out the clips that hold the 'humidity paper' out to get more room, but it seems from reading through this forum that they will fit?

I ended up with 3 in each of mine (pics of 2 eggs in a brinsea are in the link in my signature) I think you could squeeze in 4 at most.. however they would probably need to be smaller eggs.. I prefer to go with less since there isn't any head room in the Brinsea for the chicks at hatch.. and they do need room to get out of their shells

 

[yinepu]

Ok I have a question for everyone & I'm stsring to really worry about this. I have a Repripro & as you know it can be put into 3 levels. Well the middle level won't fit emu eggs if I set the shelf on the brackets so what I did is used DVD cases to stack up & put the shelf on, well one of the fans was covered so I used a piece of plastic to put behind the stack of DVD cases that directed the air flow up. So 1 out of the 3 levels of the incubator is "solid" or filled in, I have 3 eggs on the top & the 4th below them. Normally the middle level was a degree or 2 lower but since I made the inside of the bator smaller, it stays 97.5 just like the top, so that's good.
Ok here's my dilemma, since the Reptipro just recycles the air inside the bator & doesn't bring new air in, I'm worried about the chicks not getting enough oxygen with them being in day 44 & needing more oxygen daily. With the bottom 3rd of my bator filled that's that much less oxygen they'll get after every time they get turned. I started my new job last week & since they're pretty far along I can only turn them twice a day & sometimes 3. I'm worried only opening the bator up 2-3 times in 24 hours isn't enough to get them the oxygen they need, especially with the bottom blocking room for oxygen.
What would you do? How many times a day is the MINIMUM you would open the bator? My husband is staying home with our 2 kids right now so I can remind him to open the door however many times needed while I'm at work.
Also, I was thinking of getting something that might help & wanted everyone's opinions as to if it could work. At Walmart they have a pump for fish tanks tjat is just a little pump with a clear skinny tube attached to it & when plugged in it runs oxygen/air out the end of the tube. It's the pumps that when you run the tuning under rocks in the tank it creates a ton of bubbles. So anyway if I ran that tube inside the bator, would that work? I'm just terrified of making it all the way to day 44 only to cause them to not hatch due to carbon monoxide poisoning...
Thanks for any advice

the door may close too tightly for much air to pass through the airline tube (I had considered the exact same thing).. if you bought yours with turners the notches would already be there.. since I bought mine without turners there are no notches so the door makes an "air tight" seal...

check with Chris from Reptipro and see how much trouble it would be to take a dremil and carve out some notches.. lol.. then let me know what he says!

Otherwise bug your husband a few times per day to open the door for a few minutes.. I opened mine 5 times a day.. and then whenever I walked past it at night (I have insomnia.. so it was no big deal for me to open the door a few times during the night)

 

[yinepu]

Little Guy did not make it

Sorry he didn't make it... you did the best you could do for him that's why I didn't want to give you any false hope.. I always expect the worst then hope for the best.. that way if the worst does happen I'm prepared.. and if my hopes happen to come true then I'm pleasantly pleased.. Just try to remember him with fondness and know that you gave him what love you could for the short time he was with you.. then concentrate on the live chicks you have .. it's the best you can do in a sad situation

 

[yinepu]

Oh ok thanks Yoda, I'll look in the morning but mine is the 5000 & I've never noticed any holes for like the turner cords but they make turners for mine so I'm guessing it'd have to go throug somewhere...it just makes me nervous because I remember on the Reptipro Hatch-A-Long thread Chris mentioned it just recycles the air in the bator rather than bringing in fresh air from the outside to circulate...but you're right I would say there has to be holes somewhere either by mistake or on purpose.
Awwwh Irine, that seriously brought tears to my eyes reading it...he wanted you there with him

I had a dog once when I was 9 that I was really close to, he got hit by a car & my mom swore he waited for me to get there to pass on...

there should only be holes in the ones that came with turners (for the Reptipro 5000)..

I'm not sure if Chris changed the design any when he came out with the 6000's.. but my 5000 doesn't have any holes at all that lead to the outside since i bought it without turners...

 

[kathyinmo]

So Emu eggs will fit in a standard Brinsea? I have an Advance EX. I assume I'd have to take out the clips that hold the 'humidity paper' out to get more room, but it seems from reading through this forum that they will fit?

I incubated my 3 emu eggs in a Brinsea Eco model. 2 hatched (1 was a stinker and tossed out). Once they pipped I did move them into a Hovabator for more room.

 

[yinepu]

Also that's what I'm wanting to do before my next big hatch. It wouldn't take much to have 3 shelves & there's certainly room to, especially for any eggs other than ratites. That's one of the many reasons I love the Reptipro, it has the potential to hatch a bunch of eggs on 4 maybe even 5 levels with a 4th shelf (& it looks sleek, it's a cabinet incubator, it fits several emu eggs, it holds temp, it controls humidity like a dream, yada, yada, yada lol...I could go on & on)

lol.. sounds like you feel the same way about the Reptipro bators that I do!