Brinsea Mini ADV

[itsbob]

Going to be hatching Pekin and Khaki ducks.. thought the Brinsea was a plug, play and forget.. but there some setting there that have me scratching my head.. first one is the lack of a humidity setting..

But the auto turn is on, set the time to 45 minutes between turns and turn angle on 12...

Anything wrong, or am I doing something wrong?

Do have it set to 99.5, and undersatnd NOT to set autocool until day 7, but how long a cooling cycle everyday?

 

[Kelsie2290]

With the mini Brinseas, the "Advance Ex" model is the one with humidity control/pump, the "Advance" has that Count Down To Hatch thing, so far as I know. With the cooling, they have a write up on their site ... http://www.brinsea.com/cooling.html "Brinsea

have assessed the available research and recommend that smaller poultry, waterfowl and game bird eggs are cooled for 2 hours each day and larger eggs (e.g. duck and goose) are cooled for 3 hours each day from day 7 through to 2 days before they are due to hatch (the same point that automatic turning would normally be turned off). "

 

[itsbob]

With the mini Brinseas, the "Advance Ex" model is the one with humidity control/pump, the "Advance" has that Count Down To Hatch thing, so far as I know. With the cooling, they have a write up on their site ... http://www.brinsea.com/cooling.html "Brinsea

have assessed the available research and recommend that smaller poultry, waterfowl and game bird eggs are cooled for 2 hours each day and larger eggs (e.g. duck and goose) are cooled for 3 hours each day from day 7 through to 2 days before they are due to hatch (the same point that automatic turning would normally be turned off). "

PERFECT thanks.. hard to believe that wasn't included in the directions, or I missed it..

 

[itsbob]

Here's another. After I sat there waiting for the incubator to turn the eggs "on time" I figured there had to be a way to turn the eggs when i wanted. Figured out pushing the OK and the minus button (I think I remember that right) you can test the turn feature, and ensure your eggs are turning enough, or not too much.

My issue here is, the bottom of the incubator is a very smooth surface, and of courst the eggs aren't made out of rubber either, and half of my eggs aren't turning, they're just scooting along with the "X" still pointed up. The ones that are turning aren't turning real well either, but they are turning a little over 90 degrees.

Any suggestions as to how to help the incubator turn the eggs?

And BTW, I'm hatching Pekin and Khaki Campbell eggs..

 

[Kelsie2290]

Have you tried changing how the eggs are oriented in the disc? The amount they turn should be determined by the setting you picked in seconds. Not sure how big your duck eggs are, they are not too big for the slots? Maybe try putting a piece of tape etc on the plastic under the egg (or sandpapering the disc a little) to give the egg a little traction?
http://www.brinsea.com/pdffiles/MiniAdvancePlus-US.pdf

 

[itsbob]

Quote:
I originally had the eggs, blunt end towards the center, but thought that was the issue, that the widest part of the egg was closer to the center, and the eggs were stopping each other from turning. Now I have the narrow end of the egg towards the center, has improved a little bit, but still have two or three eggs not turning. Think I'll try the tape first, and thanks!!

 

[itsbob]

Well, so far I've got great news, and bad news.. GREAT for the Brinsea.

I've got 14 eggs set right now, 7 in the Brinsea ADV, and 7 in an LG complete with fan and egg turner. I candled last night and the 7 in the Brinsea are text book perfect, can even detect a heartbeat if you stare long enough..

The 7 in the LG are void of any sign of life. Same shipped eggs from Metzler, both are a mix of Khaki Campbell and Pekin. I'm a little upset as the first time I tried to hatch it was a tragedy, 2 out of 12 ducks, and about 8 out of 20 chickens, so I spent the money to ensure everything was as perfect as I could get it. First time no egg turner, and no fan, no humidity guage, just went by the directions provided by the incubator directiong.

Good review for the Brinsea, but still.. what is wrong with the LG that not one egg is growing?

 

[Kelsie2290]

Well, glad at least half of them look good so far, keeping fingers crossed for them. You just randomly assigned eggs to the incubators? I do not like LGs, I know a lot of people use them and have had good hatches with them, I just found them to be one big pita... temperature spikes were a big problem, which would be my guess with why you are looking at 0/7. I would however keep them for a couple more days (unless they are starting to stink or something) in case the temp has been running low and they are just delayed enough you're not seeing things well enough yet, especially being ducks. Are you double checking temps? How is the turning going?

 

[itsbob]

Well, glad at least half of them look good so far, keeping fingers crossed for them. You just randomly assigned eggs to the incubators? I do not like LGs, I know a lot of people use them and have had good hatches with them, I just found them to be one big pita... temperature spikes were a big problem, which would be my guess with why you are looking at 0/7. I would however keep them for a couple more days (unless they are starting to stink or something) in case the temp has been running low and they are just delayed enough you're not seeing things well enough yet, especially being ducks. Are you double checking temps? How is the turning going?

I have a pampered chef meat thermometer that I'm consantly checking, varies quite a bit, but have the average right around 99.5.. wireless, digital hygrometer inside... auto turn trays...

Going to give it a few more days see what happens.. 0/7 is just toouch to believe when the other is 7/7..

 

[Kelsie2290]

It is kind of hard to believe that it could just be random that the one incubator got all the good eggs. Have you ever used one of those thermometers that remembers high/low temperatures? Think I would try a couple in the LG before setting more eggs in it if it does turn out to be a bust. The PC thermometer is reading correctly?