Brinsea Mini Advance Hatching Incubator

[jennie1019]

Hi! I am getting a new Brinsea Mini Advance Hatching Incubator and was wondering if anyone could offer any tips on using it. I have been reading the manual and this is the first time I will be using this incubator to hatch eggs. I will be ordering eggs to hatch. Thanks!!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

OK I have limited hatching experience but here are my tips since I have this incubator.

1. The chicks don't dry out very well in there after hatching. So where you read to leave the chicks in there for 24 hours or so, I don't do that. I take them out and place them in a 95 degree brooder (even though 90-95 is recommended the first week, they are soaking wet and I go with the high temp until they dry out and acclimate).

However, if I have an egg with a pip in it I DON'T remove chicks so I don't shrink wrap the other chicks. Remember that the humidity MUST not fall even if there are no pips or they can still become shrink wrapped in the membrane. So be fast if you take a chick out. My shipped eggs have a 50% hatch rate, which I have read many people say on BYC is standard for a lot of people.

2. I dry incubate for the first week or two, depending on the time of year and our home's humidity. Our winter home humidity is 49% or so. In summer it is usually about 60%. So you can see how dry incubation would work really well for me. If you decide to dry incubate, please search BYC and the web for information, as I have not researched it properly. I was finding that by filling the water pots from the beginning, I was having to scrub out the incubator mid-way (not a good idea obviously).

I hope this helps!

Oh- I prefer a turn angle of 15% and hourly, if I am remembering correctly (haven't hatched lately).

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/2902/2902-1090/2902-1090.html
nice link if you have the time to read it from Virginia Tech (extension)