Brinsea octagon 20 with automatic cradle

[Yorkshire Coop]

So pleased to hear the seller is going to give you a refund

You will love the advance model

I know they are a bit more pricey but are well worth the money

 

[abidaby]

Woooo it's arrived!!!! So have all my eggs to tomorrow is the day eeeeek excited!!!!

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Woooo it's arrived!!!! So have all my eggs to tomorrow is the day eeeeek excited!!!!

Good luck and don't forget pics

 

[abidaby]

I will do !! Do you use the cooling system? I've ordered a hygrometer and it should be arriving tomorrow but I was just wondering how reliable you found the digital %?

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

I sometimes use it and sometimes don't, depends if I remember to set it on day 7 When I do use it it's fine It's more natural and replicates the hen leaving the nest. I only set it for an hour though.

I've found the digital read out just fine, I do double check it with my hygrometer. I put it in different spots around the incubator and take an average. It always seems to read a little lower that the digital but I have never had a problem with hatching. I check my eggs air cells on my first candling and adjust accordingly. If air cells are too small I lower the humidity and if they look too big I bump it up a bit.

Have you got it set up and running?

 

[abidaby]

Ok, so I should only set it to cool from day 7 up till lock down is that correct? I have got it up and running yes . How often do you candle to check the air cells? I think that's the bit I'm worried about the most as I don't have any experiance with it :/, do you check every egg or just a couple? You should be being paid for answering all of these questions!!! Sorry!

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

I've just checked the manual and it says from day 7 to lockdown for ducks too. It does say for 3 hours for ducks but that seems an awful lot to me :/
Don't think I would cool them down for that long. I do chickens at 1 hour but you don't have to do the cool down if you don't want to. I've found if I dont do cool down they hatch just that little bit earlier but only by a few hours. It really is your call. I don't worry too much if I forget as a lot of incubators dont have this option. Brinseas Eco model does not have this feature.

I have a quick candle of all my eggs but I just put the candler on top of them without taking them out. It's quite easy with the eggs being set upright between the dividers.

Don't be sorry about all the questions, that's why we are all here and I'm more than happy to help

 

[abidaby]

Ok, great thank you. Yeah, I read that and thought it seemed like quite a while. I'll see how I feel at day 7 . How often do you candle them? Would you candle more often if the air cell isn't how it should be?

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

For ducks I believe it's day 10 for candling. Here's the chart for air cell growth ~

I personally try not candle too much and am in general hands off hatcher. But these are your eggs and you need to do what you feel comfortable with.

Here are some duck candling threads ~ https://www.backyardchickens.com/newsearch?search=Duck+candling+images+#

 

[abidaby]

Thank you!! I think I may have some detached air cells :-/. Do you use tap water for the water in the base or I have some brinsea disinfectant... Shall I add some of that?