Brinsea Octagon Eco 20 with auto turn query

[Jocasta]

Hiya.

I'm currently on day two of incubating my turkey eggs (how can it ONLY be day two??? Argh!). It doesn't say anything in the manual about topping up the water. I've filled up one of the channels as per the instructions and I'm a little unsure if I should be topping the water up daily or whether it's ok just to leave it. I don't have a hygrometer.

TIA

 

[jenlynn4]

I have found that I have to fill both wells up and I top them off once a week.

 

[Jocasta]

Quote:
Does it not leak? I only filled one channel and it leaked! I'm planning on weighing the eggs today (have plotted a control graph showing a steady weight loss totaling 13% over the incubation), and hopefully that'll give me a clue as to whether or not I need to add more water.

Thanks for responding so quickly. I'm so ridiculously impatient haha! I'm desperate for a decent hatch!!!

 

[DanEP]

It will depend on the humidity where you live but you should only have to fill it every 2-3 days. Mine is running right now and is only going dry about every 3 days, but we have been getting rain. If I was you I would just check it every other day and top off one channel till lockdown then fill both. With no hygrometer about the only way to tell if your humidity is ok is to candle and check for air cell growth. If you do a search on here you will find a chart showing what the air cell should look like as your hatch progresses. But don't panic if yours don't match the chart some times there bigger some times their smaller, my last hatch the air cell never did get very big but every one that started is out in the grow out pen doing fine.
Wamart sells Accurite hygrometers for about 8 bucks that aren't to bad, just calibrate them with the salt method and at least you'll know about where your at. This doesn't seem to be too critical till lockdown so if you can pick one up by then it would help.




Sorry didn't see that you were hatching turkey eggs (was still waiting for coffee to get done) don't know about humidity levels needed for them. If your leaking your over filling the channel leave the water leval down about 3\\4 " so it doesn't spill out while turning.






Good luck with your hatch Dan

 

[Jocasta]

Quote:
Thanks! From what I've read, chickens should be incubated at between 45-50% humidity, increasing to 65% at lockdown - is that right? Turkeys look to be about 5% higher at both stages - makes sense really as a mama turkey is a lot bigger than a chicken so I guess it would get more moist under there

I'm putting some chicken eggs in with the turkeys at Day 7 in the hopes that they all hatch together. Apparently chicks help with poult survival by teaching them how to eat and drink.

Thanks again - much appreciated

 

[klf73]

I put water in mine once a week, depending on the weather....we are having LOTS of rain right now so I know our humidity is high so I will probably wait little longer. It leaks if it is filled to the top. I put water in when it is tilted so I know how much to put without leaking....good luck with you birds