Cabinet Incubators

[spriks19]

You can hatch in the bottom of a cabinet incubator. It complicates lockdown and adding new eggs if you set on a schedule, and the humidity ups and downs needed are a bit of a pain, but I have 2 little Ameracaunas in the bottom of my Sportsman right now that says it works fine.

Luckily, last night when I wanted to set the eggs for the week, the eggs in lockdown on the bottom had not pipped, so I opened the door and put them in. It might have been bad for the hatching chicks if they had not been a day late hatching and got a blast of cool, dry air.

I'd go with the cabinet and keep an eye out for a used "styrobator" for hatching. You might even want 2 if you intend to fill the trays with eggs, because 1 tray can hold more eggs than a hovabator can fit.

I'm wondering, does it matter how much water you put in a moisture pan in an professional incubator. Will the incubator control the humidity, or do you have to put just the right amount or water in the pan each time and get a desired humidity?

 

[dheltzel]

I'm wondering, does it matter how much water you put in a moisture pan in an professional incubator. Will the incubator control the humidity, or do you have to put just the right amount or water in the pan each time and get a desired humidity?

My experience is with the GQF Sportsman and it does not have a humidistat or anything to automatically keep the RH stable. I "dry hatch" and add no water for much of the year, when the humidity is low (winter) I use the water pan, but cover most of it with a sheet of hard plastic that I can slide around to allow more or less air into the pan.

If the tray is kept full and the optional pad added, the humidity easily reaches 80+ %, perfect for hatching. I made my own giant "coolerbator" to hatch in and it works nicely. I remove chicks and shells often with no loss of humidity for the eggs still hatching.

 

[spriks19]

My experience is with the GQF Sportsman and it does not have a humidistat or anything to automatically keep the RH stable. I "dry hatch" and add no water for much of the year, when the humidity is low (winter) I use the water pan, but cover most of it with a sheet of hard plastic that I can slide around to allow more or less air into the pan.

If the tray is kept full and the optional pad added, the humidity easily reaches 80+ %, perfect for hatching. I made my own giant "coolerbator" to hatch in and it works nicely. I remove chicks and shells often with no loss of humidity for the eggs still hatching.

so with the sportsman, there must be vents for fresh air to enteR? When u say "dry hatch" do you mean you do not use water at all through the incubating process and the hatch? Don't chicks need high humidity to keep the membrane wet long anough to not dry

 

[dheltzel]

so with the sportsman, there must be vents for fresh air to enteR? When u say "dry hatch" do you mean you do not use water at all through the incubating process and the hatch? Don't chicks need high humidity to keep the membrane wet long anough to not dry

If you search this site for "dry incubation" you should find a lot of info. I aim for 20 - 30% RH until lockdown, then I make it as high as possible (80+%) in the hatcher for the last 3 days. I also drop the temp a degree in the hatcher, aiming for 99 instead of 100.

The proper humidity depends on your eggs also, and there is some trial and error, not everything hatches equally well. I get near 100% for copper marans, so I fell like I'm ok with the tweaks I've made. Some breeds hatch less for me, but it could be the genetics as much as the incubation procedure. If you hatch often you will develop your own methods based on what works for you.

 

[gpop1]

I like using 2 separate units (quail). One for the incubator and one for the hatcher. I add 8-9 eggs everyday and move 8-9 eggs that are due to the hatcher. both of mine have been running non stop for the last 3-4 months with a success rate of 7 plus chicks a day. eggtopsy show that most fails are clears with a odd late quitter that never pip the inner membrane. Now the males are getting better at there job this week has been even better with about 5 fails for the week. It just seems easier to run 2 at different humidity levels rather than trying to adjust 1 for both jobs.