Calling All Hatchoholics!!!! Incubator survey! Please share your likes, dislikes and experiences wit

[motherhen71185]

Thank you!

 

[jfer]

I started with a Little Giant. Talk about a pain in my butt...if I knew this was gonna be so addicting I would have invested in a better bator in the beginning. I just got a new r-com max and its all automatic I love it. I don't have to do anything except add water. Well worth the money!!

 

[motherhen71185]

BuMp!!!!! PLease give me your feed back on incubators. Thanks!

 

[normanack]

My input isn't very helpful as I'm just on my first hatch, but thought I'd contribute what I know anyway:

Little Giant #9200 styrofoam incubator, no fan, no turner, no humidity measure or control. I bought it used.

While I was testing it before adding eggs, a tiny turn of the temperature knob produced a huge swing in temperature -- from 99 to 105 degrees. When I got it at 99 degrees again, I left it there rather than trying for a slightly warmer temp.

I open it about six times a day to turn the eggs by hand. I put a washcloth under the eggs on top the wire mesh to cushion them when turning. I also added several small canning jars of water to moderate temperature swings. While the temperature drop is considerable during turning, it does stabilize in under an hour.

Ten days into the hatch I'm surprised that quite a few of the eggs are alive. One had a blood ring. Many look clear, but that might be because I don't have a powerful enough light to see the veins through the brown and green shells. And many have visible veining and a tiny embryo.

I don't know how the hatch will go from here, but I'm happy that any of the eggs are still alive. I don't mind turning the eggs by hand, but I do want an incubator that gives the eggs the best possible chance of hatching. Ideally I'd get a Lyon Roll-X with automatic turner, or a Brinsea Octagon 20 Advance -- not currently within my budget. ;-)

 

[motherhen71185]

thanks!!

 

[MeanV2]

My input isn't very helpful as I'm just on my first hatch, but thought I'd contribute what I know anyway:

Little Giant #9200 styrofoam incubator, no fan, no turner, no humidity measure or control. I bought it used.

While I was testing it before adding eggs, a tiny turn of the temperature knob produced a huge swing in temperature -- from 99 to 105 degrees. When I got it at 99 degrees again, I left it there rather than trying for a slightly warmer temp.

I open it about six times a day to turn the eggs by hand. I put a washcloth under the eggs on top the wire mesh to cushion them when turning. I also added several small canning jars of water to moderate temperature swings. While the temperature drop is considerable during turning, it does stabilize in under an hour.

Ten days into the hatch I'm surprised that quite a few of the eggs are alive. One had a blood ring. Many look clear, but that might be because I don't have a powerful enough light to see the veins through the brown and green shells. And many have visible veining and a tiny embryo.

I don't know how the hatch will go from here, but I'm happy that any of the eggs are still alive. I don't mind turning the eggs by hand, but I do want an incubator that gives the eggs the best possible chance of hatching. Ideally I'd get a Lyon Roll-X with automatic turner, or a Brinsea Octagon 20 Advance -- not currently within my budget. ;-)

Think Again on the Brinsea. Read my earlier post. Sometimes you get what you pay for, but in the case of the Brinsea it is not entirely true!

Dan

 

[LTygress]

Used the Little Giant from Tractor Supply for about 10 months now. Temperature varies greatly, especially in my sister's house where a hot stove and oven can warm up the house 10 more degrees, even WITH the Air Conditioner going!

But I solved most of that problem by wrapping the entire incubator in an old comforter that I was about to throw out. I left the two windows visible, along with the temp dial, and the ventilation holes. The big hassle with THAT is getting the eggs in and out at 7 and 14 days to candle them. Hatch rate stays pretty high now though. I also don't use a hydrometer at all - I just fill the trays with water starting on day 1, keep them full, and let it go. Temperature IS hard to adjust though, and the tiniest movement can make a huge difference. But someone else suggested screwing a milk cap onto it for a bigger adjusting wheel, and that seems to solve it.

The biggest disadvantage is the light weight foam and the inability to "lock" it closed. My sister took in a stray dog for a couple of weeks, and he heard a new hatch peeping, and scratched it open, eating two new hatches, and several eggs. My cats could probably do the same if they actually tried - but they usually lay on top of it for the warmth, and then can't figure out how to open it with their OWN weight keeping it closed!

Pro: Cheap, "sufficient", and makes a nice cat bed...

 

[motherhen71185]

Thank you!! Keep them coming! I will post a link to my finished page when it is complete.

 

[turkey bill]

Greetings,

I just finished a run of 10 turkey eggs using a HovaBator 2362N. Four of them hatched, and three of them survived (the fourth had an external yoke sack). This was my first attempt using an incubator, and I learned a lot. Three eggs hatched at day 27 (one of these died), and one hatched 2-1/2 days later (yes, I was about to start cleaning the incubator when I saw an egg start to rock).

First, for all newbies, remember that using an incubator is both science (follow the instructions) and magic (use your judgment to match any problem). I had fits controlling the relative humidity, and then I decided to prop open the top using the flat side of ice-cream-sticks at two corners (about 1/8" clearance). That worked really well, and the humidity dropped from 75% to 55%, and held steady, although I did have to refill the water trough every other day. Also, I covered 1/2 of the trough with foil. Of course, this caused the thermostat to cycle often, so I may have worn it out, and I plan to buy a spare for my next batch in July.

Second, even though my unit was forced draft, the temperature inside the incubator varies by 3 degrees depending on where I place the thermometer (I placed 4 therms inside the incubator to check this out), and so that means that the eggs may be getting different temperatures. Part of the problem may be because I used an auto egg turner (well worth their cost). The egg turner takes up most of the bottom of the incubator, and so may interfere with the flow of air, plus I had the lid propped up (keep eggs away from this draft).

I had just retired, so I had the time to check the incubator every couple of hours. But I didn't need to do this once I had stabilized the humidity and temperature. And I made friends with the local feed store, and they were very happy to share their knowledge (they have their own incubators also). The next time, I plan to learn more about candling, which I did try, but I can see how practice makes perfect.

 

[turkey bill]

Greetings,

I just finished a run of 10 turkey eggs using a HovaBator 2362N. Four of them hatched, and three of them survived (the fourth had an external yoke sack). This was my first attempt using an incubator, and I learned a lot. Three eggs hatched at day 27 (one of these died), and one hatched 2-1/2 days later (yes, I was about to start cleaning the incubator when I saw an egg start to rock).

First, for all newbies, remember that using an incubator is both science (follow the instructions) and magic (use your judgment to match any problem). I had fits controlling the relative humidity, and then I decided to prop open the top using the flat side of ice-cream-sticks at two corners (about 1/8" clearance). That worked really well, and the humidity dropped from 75% to 55%, and held steady, although I did have to refill the water trough every other day. Also, I covered 1/2 of the trough with foil. Of course, this caused the thermostat to cycle often, so I may have worn it out, and I plan to buy a spare for my next batch in July.

Second, even though my unit was forced draft, the temperature inside the incubator varies by 3 degrees depending on where I place the thermometer (I placed 4 therms inside the incubator to check this out), and so that means that the eggs may be getting different temperatures. Part of the problem may be because I used an auto egg turner (well worth their cost). The egg turner takes up most of the bottom of the incubator, and so may interfere with the flow of air, plus I had the lid propped up (keep eggs away from this draft).

I had just retired, so I had the time to check the incubator every couple of hours. But I didn't need to do this once I had stabilized the humidity and temperature. And I made friends with the local feed store, and they were very happy to share their knowledge (they have their own incubators also). The next time, I plan to learn more about candling, which I did try, but I can see how practice makes perfect.