EDUCATIONAL INCUBATION & HATCHING CHAT THREAD, w/ Sally Sunshine Shipped Eggs

[ronott1]

So, a question for all of you hatchers out there. Currently incubating in a Brinsea Octagon eco. It's completely base model, I don't have the cradle or any other bells and whistles. I've had it for several years and while it works, the built-in water reservoirs are much too large for anything other than lockdown and the metal wire racks used to hold the eggs are nearly worthless to me personally.
It has done the job, but I'm still hand turning eggs (since they often don't fit into the racks well.) So I'm looking into a possible upgrade. Prefer something I can "set and forget" for the most part. I've been looking at the Rcom Max 20 with adding the separated egg tray, but it's pricey. Just thought I would reach out and see if any of you fine folks have any opinions on them or Rcom incubators in general. Thanks!

Look into the brinsea ovation models too. They are completely different.
Brinsea does not sell the ocatgon models any more

 

[shawluvsbirds]

That exactly my question!
No she didn't!
I really hope that she doesn't been eaten by a polar bear!

Me too!

 

[sumi]

And here is the PDF of packing shipping eggs info and WHY to pack and ship this way.... that wont open in all the notes and hatching 101 @sumi is their a way to get this stickied so ppl can grab it instead of asking for it since I cant edit those articles anymore?

Sally, I tried adding it to the first post for you, but got an error. It won't let me, sorry.

 

[Pensmaster]

I give my Broodies worthless eggs (EE) to hatch and keep the good ones to myself. Broodies cannot be trusted, They decide to stop, they roll away good eggs. They are great mothers and an easy way to raise chicks, but they have their risks.

When I say reach into an incubator, naturally, I mean with a sterile latex glove,,,,,,Introducing "not that much" is more than I want to introduce. I hatch to the standards my USDA vet requires for NPIP and then a tad more.

I know some of you will find this odd but I got through over 10 gallons of Bleach year hatching and rearing chicks. This does not count the bleach I use in my normal chicken keeping.

I know someone on here thinks I am a tad anal about my hatching practices....Luckily she is MIA for a few days.... I think she said she would be back tomorrow...

I practice survival of the fittest once they hatch. It is just too easy for a bacteria to get a foot hold inside the incubators and lose 220 plus eggs in a fast swoop..

@Pensmaster aRE yOu iMpLyING MIGHT b Cray cRAY?

No not me.
I think I've used maybe a 1/2 cup of bleach for all my hatching. But I don't hatch nearly what you do.
I don't wash eggs but disinfect incubator only. Haven't needed incubator all summer due to broodies.

 

[OneMountainAcres]

So, a question for all of you hatchers out there. Currently incubating in a Brinsea Octagon eco. It's completely base model, I don't have the cradle or any other bells and whistles. I've had it for several years and while it works, the built-in water reservoirs are much too large for anything other than lockdown and the metal wire racks used to hold the eggs are nearly worthless to me personally.
It has done the job, but I'm still hand turning eggs (since they often don't fit into the racks well.) So I'm looking into a possible upgrade. Prefer something I can "set and forget" for the most part. I've been looking at the Rcom Max 20 with adding the separated egg tray, but it's pricey. Just thought I would reach out and see if any of you fine folks have any opinions on them or Rcom incubators in general. Thanks!

I recommend GQF hovabators wit au tomato turners. In my experience, once you get it calibrated and set, you can pretty much forget it, just check your humidity here and there. I don't think I've adjusted the temperature in mine since last year sometime. I just plug it in, add water, walk away.

 

[misslady]

Look into the brinsea ovation models too. They are completely different.
Brinsea does not sell the ocatgon models any more

Will do. Thanks! Saw they weren't making the octagon anymore too, wonder why? They seemed really popular with many people, especially the more advanced models.

 

[misslady]

I recommend GQF hovabators wit au tomato turners. In my experience, once you get it calibrated and set, you can pretty much forget it, just check your humidity here and there. I don't think I've adjusted the temperature in mine since last year sometime. I just plug it in, add water, walk away.

This is a styrofoam model, correct? Is it easy to disinfect? I've always leaned towards the hard plastic models for the purpose of disinfecting, but that is a much more tempting price point!

 

[ScottandSam]

We have a ovation 28ex. While this is my 1st hatch I have pretty much set and forgot about it till candling . I am on day 14 ish and made 1 adjustment at 10 days but were thinking she is dialed in. Tomorrow well candle at day 15 and while some eggs from Florida did poor the ones from new York are doing really good. Still have 13 of the 14 I started with although 1 looks infertile and should be pulled tomorrow.
I was after a octagon until these came out and we are super happy with the money it cost and how it work temp is super stable. 99.6 or 99.5 reading with unit and a second thermometer. Humidity is also very stable as long as the bathroom door stays closed If someone's showering.

Btw Florida eggs had a baldly mid shaped box like it was smashed egg were cracked but many were scrambled.

Scott

 

[OneMountainAcres]

This is a styrofoam model, correct? Is it easy to disinfect? I've always leaned towards the hard plastic models for the purpose of disinfecting, but that is a much more tempting price point!

Yes, it is a styrofoam model but I've had no problem cleaning it and disinfecting it. The top part can be a little tricky getting around the fan and heading element for but it's really not bad. I like it a lot. I no longer use mine for my main incubation since I now have a gqf 1202 cabinet, but use it weekly for lockdown and hatching. Never a problem.

 

[misslady]

We have a ovation 28ex. While this is my 1st hatch I have pretty much set and forgot about it till candling . I am on day 14 ish and made 1 adjustment at 10 days but were thinking she is dialed in. Tomorrow well candle at day 15 and while some eggs from Florida did poor the ones from new York are doing really good. Still have 13 of the 14 I started with although 1 looks infertile and should be pulled tomorrow.
I was after a octagon until these came out and we are super happy with the money it cost and how it work temp is super stable. 99.6 or 99.5 reading with unit and a second thermometer. Humidity is also very stable as long as the bathroom door stays closed If someone's showering.

Btw Florida eggs had a baldly mid shaped box like it was smashed egg were cracked but many were scrambled.

Scott

Thanks for the insight into the ovation! Maybe I'm thinking about it too much, but incubators aren't cheap and it's good to get feedback from those with firsthand experience with them. How do you like the turners included with that model?