FAN OF DEATH ( ADD ON FAN) FOR STILL AIR

[bambamsdad]

OK SO I'VE READ MAGS ,BOOKS, WEBSITES JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING I CAME ACROSS. IN ALL MY RESEARCH ABOUT INCUBATING I DON'T RECALL ANYONE MENTIONING PUTTIN A SCREEN (PROTECTIVE BARRIER OVER THE FAN!!!!!!) SO TODAY I LEFT WORK EARLY BECAUSE OF THE STORM AND LUCKY I DID I CAME HOME TO A HATCH IN PROGRESS TO FIND ONE OF MY CHICKS WITH HIS WING STUCK IN THE FAN

AFTER FREEING HIM I CLOSED UP AND WATCHED CLOSELY AND SURE ENOUGH ANOTHER ONE WAS INJURED THIS TIME HIS EYE

PULLED POWER TO THE FAN AFTER THIS ONE!!! JUST THOUGHT I WOULD PUT THIS OUT THERE SO NOBODY ELSE HAS THE SAME CRAP LUCK I JUST DID!!

 

[zekii]

Yepp, same thing happened to me over a year ago, using my Hovabator that I retrofitted with a fan as a hatcher. When the fan stopped running I didn't know why until I found one poult hanging from the fan by his wing. A few of the other poults had gashes on their beaks & heads. After that I took a piece of screen and bolted it over the fan blades, this
prevented further mutilations from happening.

 

[bambamsdad]

Did the little guys wing recover?? Mine looks like just the skin got peeled back but don't know if any more damage has been done. Didn't dawn on me until to late for the screen. Hopefully one of the mods can add this warning to incubating/hatching info list. The other one looks like his eye will be ok just got close and not the eye itself.

 

[zekii]

Yes surprisingly the poult that hung from the fan by his wing did survive, but his wing was damaged permanently, didn't have to clip his wing to prevent flying. All the other poults with gashes, and slit beaks also survivied. But it was a learning lesson for me. I thought this happened to me because turkey poults are alot taller than chickes, but I read elsewhere this had
happened before with chicks. The place I bought the fan from had good intructions for installation, but did not mention covering the fan with a screen guard.

 

[bambamsdad]

Well only time will tell if damage is permanent or not on mine. I think that this is over looked by a lot of people and agree that the instructions should make others aware. It slipped my train of thought as the eggs and sponges in the bator gave them that boost to get to close and get caught up. Live and learn!! (usually the hard way)

 

[seventreesfarm]

I'm hatching mine in baskets this time, to keep diff batches apart, but will for sure cover the fan for next time.

I got cut myself on it once

 

[bambamsdad]

Yeah all mine are going to get covered now although I only use the one for hatching. Was a add on computer style fan from incubator warehouse but not worth the risk not covering it.. I will be emailing incubator warehouse to mention this to them also so maybe they can help avoid this for the next customers.

 

[bambamsdad]

Received a couple of emails from the people I bought my fans from and said that they had no reports until now of any accidents but will look into adding this information for others to be aware of in the future. My chick that got hit in the eye seems to be ok no damage to the eye itself. The chick whose wing got caught looks as though the damage will be permanent but unsure till it gets older.

 

[ChooksinChoppers]

We are using a "clip on the car vent" type fan and it is going great. The blades are enclosed so I don't think a chick could get hurt by them but for us it is a non issue as our fan is set up in a seperate "heat chamber"
You do have to buy a seperate a/c adapter so you can plug it into a power strip. The fan itself was only $8 .
Then we installed a battery run desk fan I found at the dollar store for $1 ..we hung it from the ceiling of the incubator with it's base sticking up through the foam "roof" so we could easilly access the base to replace batteries and turn it off and on with the little button at the base. We hardlyhave that one on though, as it drives the humidy to high..weird I thought..but thats what it does

 

[zekii]

Using the Hovabator has a hatcher right now for the first time since I covered the fan, and all the chicks are doing great. Live & Learn !!