first time hatcher- havinng trouble regulating my new bator temp

[aubreynoramarie]

Quote:
ah! dont tell me my special man friend bought me the hardest bator in the universe to use?!

and lol thank you for the luck

 

[deerman]

Remember your has a fan, thats better , but make sure you are getting advice on forced air, So far I see some on still air, like temp, 102 is to high for forced air ones. that more for still air at top of eggs.

Sure you should have a good hatch, just watch the high temps. that can kill the whole batch.

After you add eggs , it will take alot of time to get back up to temp(have to warm the eggs) Also add warm water not cold.

Happy hatching

 

[tnfarmeggs]

have my first batch in right now, how are your temps. this morning?

 

[aubreynoramarie]

my two mercury thermometers that i bought are at 99, the one that came with the bator is just below, and the digital is at 101.8 . lol, im going to believe the one that i calibrated last night, but i need the digital one for the humidity meter.

my eggs come tuesday!

 

[tnfarmeggs]

Quote:
What was the one you calibrated at?

I have mine at 100 and my humidity sits at 45%

my problem is that I can't figure out how to get my humidity higher... I am fine at 45% right now but in another 2 weeks will need it higher

 

[aubreynoramarie]

I calibrated one of the cheapy mercury ones... I don't know how to calibrate the digital thermometer.
Shoot I haven't even thought about raising the humidity! Yikes! Maybe ad more water ?

 

[aubreynoramarie]

I calibrated one of the cheapy mercury ones... I don't know how to calibrate the digital thermometer.
Shoot I haven't even thought about raising the humidity! Yikes! Maybe ad more water ?

 

[deerman]

Quote:
Thats what i do , once you know how much the digital is off you are ok. I had three i checked all three different, i really like how they keep the high and low for the 24 hr . help to know if you had a spike.

To raise humidity, just add more water surface...maybe a sponge.

One thing on the LG , mistake I see most people make, when incubator take to longe to heat up. they adjust the themostat up, then later have a high spike. Know I said it before but those HIGH TEMP KILL THE WHOLE Batch. not 102 but 105 will for sure and 102 can if there to long in forced air.

Best not to keep adjusting the thermostat.....low temp give low hatch rates real high temp give NO hatch rate......

 

[Karrie13]

I have an LG and they can be a pain to get set with the right temp! Mine is forced air and I have had several hatches in it, including a 100% hatch on my own fertile chicken eggs! At most with the shipped eggs I would get 1 or 2 per dozen, that was very frustrating. I couldn't figure out if I was doing something wrong, the bator was bad, or if it was shipping. With my 100% hatch of my own eggs, I think it has a lot to do with how they are handled in the mail. So good luck with yours!

I have a Spot Check thermometer http://www.brinsea.com/products/thermo.html and love it! It is accurate to +/- 0.2. With it I have determined that my incubator also has "hot spots" and "cold spots". I have one corner that I don't put any eggs in because it is a whole degree cooler than the rest of the bator. It is on the farthest corner from the fan and opposite the auto turner motor (which also puts out a little heat).

I found it best to put some eggs in the incubator (ones you aren't hatching) when you are trying to get the LG to the right temp because it seems the eggs will absorb some of the heat and will help keep the temperature a little higher in the bator. I learned this after getting the bator to the perfect temp then putting my eggs in only to have a spike the next day of a couple degrees. It is very stressful trying to lower the temp to what you need it to be WHEN you have hatching eggs in there.

Hatching is also very addictive, I thought I would only hatch out a couple here and there just to keep my flock going but now… it seems that I am hatching out a LOT more and I am thinking about getting a Sportsman!

With the LG during lockdown what I have had to do to get the humidity up in the bator was to add three sponges on top of the wire floor on one side. I have a partition made of hardware cloth to keep the chicks off of the sponges. The sponges are within easy access of one of the large plug holes so that I can easily add water when needed without opening the bator. I have a large syringe with aquarium air tube attached so that I can put the water where I need it to go. Sometimes I only have to wet one of the sponges other times it is all three in order to get the humidity where I need it. Even for the first 18 days I don’t open the bator except for candling, I just use the syringe and tube to add water to the channels in the bottom of the bator.
Good luck with your hatch!!

 

[deerman]

Quote:

you doing great with a LG .....yep shipped eggs can be all over ,but if 50% hatch thats good.

you are so right about addictive.....I am hook on incubators of all types have over 12 even one that hold 3,000 eggs Hatch everything from button quail to Ostrich. I gave all my LG away. They can work main thing room temp. affect them to easy