Frustrated with Brinsea...

[ramonaegglady]

Duh! Forgot to tell you due date: JULY 6, 2013.

 

[suebee]

According to the manual it says "If measuring humidity levels directly be cautious of readings from low cost analogue or digital hygrometers."
I'd like to get one but not sure how accurate it would be.
It says Generally accepted incubation RH levels for during incubation for poultry 40%-50%, for hatching 65% or more. It doesn't say anymore than that. It does mention that their "guidelines make no provision for different ambient conditions." So it's very general info. Here's a search list for more discussions: https://www.backyardchickens.com/ne...sort=relevance&order=descending&Search=SEARCH

 

[ChristineR]

I'm curious about your experiment using no water until lockdown. When are they due?

I run my Brinseas dry all the time. The relative humidity where I live is high enough that adding water to the incubator makes the humidity too high. I've had the same problem she had with drowning in the shell. Pretty much the only time I add water now is when I see that they are about to internally pip.

When you candle the eggs, you can kind of judge if they are where they should be. Not an exact science. Weighing the eggs is more accurate if you want to make sure that enough moisture is evaporating.

 

[ChristineR]

I should add, too, that I love my mini advance. I have really good hatch rates in it. The Octagon 20 Eco I am still undecided on. I like the digital settings, but can fit a lot more eggs in the Eco.

 

[ramonaegglady]

Thank you so much for the confirmation. I have been so careful with everything, but knew something was just not right. Yes, the Puget area is humid (I grew up on the other side of the state) which is similar to the San Diego weather during certain times of the year. Really appreciate your feedback!

 

[suebee]

Great feedback. Let us know the outcome.

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

Our humidity is low. I do "dry hatches" in my incubators (35-40% humidity) and then increase that to around 65% for hatching. That's for chickens. Ducks and geese are different...but I'm done hatching those for this year.

 

[tec27]

Got the Brinsea Mini Advance incubator. Two failed hatches. Used the factory settings for the first hatch. 7 eggs with 1 weak pip @ 28 days. Chick died during pipping. Did not conduct a post-mortem on the eggs. For the second hatch, made minor adjustments, and had no pips @ 30 days. With eggs still in incubator, conducted extensive research. Research led me to the possibility that adding water to the incubator could cause chicks to drown due to too much moisture. This time I conducted a post-mortem and found perfectly formed Black Copper Marans chicks, ready to pip, and shells filled with water. I am now watching weather humidity conditions and will try the third batch by only adding water to the incubator on day 18. Any other suggestions out there?

I only add water in mine on day 18. I do a dry hatch. The humidity is so low my humidity gauge reads "LL". Then at day 18 i flood the incubator with water until water is pouring out of it and i add a sponge. Has worked very well.