Getting the Sportsman Ready...tips, tricks, advice???

[DylansMom]

Hey everyone, I'm probably jumping the gun a little here since it is once again snowing like crazy!

However, I think I'm going to fire up the new incubator and start getting to know it a little better. I have 2 goose egg racks now and I'm wondering if these look like I put them together correctly, and if so, do the eggs actually stay put when the auto turner is engaged? In the old hovabator I didn't use a turner, I just hand turned and I still plan to do that once daily, but this auto turner looks like it rocks so far, the eggs would be in danger of rolling out? I think I will be getting the big water reservoir bucket as well, before I actually start incubating and my plan is to use my genesis as a hatcher now. Anyone who is familiar with the Sportsman and can offer any info, tips, tricks, advice or warnings, they would be much appreciated. Thank you all!

 

[zazouse]

I purchased the water reservoir bucket it was a waist of money it could not keep up with the water supply to the reservoir and i live in a humid area, i use a funnel with a clear hose attached .

My turners have racks but not dividers like yours, i use racks to set my peafowl eggs on when i incubated them, now i just use hens

Purchase 3 thermometers and put one in the top , bottom and middle , my incubator is set at 100.5 but the temp runs 99 to 100 in the bottom so you may need to rotate the pea eggs if you have all three racks full, it don't make a difference with my guinea and chicken eggs but did with my peafowl eggs, my greatest amount of non hatched pea eggs came from the bottom rack, now i only incubated the first year of hatching peas and it might just have been coincidence but i believe the incubater temps played a role in the hatch problems from the bottom rack.

 

[DylansMom]

I purchased the water reservoir bucket it was a waist of money it could not keep up with the water supply to the reservoir and i live in a humid area, i use a funnel with a clear hose attached .

My turners have racks but not dividers like yours, i use racks to set my peafowl eggs on when i incubated them, now i just use hens

Purchase 3 thermometers and put one in the top , bottom and middle , my incubator is set at 100.5 but the temp runs 99 to 100 in the bottom so you may need to rotate the pea eggs if you have all three racks full, it don't make a difference with my guinea and chicken eggs but did with my peafowl eggs, my greatest amount of non hatched pea eggs came from the bottom rack, now i only incubated the first year of hatching peas and it might just have been coincidence but i believe the incubater temps played a role in the hatch problems from the bottom rack.

Thanks Zaz! I already have 4 thermometers and that is one of the things I will be monitoring while I get to know this sucker. I don't think I will be using the bottom rack, I only bought 2 goose trays at this point, they just seem like they wouldn't keep the eggs very stable. I was thinking of putting an additional water pan in the bottom since I'm not hatching down there either. I'm not sure I am understanding what you do with the funnel? The water bucket sits on top and a hose runs from it into the inside reservoir, you just keep the bucket on top filled, do you add water thru your funnel everyday? I think the bucket is meant to reduce the need for adding water so often, or maybe I'm misunderstanding how the funnel works?

 

[KsKingBee]

Hey everyone, I'm probably jumping the gun a little here since it is once again snowing like crazy!

However, I think I'm going to fire up the new incubator and start getting to know it a little better. I have 2 goose egg racks now and I'm wondering if these look like I put them together correctly, and if so, do the eggs actually stay put when the auto turner is engaged? In the old hovabator I didn't use a turner, I just hand turned and I still plan to do that once daily, but this auto turner looks like it rocks so far, the eggs would be in danger of rolling out? I think I will be getting the big water reservoir bucket as well, before I actually start incubating and my plan is to use my genesis as a hatcher now. Anyone who is familiar with the Sportsman and can offer any info, tips, tricks, advice or warnings, they would be much appreciated. Thank you all!

I got my Sportsman last year and put the trays together the same way as you did. I was surprised that the turner does not turn slowly and gently but goes from one side to the other in one fairly fast motion every so often. I forget how often, maybe every half hour? The eggs are stable in the racks and if you leave a little room on one end you can hand turn them over by just rolling the fat end over the small end. Each row will hold about eleven eggs.

Monday I should get the bucket reservoir and the green egg racks via UPS. I want to try the green racks as they will hold a lot more eggs. I figure that the metal racks hold 44 and the same area with the green racks will hold 96 if I read the literature correctly.

My hatch rate improved in the Sportsman and got even better when we did not remove the eggs for hatching, they just dropped down into the hatching tray. Speaking of the hatching tray, order some extra liners while you are ordering the bucket.

 

[DylansMom]

I got my Sportsman last year and put the trays together the same way as you did. I was surprised that the turner does not turn slowly and gently but goes from one side to the other in one fairly fast motion every so often. I forget how often, maybe every half hour? The eggs are stable in the racks and if you leave a little room on one end you can hand turn them over by just rolling the fat end over the small end. Each row will hold about eleven eggs.

Monday I should get the bucket reservoir and the green egg racks via UPS. I want to try the green racks as they will hold a lot more eggs. I figure that the metal racks hold 44 and the same area with the green racks will hold 96 if I read the literature correctly.

My hatch rate improved in the Sportsman and got even better when we did not remove the eggs for hatching, they just dropped down into the hatching tray. Speaking of the hatching tray, order some extra liners while you are ordering the bucket.

Thanks Bill, it's good to hear that they do not pop out of those trays, that had me worried. I am going to use some of that foam shelf liner to pad each tray and that stuff kind of grips so I was hoping it would help keep them stable. Without the bucket how often did you have to fill the inside reservoir. I started this up and ran it for a week after I got it to make sure it was working, seemed to me it would need water added everyday without the bucket.

I'm not gonna hatch in it, at least to start. I like the idea of keeping that mess in a separate bator. I have used my Hovabator genesis to incubate for 2 years with really good hatch rates, so I figured it would work pretty well for hatching only. I am not trying to hatch large numbers, personally I am hoping to sell more eggs than I hatch. Hatching will be limited to specific varieties and unsold eggs.

 

[KsKingBee]

After looking at Zaz's photo of the green trays it doesn't look like it holds 48 pea eggs unless they are pointing down. That takes me back to about the same number of eggs that fit into the metal racks.

Question for ZAZ, what humidity level are you shooting for? Mine was staying at around 65% without sponges in the tank, but I needed to add water every couple of days and would find it dry now and again. That is why I ordered the bucket so I would not have to worry about running out of water.

 

[KsKingBee]

Thanks Bill, it's good to hear that they do not pop out of those trays, that had me worried. I am going to use some of that foam shelf liner to pad each tray and that stuff kind of grips so I was hoping it would help keep them stable. Without the bucket how often did you have to fill the inside reservoir. I started this up and ran it for a week after I got it to make sure it was working, seemed to me it would need water added everyday without the bucket.

I'm not gonna hatch in it, at least to start. I like the idea of keeping that mess in a separate bator. I have used my Hovabator genesis to incubate for 2 years with really good hatch rates, so I figured it would work pretty well for hatching only. I am not trying to hatch large numbers, personally I am hoping to sell more eggs than I hatch. Hatching will be limited to specific varieties and unsold eggs.

Two things to consider; adding padding to the racks are going to make the eggs set higher, especially the fatties. Second, the bottom tray dips down into the hatching box, if you put something solid like a pan of water down there you risk jamming the tray and maybe bending something. It may work with a bread pan in the middle, but stay away from the sides.

This year I am planning to start the eggs under broodies for the first two weeks if I have enough broodies. I don't think I will have enough hens to cover all the eggs. I was looking at one of the chicken hens a couple of days ago and saw a LOT of lice, guess it's time to delouse. Do you use Ivermec pour on?

 

[DylansMom]

Two things to consider; adding padding to the racks are going to make the eggs set higher, especially the fatties. Second, the bottom tray dips down into the hatching box, if you put something solid like a pan of water down there you risk jamming the tray and maybe bending something. It may work with a bread pan in the middle, but stay away from the sides.

This year I am planning to start the eggs under broodies for the first two weeks if I have enough broodies. I don't think I will have enough hens to cover all the eggs. I was looking at one of the chicken hens a couple of days ago and saw a LOT of lice, guess it's time to delouse. Do you use Ivermec pour on?

I had thought of that with the padding, but I think it will grip enough that sitting higher will be okay. Of course I will test this theory before risking a whole batch of eggs. I have no tray for the bottom... 2 racks that hold 44 eggs is way more than I need. I was thinking about a rectangular tupperware container for water down there, narrow and long to keep it away from the sides when the auto-turner is engaged. My chickens are all 100% free ranged and I've never seen a louse on one of them( and I've looked pretty closely since I used to hold my Roo a lot), if I did I would Sevin dust them. I am a firm believer in Sevin having used it for at least 10 years now, I've never used Ivermec pour on.

RIP

 

[zazouse]

After looking at Zaz's photo of the green trays it doesn't look like it holds 48 pea eggs unless they are pointing down. That takes me back to about the same number of eggs that fit into the metal racks.

Question for ZAZ, what humidity level are you shooting for? Mine was staying at around 65% without sponges in the tank, but I needed to add water every couple of days and would find it dry now and again. That is why I ordered the bucket so I would not have to worry about running out of water.

Those are goose egg trays and they hold 36 upright peafowl eggs but i can't remember how many pea eggs it would hold side ways

, i did a test and they hatched just as well when incubated upright as they did on their sides .
I run my humidity at 55% and increase to 65 at hatch time but i had them hatch in the tray the first year at a humidity of 55% I have to fill my resivor every day no matter what, i could never go 2 days it would be bone dry.

 

[zazouse]

Thanks Zaz! I already have 4 thermometers and that is one of the things I will be monitoring while I get to know this sucker. I don't think I will be using the bottom rack, I only bought 2 goose trays at this point, they just seem like they wouldn't keep the eggs very stable. I was thinking of putting an additional water pan in the bottom since I'm not hatching down there either. I'm not sure I am understanding what you do with the funnel? The water bucket sits on top and a hose runs from it into the inside reservoir, you just keep the bucket on top filled, do you add water thru your funnel everyday? I think the bucket is meant to reduce the need for adding water so often, or maybe I'm misunderstanding how the funnel works?

I have the bucket it never kept my reservoir full i had to come up with a way to fill my bator without opening it and i came up with the funnel and hose idea, i have to add water every day to the reservoir when i run my bators.

I have used every size rack available from quail size to goose size and not one egg has ever fallen out of them