9/25 - Purchased LG 7200 basic model - Turned on to heat up and stabilize temp
9/29 - Started 14 Buff eggs(HinkJC's we recieved in mail) & 5 of our own eggs from our
22 week old mixed flock with a Leghorn rooster
10/3 - Installed the air fan and egg turner. Maintaining temp and humidity in an
LG is hard enough. Doing so while have to open it twice a day to turn eggs is almost
impossible. Fan made a BIG difference in keeping the temp stable and consistent
throughout the entire bator.
10/17 - Removed egg turner - Increased humidity to 65 to 80 by filling the water
slots in base and adding some wet paper towels
10/18 - Hatch sign in morning - First Buff by mid day - More Buffs started
10/19 - 8 buffs have hatched - 2 Leghorns have hatched
10/20 - One leghorn cross egg was pipping but shell was very hard. We decided
to assist. Chick is resting comfortably in incubator as I type this. She should make it.
10/20 - Float tested the remaining 8 eggs. No life found. Opened eggs to see what
happened. 3 were not fertilized, 5 had at least 14 days of development. Air sacs
were all fine.
We have 2 digital tstats and 2 analog. Temps averaged 99.5 to 101.5 among all 4.
We have 1 digital and one analog hydrometer. Held 40 to 55% humidity for first
18 days.
Final egg tally:
Jody's Buffs - 8 healthy chicks - 2 weren't fertilized - 4 died in shell
Our eggs - 2 healthy chicks - 1 assisted hatch - 1 not fertilized - 1 dead in shell
From everything I haved read here and my experience incubating as a child
I think we did well, especially for a first hatch. Jody's eggs were amazing.
Our eggs were a surprise. I put them in more to help stabilize temps.
They were small with very thick shells as they were from young pullets.
The Little Giant performed ok but I wouldn't even consider it without the fan
and turner. With those options it's a $150 investment.
Hatch #2 starts 10/31.
9/29 - Started 14 Buff eggs(HinkJC's we recieved in mail) & 5 of our own eggs from our
22 week old mixed flock with a Leghorn rooster
10/3 - Installed the air fan and egg turner. Maintaining temp and humidity in an
LG is hard enough. Doing so while have to open it twice a day to turn eggs is almost
impossible. Fan made a BIG difference in keeping the temp stable and consistent
throughout the entire bator.
10/17 - Removed egg turner - Increased humidity to 65 to 80 by filling the water
slots in base and adding some wet paper towels
10/18 - Hatch sign in morning - First Buff by mid day - More Buffs started
10/19 - 8 buffs have hatched - 2 Leghorns have hatched
10/20 - One leghorn cross egg was pipping but shell was very hard. We decided
to assist. Chick is resting comfortably in incubator as I type this. She should make it.
10/20 - Float tested the remaining 8 eggs. No life found. Opened eggs to see what
happened. 3 were not fertilized, 5 had at least 14 days of development. Air sacs
were all fine.
We have 2 digital tstats and 2 analog. Temps averaged 99.5 to 101.5 among all 4.
We have 1 digital and one analog hydrometer. Held 40 to 55% humidity for first
18 days.
Final egg tally:
Jody's Buffs - 8 healthy chicks - 2 weren't fertilized - 4 died in shell
Our eggs - 2 healthy chicks - 1 assisted hatch - 1 not fertilized - 1 dead in shell
From everything I haved read here and my experience incubating as a child
I think we did well, especially for a first hatch. Jody's eggs were amazing.
Our eggs were a surprise. I put them in more to help stabilize temps.
They were small with very thick shells as they were from young pullets.
The Little Giant performed ok but I wouldn't even consider it without the fan
and turner. With those options it's a $150 investment.
Hatch #2 starts 10/31.
