Help with LG 11300, Forced Air, Automatic Turner

[Bernadine503]

I'm fairly new to BYC, and I'm new to hatching chickens. I am so excited!! My husband bought me a brand new LG 11300 incubator from a lady who was selling it online. It was one of my birthday presents!

I need and would love some tips and trick, and things I should know about before using the LG 11300. So far I let it run all night and it kept a steady 99.5* and 50-55 humidity. Is that how it should run?

What should the humidty run at day 18 for lockdown?

I'm looking forward to all the help and advise I can get here. Thank you!!

 

[Bernadine503]

Anybody???

Is there is another thread with the same incubator and subject please let me know. I've searched and searched and can't find enough info. Plenty on the Brinsea, but not the LG like I have. By the way.....mine is digital too.

Thanks in advance.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

HI!!

You probably haven't seen a lot because a lot of people have bought the 9300 and swear never to buy another one...lol I personally use the 9200, the one before they went digital. I don't think I know anyone who has used the 11300 yet. But in general I can give you some advice. The first and one of the most important pieces of advice I can give you is make sure you have your own (checked for accuracy) thermometer/hygrometers in the bator. Don't trust the gages on the bator unless they have been checked for accuracy. The bator gages are known for being wrong, and I don't know if they have improved things for the 11300 model, but on the 9300 a lot of users found that they needed to set the bator higher than the recommended temps just to get the recommeded temps. If the incubator is still air (no fan) recommended temps would be 101-102 taken near the top of the eggs. For a forced air (with fan) recommended temps would be 99.5.

Humidity is a whole other issue. Ask 5 people and they are going to tell you 5 different ranges to use. There are lots of variables to getting the right humidity. Environment (do you live in a dry area or a humid area) elevation (higher elevations are harder to incubate successfully at and would need a higher humidity), the type of bator and it's size. That's why it's important to find the humidity that is going to work for you.
Many people have an awful first hatch because they've gone with a number someone gave them (or the instruction manuals in the bator) and it wasn't right (usually too high).

So, finding what works for you is what your goal is. Many of us that are using the styrobators have found that a low humidity incubation (refered to as dry) works best for these bators. Understanding why we control humidity is the biggest key to understanding how. This is the method I use (very successfully) to guide my humidity: http://letsraisechickens.weebly.com...anuals-understanding-and-controlling-humidity If you have an accurate thermometer/hygrometer and a bator that will hold a fairy steady temp, I highly recommend this method.

The hatching 101 thread on here is an excellent source of info as well as the assisted hatch thread.

Also if you are getting shipped eggs be very careful right now with the AI threat and expect a lower hatch rate with shipped than local eggs.

Wish you well and hope that as you have specific questions you'll feel free to ask.

 

[Bernadine503]

Thank you, Amy! This is excellent information. I printed out the information from the link you provided. This certainly helped me understand the reason WHY humidity and HOW it's important. I wasn't going to candle, but now I will at day 7 & 14!

I live in Oregon, close to sea level, and we run a little humid over here.

Fortunately I picked my eggs up locally from Over the Top Orpingtons. I can't wait!!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Thank you, Amy! This is excellent information. I printed out the information from the link you provided. This certainly helped me understand the reason WHY humidity and HOW it's important. I wasn't going to candle, but now I will at day 7 & 14!

I live in Oregon, close to sea level, and we run a little humid over here.

Fortunately I picked my eggs up locally from Over the Top Orpingtons. I can't wait!!

If you are already in a more humid area, the low humidity incubation should be perfect for you. You should probably be able to run completely dry for the first 17 days. Candling is awesome. I'm a candle addict...lol I love seeing the development. Good luck and keep us posted on the hatch and how it goes!