HERE WE GO AGAIN Anyone SETTING Aug 30th - Sept 8th join me!!

[picanins]

How long should it take for my incubator to get back up to temperature? After I opened it last night, arranged the eggs and thermometers so I could see everything good, I closed it and it was reading 97 on the digital. Well it is still 97, but I actually thought it would be lower than that this morning due to the eggs themselves. I am not worried, just wondering how long it takes to get a true reading.

By now I would expect the temps to be stable. Have you used the Little Giant before? You've got to watch the temp on it like a hawk coz it can be so unstable

 

[Brookhavens]

Hi folks. I thought I would join the session too!

I am a total noob and have never kept chickens before, nor hatched eggs.

I have made my own forced air incubator - although it is not as sophisticated as Brookhavens - no egg turning device. The temperature and humidty is very stable so I am very pleased with it - especially that it only cost me <USD$25 to make as I had most of the stuff lying around the house. The thermometer and hygrometer cost more than the incubator!

I have also made my own egg candler - which I used today for the second time, and just finished making the brooder (which looks like a coffin

).

I set my eggs on the 1st September : comprising 5 Barred Plymouth Rocks, 3 Golden Laced Wyanndottes, and 4 White Laced Wyanndottes. These were shipped through the post.

The candling I did this evening - shows that I have 8 chicks

- the other 4 were infertile. So now I have 4 BPR, 1 GLW, and 3 SLW.

Counting the days!

Note: the demo egg on the candler is one from the fridge - not from my hatch.

and to our group!! Great job on the bator. Is that black box on top of the bator your thermostat? If it is, I really like it!! May have to build another one to try it out. How did you wire it? My egg turning device was not hard to make at all and in yours it would probably be a lot easier to do. I set my eggs on the first too so it looks like we are hatching buddies. Edit: I love your candler. What did you use for the light source?

 

[picanins]

Hi folks.  I thought I would join the session too!

I am a total noob and have never kept chickens before, nor hatched eggs.

I have made my own forced air incubator - although it is not as sophisticated as Brookhavens - no egg turning device.    The temperature and humidty is very stable so I am very pleased with it - especially that it only cost me <USD$25 to make as I had most of the stuff lying around the house.  The thermometer and hygrometer cost more than the incubator!

I have also made my own egg candler - which I used today for the second time, and just finished making the brooder (which looks like a coffin ).

I set my eggs on the 1st September : comprising 5 Barred Plymouth Rocks, 3 Golden Laced Wyanndottes, and 4 White Laced Wyanndottes.  These were shipped through the post.

The candling I did this evening - shows that I have 8 chicks  - the other 4 were infertile.  So now I have 4 BPR, 1 GLW, and 3 SLW.

Counting the days!

Note: the demo egg on the candler is one from the fridge - not from my hatch.

Yay for the Kiwi's. Awesome ingenuity, I love it!!! How's the rugby? My one claim to'Kiwi fame is having breakfast with Jonah Lomu once! Oh yes!!!!

So good to have you with us on this journey. Welschick is the other International BYC on this thread. Yay!!!!

 

[picanins]

wow you all are lucky to receive extra eggs.  I bought some online and was shorted two.  I have contacted the seller, but have not heard anything yet.  I hope that he will get back to me this weekend. 

That is SO not right!!! People always include extra's. I hope you get that sorted

 

[Lisa Pedro]

By now I would expect the temps to be stable. Have you used the Little Giant before? You've got to watch the temp on it like a hawk coz it can be so unstable

This is my first use of the LG and my first hatch. It is only alittle after 9 am so I figured by this afternoon it should be up to normal running temp. If not , then I bump the knob up alittle. The eggs have only been in for about 12 hours so far. I wasn't sure how long it took for them to get warmed all the way through.

 

[ChicksinPR]

This is my first use of the LG and my first hatch. It is only alittle after 9 am so I figured by this afternoon it should be up to normal running temp. If not , then I bump the knob up alittle. The eggs have only been in for about 12 hours so far. I wasn't sure how long it took for them to get warmed all the way through.

If there isn't too many eggs in there, maybe you can try adding a few heat sinks to help get the temps back up quicker. Like a jar of water tightly closed. or some bricks. I have to add 2 peanut butter jars to my bator.

 

[Lisa Pedro]

If there isn't too many eggs in there, maybe you can try adding a few heat sinks to help get the temps back up quicker. Like a jar of water tightly closed. or some bricks. I have to add 2 peanut butter jars to my bator.

I already have 4 heat sinks ( jars of water with lids). There is 19 eggs in there.

 

[LavendarFeather]

Hotpoker, can you talk more about how you made that egg candler? I'm intrigued...

 

[LavendarFeather]

Just checked my Hovabator. I finally got the temperature right about 8:30 last night, and when I checked it this morning it was still perfect. Woo hoo! I can set my eggs! My first batch got started two days ago under a broody pullet. This is so exciting! I have wanted to do this since I was a little kid, and saw those ads for the little round incubators with the quail eggs in the backs of magazines...

 

[Overoberyl]

Hi everybody! Hope all hatches are going well

So far so good with the eggs I set yesterday, I actually have an LG Still air and a HovaBator forced air both set with eggs, started both at the same time yesterday afternoon. So far so good except for one slight hiccup in which I adjusted the LG slightly and ended up with the temp raising to 104! It was only for a few minutes so hopefully I haven't done any lasting damage, but we shall see. Since then everything has been very stable, with the LG sitting at 101 at the top of the eggs, and the HovaBator right at 100. Does anyone think I should try getting the HB up to 101, or should it be ok at 100?

Amazingly, humidity has now steadied at exactly 40% without any additional effort. Egg turners are OFF for the time being, since these were shipped eggs.

Thanks!!