Hold my hand please, first timer here....

[The Sheriff]

Wow! Three big sponges and a plastic container of water later and I am at 70%. I am going to sleep in the chair next to this thing.

Mary

 

[2txmedics]

there is no such thing as SLEEP, when this goes on...Im a Medic....your a Nurse you should know...

Get a meter tomm. at Walmart....LG's are easy to use once you understand them. Good luck

 

[The Sheriff]

I have one, I just returned the bad one and bought a different brand. It's at 70% right now. I have my blankie and pillow and I'm settling in to the recliner in my office. Good thing I am sleeping somewhat upright as I am too lazy to haul my oxygen concentrator downstairs. Nurses! Go figure.

Yeehaw!

Thanks,

Mary

 

[kidsmaw]

Hi there!

Thanks for letting me jump in here. There are a couple of things I see from your picture that may cause you fits.

I know, because I am in lockdown with my second hatch (in a Little Giant) as I type and I have made corrections with this hatch that caused me great panic with my first.

First thing you may want to consider is the big sponge. As soon as the chicks hatch it won't be long until they find their way to the top of it, which normally wouldn't be a big deal, except in the Little Giants. The heating element doesn't give them much headroom. Guarantee if they stand on that sponge they are going to burn their little chicky heads. Now, when this happened in my first hatch, I don't know if the chick noticed or knew what had "hit" him, but it freaked me out. I opened up the 'bator and rescued it (I know, a HUGE NO NO, but at the time it seemed the lesser of two evils). This time around all sponges are UNDER the wire mesh. Not quite enough room for sponges under there for the amount of humidity I needed, so I easily remedied this with a cool mist vaporizer in the room in addition to the sponges.

And the next thing you may want to consider is your hygrometer. They'll knock it all over the place unless it's clamped down or adhered to something. I couldn't see mine after the first chick hatched and decided to take a nap on top of it after knocking it upside down. Not sure where your thermometer is, but same thing goes for that. First time around I had it laying on top of an egg which was all well and good until the egg hatched, DUH. After that it was on the mesh (and a couple of degrees less) where the chicks promptly slept on it

NOT GOOD FOR THE BATOR MANAGER'S STRESS LEVELS

Don't underestimate the havoc this little sweeties will wreak in there.

 

[The Sheriff]

Oh Kidsmaw thank you so much for pointing those things out. I just opened it briefly to put the sponges under the wire and tape down my meter. Nothing like "been there, done that" advice! Keep me posted on your hatch!

Mary

 

[kidsmaw]

Mary? You put the BIG, TALL sponges under the wire? Now will the chicks be able to touch the heating element when they are on the mesh? I may be wrong, but I don't think it's the thickness of the sponge that counts, just the surface area. So, consider taking an X-Acto knife and slicing those sponges in 1/2 (width wise).

See, I told you. The chicken's head and the heating element totally freak me out

 

[The Sheriff]

I put the sponges under the mesh but in the grooves. It doesn't raise the height of the mess at all. There are recessed areas around the water grooves. I had already sliced my sponges lengthwise with a serrated bread knife. Their little heads will be fine!

Thanks,

Mary

 

[2txmedics]

Morning time, no chicks yet....started pipping last night at around 8pm....did last check at 2am..nothing...so maybe today...they were pipping alot last night and eggs were rolling hard.....

 

[The Sheriff]

Nothing here. No peep, no pip, no zip. Rough night checking temp and humidity, both of which fluctuated wildly during the night. If I get a chick from this set I'll be amazed. Before I do this again, I am looking for a better incubator.

Mary

 

[2txmedics]

Good Morning Mary, so problems with the LG holding heat??? Did I send you my draft on how I got mine stable and how fantastic it works at holding temps/humidity??? I have the same bator.