I have had a hovabator and recently bought a LG for hatching. I did my 1st hatch in the hova. 6 out of 8 eggs hatched. Then I started getting different kinds of birds and different hatch dates so I got a LG to just hatch them in. The last 2 hatches have been awful. Like 20% and the only thing I have done different is hatching them in the LG. I candel 1 or 2 eggs before I transfer them and everything look great then either I never hear a peep or they they would crack the shell and then die. This is horrible to keep experiencing. I wonder if I can return the LG and get another hova? Has anyone else ever had problems w/ their LG?
We have one that is still air. We had no trouble with ours although we have only used it once. We had five chicks that made it. One was not fertile, one was a quitter and one pipped but never made it out. We figured pretty good for our first time. We have eggs in there now. I don't know what happened, but this time when we put our water in there it leaked out the bottom somewhere. I was not rough when I washed it from the first hatch. That is my only complaint this far. Of course I am new to this too so my info may not be the greatest.
I have a Still-Air LG. I've used it twice with very different results. The first time was disastrous. Not a single chick made it. However, I think it had more to do with handling, from shipping to turning to candling, than the incubator itself. With the second batch, I did my best to do ALL things right. I believed the eggs were shipped with little to no harm, they were physically handled a lot less, the temperature was more stablized, hands were washed, humidity was correct, and well...we hatched 10 of 15. Two of which were never fertile. I was pleased.
I just had 10 out of 12 EE hatch in my still-air LG. However, my silkies are doing that pip then die. I cant blame the incubator- they were in the same one. However, I just now wonder if it is because of the way I set them- I alternated EE, Silkie, EE, Silkie, etc. There is a pretty big size difference. Makes me wonder if that played a part in my problems right now. Good luck on your next hatch.