I ordered it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jeaucamom]

I finally ordered my new 1588 with turner from Cutler. They really do have the best price on the web or locally by about 20 bucks. So here are all my questions beginning with a quote from Cyn from another thread.


Quote:
Where do you find 50 to 65 degree temps? House is too warm with no heater on and fridge too cold. Maybe garage???? hmmmmm Maybe back of closet????

As silly as this sounds, which end has the aircell?

How long do you wait for them to come up to room temp?

How long do temps have to hold in bator before you put them in? 24 hours? 48 hours????

What additional little thingy besides the water weasel do you use to monitor water/humidity and where do you get it? Or with the 1588 do you just use the one that comes with?

How long after getting eggs in mail do you put them in bator?

Is it reasonable to start with a test hatch?? The only drawback I am thinking about is that then the chicks will be staggered in age and I hated that with my first flock. We kept adding on to the ones we had and it was hard.

Thanks in advance for all the help!! You guys and gals are the greatest

 

[speckledhen]

Ok, when even my bsmt is too hot, I put a couple of those blue ice pack things you freeze in the bottom of a cooler, cover with a towel and put my eggs in a carton on top. I have three or four of the ice packs, so when they defrost, I replace them with ones that are in the freezer. Works great in the summer. Garage may work, too, but could get too cold if it gets below 45 degrees, so be careful there.

The larger end has the aircell.

When eggs dont feel really cool to the touch, they are probably room temp. Depends on how warm your room is, probably several hours.

I have my bator running stable for two days or so before putting in eggs. The alcohol thermo that usually comes with them is not accurate. Try one from Cutler called the Egg Temp or from Brinsea called Spot Check for the most accurate, if not the cheapest, ones. WalMart sells an AcuRite one that isn't too bad for about $12 that has a probe for temps that goes in the weasel, but to read humidity, the entire unit must be in the bator.

After you get eggs in the mail, put them in a carton on the table, allow them to sit for 6-12 hours, even 24 if you want, but that isn't necessary. They'll come up to room temp and the aircells will stabilize.

Many people do a test hatch, but you dont have to.

 

[arlee453]

Oh congrats!!

I can help with a few of the questions...

The air cell is located in the large end of the egg - so you incubate the eggs large end up if using a turner.

When you get the eggs, let them 'settle' at room temp for 8-12 hours, big end up. That will make sure that the air cell is properly positioned in case it was disrupted with the shipping.

I'd make sure your temps are good for at least 24 hours, and 48 is better before setting the eggs.

I use the acurite thermometer with probe. You can get them at walmart for about $12. This one has the probe that you can put in the waterwriggler to read the 'out' temp and also take an 'in' temp, so if you put the whole thing in your bator, you'll get the air temp, the WW temp and humidity.

Never hurts to use more than one thermometer to make sure your temps are good.

Start with a test hatch if you want to, or just jump right in with your shipped eggs - if you've set up the bator far enough in advance so you know the temps and humidity are right, then it doesn't matter - you should get a decent hatch.

Hope this helps!! Enjoy the new bator!!

 

[jeaucamom]

Quote:
So.... the accurite needs to have a WW and both need to be in the bator (which equates to talking up egg room) and the other two from Cutler or Brinsea do not need to be in the bator?? How can they not be in bator???

Sorry to sound confused, I am definitely completely ignorant with this stuff.

 

[hsm5grls]

YAY! Happy hatching to you jeaucamom!!

 

[jeaucamom]

The worst part about the whole thing is we are going to be moving in a few weeks. So I obviously can't even set it up until we are in the new house because we can't unplug it to get it moved. Or could we??? It is only a 15 minute drive from where we are now to our new house. Is that too long to have it unplugged? I would think it would be.

 

[halo]

Im going to order one the end of this week or next week. I can't wait!

 

[speckledhen]

Those other two I mentioned are only thermometers, just more accurate than regular household ones. They each have probes and can be outside the bator, but you need a hygrometer to measure humidity inside the bator. The AcuRite's hygro is in the unit itself, not the proble part of it. I found a small one a year ago with large numerals that only reads temp and humidity, but haven't seen one since. I got it at Home Depot. You can see it in this picture-it's very small and seems pretty accurate.

 

[Dawn419]

Quote:
When I did m trial run, I accidentally turned off the power to the bator...forgot it was plugged into the same power supply as the orchid lights. Woke up about 8 hours later, in a panic over my stupidity/laziness but the temp was only about 5 degrees off, same with the humidity. 4 out of the 6 trial eggs hatched, the 2 that didn't weren't fertile. The "Fab Four" are almost 2 weeks old.

I don't think that turning them off for a short period of time would be a problem but I'm new to hatching and I know everyone has more experience than me and just wanted to share my Oops! concerning power.

Best Wishes!

Dawn

 

[Poison Ivy]

15 minutes would be fine a hen gets up off the eggs in the nest for 30 or more mintues to eat and dust bathe. I have the 1588 to and as soon as I move these eggs in it now to my r-com I'm going to color the bottom of the plastic tray where the water goes a different color. That way when I pour the water in I can see where to pour it. Right now I have to guess where the water trough is. Good Luck