Incubating newbie 'noob'

[Woosha]

I am from Perth, Western Australia, and recently bought a '~~Sanven Janoel 48 Eggs Digital Automatic Turner Incubator'. Excitedly we bought 2 dozen Aracuana eggs and set them in at 37.8 degrees C and 55% humidity, we hatched 1, a nice bird called 'cheep cheep'. Not so cheap at $50 (for 2 dozen).
We then set a heap of Australorp and cross breed bantum eggs (40 eggs), we rarely opened it, we tried to get the humidity to stay stable, and we hatched 4 Australorp and 4 Bantum, 8 out of 40, 20 per cent..............
I have not seen a proper review of this incubator.....
Can anyone give me tips on effectively using this incubator?
We had the chickens form but not hatch so we know they were fertile, but couldn't get the humidity to stay at the temp suggested 75% for the hatching time, 20 per cent seems low, others say they can get 90% hatchings........ Has anyone used this brand and got a good percentage hatch? and if so how?
Thank you

 

[TwoCrows]

Welcome to BYC!

I have never used this incubator, so I can't say for sure. But many incubators have a hard time keeping humidity high, especially during lock down. I always add damp sponges to the bator to get the humidity up. One member here uses damp cotton socks in the incubator.

Since you are in Australia, you might do some chatting with others in your area that may have access to this incubator and can help you out...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/598568/australia-six-states-and-that-funny-little-island

Oh, and here is a thread on this bator, ( I had no idea this tread existed until I just went searching now that you can post questions in...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/792406/janoel-48-incubator-review-so-far

Good luck with this bator and any future hatch!

 

[Bens-Hens]

Hi Woosha and welcome.

Those Ara's were pretty well priced, we paid $50 per dozen! I have not used that brand incubator, but a few in the aussie thread have tried it and not had much luck.

Seems to be pretty unstable, and I fear it would be the most probable cause for the poor hatch rates, especially if these were local eggs and not posted ones.

Feel free to drop into the Aussie thread, introduce yourself. There are a few from Perth, a bunch from over east too.

Cheers Ben

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! Sorry about the hatches, have never used that sort of incubator so no suggestions. You got some good pointers and links about to check, hope you are able to get things figured out.

 

[sumi]

Welcome to BYC

 

[gander007]