Incubator help needed

[wthchristi]

Oops..I think I messed up. I bought a GQF 1266 from craigslist and immediately put in 2 dozen eggs. 4 days later I set another 120 eggs. Ummm...how do I hatch the first babies (22 are developing) while the others still need to turn. There is no bottom hatching area. Can I move the shelves, or keep one from moving, aww crud. I can't buy another one, lol. Please help! Day 18 on the first 24 is next week. Also, how can I use the shelves as a hatcher? It seems like I need something to keep them secure so the little cuties do not take a 2 story beak dive. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

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[debilorrah]

Are you hand turning?

 

[wthchristi]

Nope auto turner....ooohhhh, I can shut off auto turner and hand turn the top 2 shelfs for the last couple days. Will that hurt the hatching chicks on the lower tray?

 

[debilorrah]

Quote:
Staggered hatches are a pain, right??? I am not sure, but I cannot see how the turner would affect the ones in lockdown. I myself have not figured out a staggered hatch yet..... I say go for it and see what happens!!! I hope someone with more experi4ence pipes in coughspeckledhencough.

 

[trinacliff]

I'm not sure if this is a possibility or not, but what I did was purchase a relatively inexpensive LG incubator (available at most Tractor Supply Company stores or most feed stores) to use as a hatcher. I just make sure my eggs I set are at least three days apart so I will not have to disturb any eggs that are in the LG in lockdown in order to lockdown more eggs.

I don't have experience with cabinet incubators, but I would imagine that you would have to open the door in order to manually turn the shelves? If so, that would obviously mess up lockdown.

Good luck!

Kristen