Incubator recommendations

[Wynnwith]

Hi all so my first hatch I managed to get 6 healthy babies from 11 eggs. Sadly the others died after lockdown. I have an old Hova-bator which I'm not sure is working great. I'm not sure why the chicks died they'd pipped internally but just didn't get further than that . Does anyone have any recommendations on incubators that aren't mega expensive? Or is there anything I can do to make this one more efficient? I found it really hard to keep the temp correct with this one...

 

[MGG]

Hi all so my first hatch I managed to get 6 healthy babies from 11 eggs. Sadly the others died after lockdown. I have an old Hova-bator which I'm not sure is working great. I'm not sure why the chicks died they'd pipped internally but just didn't get further than that . Does anyone have any recommendations on incubators that aren't mega expensive? Or is there anything I can do to make this one more efficient? I found it really hard to keep the temp correct with this one...

I've heard really great things about the Nurture Right 360 and the Incuview incubator. I also like the way the Janoel 24 looks. I have the Janoel 12, which I love, but it's a bit small for me.

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

What incubator do you have now?

 

[Offshoreorca]

Hi all so my first hatch I managed to get 6 healthy babies from 11 eggs. Sadly the others died after lockdown. I have an old Hova-bator which I'm not sure is working great. I'm not sure why the chicks died they'd pipped internally but just didn't get further than that . Does anyone have any recommendations on incubators that aren't mega expensive? Or is there anything I can do to make this one more efficient? I found it really hard to keep the temp correct with this one...

Late death like that can sometimes be linked to lack of oxygen (and some folks say humidity, but there are two very different thought camps when it comes to that). Was it a still air incubator? Did you take the plugs out of the vents for lockdown? Temperature shouldn't have resulted in good development the whole way through and then death on lockdown. Eggtopsies can help you diagnose likely causes if they die late in development.

 

[MGG]

What incubator do you have now?

Me or OP?

 

[Wynnwith]

What incubator do you have now?

A really old Hova-bator

 

[Wynnwith]

Late death like that can sometimes be linked to lack of oxygen (and some folks say humidity, but there are two very different thought camps when it comes to that). Was it a still air incubator? Did you take the plugs out of the vents for lockdown? Temperature shouldn't have resulted in good development the whole way through and then death on lockdown. Eggtopsies can help you diagnose likely causes if they die late in development.

Yes took plugs out I wonder if it was too dry but my bator said 70-75 % humidity for lockdown they have pipped internally?

 

[Offshoreorca]

Yes took plugs out I wonder if it was too dry but my bator said 70-75 % humidity for lockdown they have pipped internally?

I would get a second hygrometer to double check if you decide to test the incubator again down the line - that's why lots of folks monitor with several incase one is off. How were the air cells sized going into lockdown? If normal going into lockdown this would imply that things were good during incubation and the problem was during lockdown. Late embryo death can also be associated with poor nutrition and health of the parents - particularly if they aren't your own flock and you don't know how they are kept. So many variables. A good functioning solid incubator will definitely help hatch rates, but the quality of the eggs and how you manage an incubator can also make a difference in success (even the best incubators can fail if mistakes are made, but then it usually boils down to something you've done or the quality of the hatching eggs so you eliminate some variables.

 

[Wynnwith]

I would get a second hygrometer to double check if you decide to test the incubator again down the line - that's why lots of folks monitor with several incase one is off. How were the air cells sized going into lockdown? If normal going into lockdown this would imply that things were good during incubation and the problem was during lockdown. Late embryo death can also be associated with poor nutrition and health of the parents - particularly if they aren't your own flock and you don't know how they are kept. So many variables. A good functioning solid incubator will definitely help hatch rates, but the quality of the eggs and how you manage an incubator can also make a difference in success (even the best incubators can fail if mistakes are made, but then it usually boils down to something you've done or the quality of the hatching eggs so you eliminate some variables.

Thanks so much to be honest from my untrained eye the air sacs looked small on lockdown but the humidity during incubation was low if anything (I couldn't keep it stable so kept it lower as didn't want it too high before lockdown)

 

[Taylorenee]

I have the NR 360 and love it! Super easy, great hatches has it all. Sorry to hear about your Batch