Incubators Anonymous

[gimmie birdies]

If it is still air 102 is good.

 

[Faraday40]

Still having trouble figuring out if my bantam orpington has fertile eggs. In the pics below, A & C are her eggs. Egg B is a control fertile egg from my LF Easter Egger.

 

[JekkaLynn]

Your best bet is to read Hatching 101 in the learning center.  Read it all, then... read it again!

What kind of hatching success has she had with it?  Did she give you the same thermometer(s) that she used with it?  Is it a forced air, or still air?  Did she use a turner in it?  Is your house a bit colder than hers?  How long have you been running it?  Is it empty right now?  My recommendation:  Be absolutely sure that you have an accurate thermometer.  If you're using the same thermometer that she was using, it's possible that the thermometer is off just a bit, or perhaps the thermostat control  has been bumped a bit.  Ask her about it.  If she's familiar with it, she should be able to tell you if the thermometer is reading a bit low.  Or, maybe, it is what it is, and her hatches have been a bit on the slow side, in which case you could bump it up just a bit.  Either way, you should put a couple of water bottles in it and run it for a couple of days to get the temp where it needs to be, before putting eggs in it.  goal is 99.5 for forced air, 101 - 102 for still air.  Someone please correct me if I'm wrong on the still air.  Read Hatching 101.  Enjoy!

It is a homemade forced air with a wired on temperature control system that only goes up to 99 and is not very accurate. I put a small container full of water on the egg turner and put a temperature probe from my new thermometer in it. After a while I tested the water temperature using a digital medical thermometer and it read exactly what the probe was reading. They said they get ok hatches with it but that was in a much warmer and more evenly temperature controlled basement during the summer.
I lined the space around the egg turner with mason jars full of water and repositioned the thermostate probe so it is hedged underneath the container with my new probe and with my infrared digital thermometer that can records high and low temperature using at the container. I will leave it for the night and see what it says tomorrow. For nowmy eggs are in cartons on the counter pointy side down with a box of aluminum foil under one side so they are tilted to one side.

 

[Faraday40]

It is low a homemade forced air with a wired on temperature control system that only goes up to 99 and is not very accurate. I put a small container full of water on the egg turner and put a temperature probe in it. After a while I tested the water temperature using a digital medical thermometer and it read exactly what the probe was reading. They said they get ok hatches with it but that was in a much warmer and more evenly temperature controlled basement during the summer.

Could you try a more powerful light bulb, change the location (away from doors & windows) or wrap a towel for more insulation? ....Just brainstorming.

 

[JekkaLynn]

Could you try a more powerful light bulb, change the location (away from doors & windows) or wrap a towel for more insulation?  ....Just brainstorming.

I have it in a draft free spot with a heatlamp lightbulb right now...we will see how it does overnight...but I am wary of putting eggs I bought into it with how it is behaving right now...

 

[gimmie birdies]

how many eggs do you have?

 

[JekkaLynn]

I have two dozen chicken eggs and two dozen quail and I am getting more on Thursday night. I have a smaller incubator that works fine and I will stack them in there if I have too in the beginning until I can get this one running properly.

Anyone know how many eggs a Styrofoam HovaBator will hold if you remove the egg turner?

I just loaded 10 water bottles into the incubator to they and help regulate the temperature. There were already 5 mason jars of water in there but this thing is massive...I took this pictures before I changed the bulb and added the water bottles and container.

(EDITED TO ADD:I made a water wiggle thing out of plastic bags and put the two probes into it...hopefully in the morning it will be reading 99.5

 

[gimmie birdies]

wow that is a lot. I have 12 in mine.

 

[lazy gardener]

Am I seeing a clear lid on the top of that bator? Perhaps plexiglass? If so, there will be a lot of heat loss from it. Covering that with a blanket will help immensely. I wish you the best. You've got quite the project ahead of you.

 

[JekkaLynn]

Am I seeing a clear lid on the top of that bator?  Perhaps plexiglass?  If so, there will be a lot of heat loss from it.  Covering that with a blanket will help immensely.  I wish you the best.  You've got quite the project ahead of you.

I had covered it with a towel overnight but I am thinking of making a tinfoil covered piece of foam floor Matt to place on top of the window to reflect the heat back down into the incubator.