Incubators Anonymous

[Arielle]

Two of my Cayugas are pipped!! This is my first duckling hatch, SO excited!!

I love ducks.

 

[DMRippy]

Quote: It does not blow on the eggs, but the little fan was creating a DRAFT when it was on sucking out the air.

 

[DMRippy]

Quote: Yeah they are both about the same price.

The eggs I get from the store are wrapped so it is hard to open them at the store.

I don't wash my eggs normally. I do rinse some if they are really bad but I don't try to get them clean.

 

[ki4got]

My mother has game hens.. I would rather have a Silkie broody. I like my hands in one piece...

i agree about the games. LOL i prefer the bantam cochins myself. or dorkings, but the dorks have to be 'taught' manners. LOL if they snap, i grab them by the back feathers (big handful) and launch them into the yard. since they're free rangers, they usually just go straight back to the nest, no biggie, but after a few times they settle down and allow me to check for eggs. (they all get wooden ones to 'incubate'. right now they're ALL going broody on me. 2 cochins, my only bantam blrw and 5 dorkings. plus the buff orp supermomma who already has chicks.

BTW I did one more tweak to the hatcher..... I unplugged that extra tiny fan I added at the bottom. I didn't remove it just unplugged it. Lets see if that help with shrink wrapping.

did some research, and turns out humid air is LIGHTER than dry air... (why do clouds float after all?) so seems to me, you'd be better off with water reservoir on the bottom and hatcher higher up (for vertical layouts, in the top). just my 2c on that one.

Question: Can I stack eggs in the egg turner and leave it on or do I need to hand turn them all?

i do stack eggs frequently, at least for the first week or so, by then any clears are removed and room made for the ones that are still kicking. i don't turn by hand at all, because the rocking of the turner actually turns the eggs laying on top of the first row. laid horizontally, the eggs below them cause them to roll. not as much as a turner would do, but still more than nothing at all. for the first week or so, it's no biggie but further on they probably would need hand turning at least once a day.

the wiring is easy. - i cut an extension chord in half and then use that. I could emaiedl you a easy wiring diagram when you are ready

make sure you use a heavy enough wire gauge for what you have planned... too light a wire and you'll burn it up. most wire and extension cords tell how many amps they'll carry. to calculate that, figure watts = amps x volts so if you have an extension cord that'll handle 10 amps, that would be 10 x 120v (standard plug in current) = 1200 watts capacity. or if you know you need 1500 watts, you could do watts / volts = amps to tell you what size wiring you need... (ex, 1500w / 120v = 12.5 amps) going heavier wire won't hurt a thing, and gives a little wiggle room if you need to add something later (like fans).

 

[DMRippy]

Yeah that is what I was thinking too. When I make the new hatcher I will put the water in the bottom and the eggs over the water so it can raise through the egg trays. Never has made sense to me to put the water and heat at the top of a incubator. If hot air raises and so does hot humid air it seems the bottom makes the be design.

 

[gladahmae]

Well. I think my incubator is shot. Won't hold temp now. Was at 90 this morning, and dropped another 2 degrees in the next hour. THe light is on saying that it's running, but clearly something isn't right. So NOW, I'm really torn as to what to do. Do I just order a new heat element? This is a really used incubator (as in, we got it very used, and it's got a lot of dings and corrosion going on) so I'm not sure I want to throw more money at it. Second option is to run to TSC and buy an LG and slap the fan from my dead incubator on it. Third option I like best, but I'm hesitant to spend the money when we have our 3 big bills coming out in the next 2 weeks. Option 3 is to just buy a Genesis. It's not like we're going to be short on money for the bills, or have to cut back on other stuff, and long-term I'd like to have a NICE incubator, but I'm having trouble pulling the trigger right now.

I should just buy the darn thing and be done with it.

 

[ozexpat]

make sure you use a heavy enough wire gauge for what you have planned... too light a wire and you'll burn it up. most wire and extension cords tell how many amps they'll carry. to calculate that, figure watts = amps x volts so if you have an extension cord that'll handle 10 amps, that would be 10 x 120v (standard plug in current) = 1200 watts capacity. or if you know you need 1500 watts, you could do watts / volts = amps to tell you what size wiring you need... (ex, 1500w / 120v = 12.5 amps) going heavier wire won't hurt a thing, and gives a little wiggle room if you need to add something later (like fans).

good info on calculating amps but even the most robust incubator will not use more than 3 or 4 amps. My 250 egg incubator uses 3 fans (total 3x18w), 6 turners (total 24w) and 140 wats of heat. Total of 1.6 Amps. A 6ft 99 cents store 18 guage etension cord will be more than enough.

 

[ozexpat]

Well. I think my incubator is shot. Won't hold temp now. Was at 90 this morning, and dropped another 2 degrees in the next hour. THe light is on saying that it's running, but clearly something isn't right. So NOW, I'm really torn as to what to do. Do I just order a new heat element? This is a really used incubator (as in, we got it very used, and it's got a lot of dings and corrosion going on) so I'm not sure I want to throw more money at it. Second option is to run to TSC and buy an LG and slap the fan from my dead incubator on it. Third option I like best, but I'm hesitant to spend the money when we have our 3 big bills coming out in the next 2 weeks. Option 3 is to just buy a Genesis. It's not like we're going to be short on money for the bills, or have to cut back on other stuff, and long-term I'd like to have a NICE incubator, but I'm having trouble pulling the trigger right now.

I should just buy the darn thing and be done with it.

i also have a genesis and love it

 

[Flowerbh]

Question: I put this latest batch of eggs on lockdown late last night. I seem to remember seeing some eggs rock right away last batch. I don't see any movement with this bunch of eggs. They all seemed to be doing well at lockdown. The temp is running a little low this morning but humidity is around 65%. Am I just rushing it? Does everyone see eggs rocking a lot during the first day after lockdown or was I just remembering it wrong?

 

[Overoberyl]

Question: I put this latest batch of eggs on lockdown late last night. I seem to remember seeing some eggs rock right away last batch. I don't see any movement with this bunch of eggs. They all seemed to be doing well at lockdown. The temp is running a little low this morning but humidity is around 65%. Am I just rushing it? Does everyone see eggs rocking a lot during the first day after lockdown or was I just remembering it wrong?

I very rarely see eggs rocking. Once in a great while, not every time. I do have mine upright in cartons, so that may make a difference.