Incubators Anonymous

[Kelsykin]

Ok I would like your advice on this little one. She pipped last night and sometime between 1am and 6am she hit a vein. Shes still alive and I see her trying to peck her way out but she hasn't made any progress in 6 hours. Should I give her more time before maybe seeing if some blood glued her in place? I want to avoid opening the bator if possible as I have several pips but I dont want to lose her either...

I would wait. They can take 24 or more hours to hatch out. I had one do something similar. She pipped the wrong end.

She ended up being the last to hatch out. She also was the toughest of my hatchlings.

 

[ki4got]

the farm innovator I believe is essentially an LG (Little Giant). aka problematic. the other, I have no clue. looks decent but I don't think it's commonly sold in the US.

Hovabator (GQF) has been around for... 30 years or more, that I know of. LOL GQF stands for Georgia Quail Farm. they ARE breeders, and designed the incubators for their own needs, improving on each from one to the next model. that says a lot more to me than anything else (FI, LG, etc = made in china I think, GQF is still in Georgia, USA.

 

[Kelsykin]

the farm innovator I believe is essentially an LG (Little Giant). aka problematic. the other, I have no clue. looks decent but I don't think it's commonly sold in the US.

Hovabator (GQF) has been around for... 30 years or more, that I know of. LOL GQF stands for Georgia Quail Farm. they ARE breeders, and designed the incubators for their own needs, improving on each from one to the next model. that says a lot more to me than anything else (FI, LG, etc = made in china I think, GQF is still in Georgia, USA.

I thought the Farm was a LG look alike and we wondered about it. The other one has another company name it is sold in the US under.

I had three LGs years ago and was able to hatch chickens, geese and ducks. Turkeys would not hatch in therefor the life of me. Let me say I did not cry when the one cat clawed and chewed them to blazes. I had one set for the turkey's, one for chickens and one for the ducks.

Yes I am an addict. Poultry and hatching are my drugs...... We are also looking at hatching parakeet eggs at some point. Told you I am an addict. lol

I will look into the GQF.

 

[newtwinmom]

Fr those with store bought incubators DH is wondering how these two compare


The [COLOR=0000FF]Farm Innovator Pro Series[/COLOR][COLOR=0000FF] [/COLOR]and the [COLOR=0000FF]Sanven Janoel[/COLOR]



If you have either one I would love to hear the pros and cons. He is going to build me a cabinet one now, rather than later on down the road. He wants to see how these rate for the money. 

I have the 48 egg Janoel. It was a surprise gift from my know-nothing-about-incubators DH. Very sweet of him but amazon ratings are not always telling. I like to dry incubate but the built in hygrometer reads 10-20 off at the lowers limits so even with the humidity alarm set on zero, it alarms and I HAVE to add water to shut it up. About adding water, the two channels in the bottom are huge so even adding to just one brings the humidity up to 50%. I now use a small plastic jar lid set under the grate to get me around 15%, enough to keep it from alarming. As for the digital thermostat, it's a love hate relationship. I love the ease of adjustment compared to my LGs but I don't trust it. It bounces around a lot and let's the temp swing two or three degrees sometimes. Also, despite the fan I have hot spots. Also, the fan can not be shut off and I had quite a few shrink wrap under the fan. I've contacted customer service and that was a nightmare. They no nothing about hatching and there was a significant language barrier. It will be on CL when I move up to a cabinet bator.

 

[ChickenFox]

Fr those with store bought incubators DH is wondering how these two compare


The [COLOR=0000FF]Farm Innovator Pro Series[/COLOR][COLOR=0000FF] [/COLOR]and the [COLOR=0000FF]Sanven Janoel[/COLOR]



If you have either one I would love to hear the pros and cons. He is going to build me a cabinet one now, rather than later on down the road. He wants to see how these rate for the money. 

I have a Farm Innovaters and so far Im loving it. I set it for a dry hatch and it was pretty set and forget. Once I got the temp adjusted (before adding eggs) it held steady throughout the incubation even with room temp fluctuations. My current hatch is in lockdown and for the most part are doing great. Had 1 early hatch (banty) and the others are starting to pip like crazy here on day 21. The water channels are hard to see and fill but I use a plastic dish for water anyway. The built in temp/hygro are not accurate so be sure to get a good one seperately.

 

[Kelsykin]

I have the 48 egg Janoel. It was a surprise gift from my know-nothing-about-incubators DH. Very sweet of him but amazon ratings are not always telling. I like to dry incubate but the built in hygrometer reads 10-20 off at the lowers limits so even with the humidity alarm set on zero, it alarms and I HAVE to add water to shut it up. About adding water, the two channels in the bottom are huge so even adding to just one brings the humidity up to 50%. I now use a small plastic jar lid set under the grate to get me around 15%, enough to keep it from alarming. As for the digital thermostat, it's a love hate relationship. I love the ease of adjustment compared to my LGs but I don't trust it. It bounces around a lot and let's the temp swing two or three degrees sometimes. Also, despite the fan I have hot spots. Also, the fan can not be shut off and I had quite a few shrink wrap under the fan. I've contacted customer service and that was a nightmare. They no nothing about hatching and there was a significant language barrier. It will be on CL when I move up to a cabinet bator.

See this is why I ask. DH is the one that deals with people and customer service and such. I tend to deal with the animals more than I do people. I did telephone opinion polls for years along with telephone customer service. Can't deal with people on the phone any longer.

 

[Kelsykin]

I have a Farm Innovaters and so far Im loving it. I set it for a dry hatch and it was pretty set and forget. Once I got the temp adjusted (before adding eggs) it held steady throughout the incubation even with room temp fluctuations. My current hatch is in lockdown and for the most part are doing great. Had 1 early hatch (banty) and the others are starting to pip like crazy here on day 21. The water channels are hard to see and fill but I use a plastic dish for water anyway. The built in temp/hygro are not accurate so be sure to get a good one seperately.

Thank you. Might have to for the money get one just so I can play while he is building me the cabinet one he wants to build me.

 

[ki4got]

Quote:
coming from 'been there done that' hand feeding day old parakeets is a LOT of work... every 2 hours round the clock for the first week or so and then gradually weaning to 4 hours to 6 and then to 3 times a day by the time they're 3 or 4 weeks old, then weaning them off by the time they're 8 weeks or so to once a day, if that... and they're not parakeets, they're piranha-keets. those little buggers will latch on hand hang on for dear life to anything that resembles YOU. LOL (not drawing blood, but hanging on good and tight)

 

[Sclark73]

Just candled 22 are alive and growing. 12 of which go into lock-down next Monday. The other 10 on the 11th, also just set another 23. By the end of the week setting another 4 doz.

 

[Kelsykin]

coming from 'been there done that' hand feeding day old parakeets is a LOT of work... every 2 hours round the clock for the first week or so and then gradually weaning to 4 hours to 6 and then to 3 times a day by the time they're 3 or 4 weeks old, then weaning them off by the time they're 8 weeks or so to once a day, if that... and they're not parakeets, they're piranha-keets. those little buggers will latch on hand hang on for dear life to anything that resembles YOU. LOL (not drawing blood, but hanging on good and tight)

Not that it would bother me. If you saw the Minions and what my schedule is with them..... parakeet babies are easy....