Incubators Anonymous

[HickoryHollow]

Question regarding electronic vs. wafer incubators:

Those of you who have used both, what's your experience?

My Brinsea keeps a rock steady temp, but my 2 styros are the subject of this post.

One is electronic, and one uses a wafer.

The one that uses a wafer keeps a mostly steady temperature, with a small amount of adjusting needed every couple of days or so. It also has a fan.

The electronic one drives me crazy. Up and down, up and down. But it doesn't have a fan.

Is it the fan or lack thereof that makes the difference, or is it that the wafer is more reliable?

I built a cabinet incubator with an electronic thermostat. I absolutely love it! I have a farm inovator's with a wafer. It has huge temp swings.....don't love that!

 

[ozexpat]

I built a cabinet incubator with an electronic thermostat. I absolutely love it! I have a farm inovator's with a wafer. It has huge temp swings.....don't love that!

talk about perfect timing

I was just going to post this:

I am setting eggs for a friend as I live in an apartment when in Los Angeles.

I have a crappy old Farm Innovators 2100 that I upgraded with a digital thermostat and a fan,



After pulling the chick killer thermostat and silly thermometer out of the top, my project box was a tad wide and short to fill the hole perfectly so i used a hard plastic lid of a storage container to make a plate to mount it on prior to attaching to the bator



from inside


verifying calibration in ice water prior to install

 

[ChickenFox]

I built a cabinet incubator with an electronic thermostat. I absolutely love it! I have a farm inovator's with a wafer. It has huge temp swings.....don't love that!

talk about perfect timing I was just going to post this: I am setting eggs for a friend as I live in an apartment when in Los Angeles. I have a crappy old Farm Innovators 2100 that I upgraded with a digital thermostat and a fan, After pulling the chick killer thermostat and silly thermometer out of the top, my project box was a tad wide and short to fill the hole perfectly so i used a hard plastic lid of a storage container to make a plate to mount it on prior to attaching to the bator from inside verifying calibration in ice water prior to install

I have a FI as well but as it's my only incubator I'm a little wary when it comes to pulling it apart to improve it. I do have an digital thermostat I bought for it but haven't worked up the nerve to install it yet. :/

 

[ozexpat]

You can set It up with an extension cord end and just plug the bator into that.

That's how I do it on my styro bators in the Philippines

 

[5 Acre Rooster]

Is its an improvement on IA if I actually turned down the offer of a new incubator? I was semi offered by wife but said I will make due with what I have. Every time I tell her I have X chicks/ducks hatch she's happy. I don't think she realizes I can hatch over 200 at 1 time with my current set up. And that would only be a week of eggs. The sacrifices I make.

 

[marchick]

Hi everyone, I have a big problem! I am an addict and started out with 6 turkey eggs that will arrive friday! and now I have 6 more coming saturday and 6 more coming monday or wed.The plan was to put the eggs under 3 broody hens but now two of the hens keep changing nests!!! If i put them in the bator I will be gone when they hatch and wont be back for a week after they hatch!My adult son will be here but he works 9 hrs.5 days a week.What should I do?

 

[sonderah]

Hi everyone, I have a big problem! I am an addict and started out with 6 turkey eggs that will arrive friday! and now I have 6 more coming saturday and 6 more coming monday or wed.The plan was to put the eggs under 3 broody hens but now two of the hens keep changing nests!!! If i put them in the bator I will be gone when they hatch and wont be back for a week after they hatch!My adult son will be here but he works 9 hrs.5 days a week.What should I do?

U can put the 1st 2 sets under 1 hen. All he would need to do was give em food and water in the brooder. U could set it up before u leave so all he has to do is take out the 6 poults after they've finished hatching, and sit them in the brooder. Then check food and water each day.

 

[sonderah]

U can put the 1st 2 sets under 1 hen. All he would need to do was give em food and water in the brooder. U could set it up before u leave so all he has to do is take out the 6 poults after they've finished hatching, and sit them in the brooder. Then check food and water each day.

May wanna toss a few chicken eggs in there though, a few days after u put in turkeys so that he won't have to teach the poults to eat and drink. I always forget that they don't learn quite as easy.

 

[marchick]

May wanna toss a few chicken eggs in there though, a few days after u put in turkeys so that he won't have to teach the poults to eat and drink. I always forget that they don't learn quite as easy.

Will 12 turkey eggs fit under 1 hen? can I put the hen and chicks in my 4x8ft. tractor?Right now my tractor is covered with plastic but the two ends can lift up for venting.I can put a heat lamp at night. I wonder if I could have my son slip her the rest of the chicks when they hatch?She wouldn't be able to sit on them but could teach them to eat and would have the heat lamp for warmth.

 

[sonderah]

Will 12 turkey eggs fit under 1 hen? can I put the hen and chicks in my 4x8ft. tractor?Right now my tractor is covered with plastic but the two ends can lift up for venting.I can put a heat lamp at night. I wonder if I could have my son slip her the rest of the chicks when they hatch?She wouldn't  be able to sit on them but could teach them to eat and would have the heat lamp for warmth.

Well I guess it depends on her size. My blue slate hen easily covered 9 turkey eggs AND 9 chicken eggs at once. My royal palm hen is 11 months old and much smaller. She is setting on 4 turkey eggs and 6 chicken eggs, but could cover more I'd say, just all I wanted to give her.
They would be fine with her with a heat lamp, but he would need to watch really close to be sure she accepted them and didn't hurt them. 18 poults sounds like a lot, but most likely all 18 will not hatch anyway.
Worst thing is, the last 6 will be like a week later than the 1st 12, so the 1st 12 would already have learned to know what she's saying and stuff, and would likely run over the newbies. Maybe by then, one of ur other hens will be setting better??