Incubators, hatching and incubating at same time, modifying mine?

[SassafrasSprings]

Hi all, this is my first post here. I've read the forum off and on for a couple of years but just now joined. This is a great forum!

I know that there are several incubators that have a hatching tray at the bottom with turning incubation trays above. How do you deal with the need to raise the humidity levels for the hatching eggs while there are incubating eggs at different stages still in the turners?

I have a large cabinet incubator that I was given a couple of years ago. It's a Phoenix 6010, not sure if the company is still in business, but it was last year. I called and talked to them and my incubator would cost $2,195 as of then! Yikes! It's in perfect condition and looks like new. The people I got it from briefly raised emus or ostriches, I don't remember which, and didn't use it any more and were going to throw it away! I also got a Dickey hatcher with it.

It has automatic electronic humidity and temp control, auto turning from 1-4 hours, inside light, and full glass door. It works very well and holds steady temps.

I've never used it because I've not had the room for it, but we recently moved and now I have a place for it. What I'm considering doing is removing the bottom one or two trays, (it has four) and putting in a stationary tray in the bottom for hatching. Then I'd only need the one unit and could sell the Dickey hatcher. I really don't need four trays, two even will be a bit much and that would save me some space to get rid of the separate hatcher. I have to modify the trays anyway as they are for ostrich/emu eggs.

Anybody think that there would be any problems with doing that?

Right now I'm using a Roll-X incubator and a Brower tophatch for a hatcher. Planning on selling the Brower soon as I have a Turn-X coming off ebay for a hatcher. I'll probably keep the Roll-X and Turn-X for when I just want to set a few eggs.

Well this is getting really long so I'll stop for now.

 

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

...Wooooww...
I don't know the answer, but wow.
I wonder how many chickens that lovely machine would hold

(and welcome to the forum)
Lisa

 

[silkiechicken]

That is a very nice bator! The only thing if you hatch and incubate in the same unit is that hatching birds make huge fluffy messes and left over hatch junk stinks. You could put in a pad to catch most of it, but it will still get dirty fast. Another issue you may run into is when you raise the humidity at the end, you could drown the ones still not ready to hatch. Not sure how you can modify it really.

 

[SassafrasSprings]

Quote:
Thank you Lisa! If I remember right the company told me it will hold about 650 standard chicken eggs if you had the proper trays. They quoted me over $250 to change out the emu/ostrich for the chicken trays so I plan on just doing it with regular trays, I know I can do it cheaper than that!

Quote:
Silkiechicken, that's what I was worried about, drowning the less developed eggs if I raised the humidity for the ones hatching. How do people with sportsmans with the hatching tray do it?

I know I'll have to clean it out fairly often if I hatch in to too. I am going to try to rig a filter (air conditioner type) at the bottom where the air returns to the heating coils/fans and at least try to keep them cleaner. It has a false back with a gap (4 or 5 inches by 2 feet) at the bottom for the air to circulate through. It blows down from the top, circulates around the eggs and then goes down through the gap and back up past the heating coils to the fans to start again. There are vents on both sides for fresh air and it has an exhaust on one side for stale air. The entire case is solid PVC so it's very easy to clean. It's about 5 feet tall by 2 1/2 feet square.

I have thought about selling it and buying one with the hatching tray and everything already done, but I know I'd never be able to get one as nice as this one is so I really hate to sell it.

even though hubby thinks I should, LOL.

Plus, it really shouldn't be any different hatching in this one or a sportsman type as far as the humidity and mess goes.

 

[silkiechicken]

Well... you could just not raise the humidity... I don't raise the humidity and they hatch out fine interestingly enough. My technique is to watch the air cells and add water for the first two weeks. Then I let it go dry... thing is though that still won't really work if you have eggs at different stages.

If you put the hatcher part on the bottom and put in like towels to catch the mess, I bet it could work. Humidity is important but... temperature is more so. I wonder if a filter would help with the chick dust! Man, I swear that stuff sticks to everything!

 

[Davaroo]

Im with Lisa...woooooow, nice! Beats all heck out of my homemade jobs. Wouldnt that be great to have, Lisa? Man, I would be in heaven!

What was it you were asking, again?

 

[SassafrasSprings]

Quote:
I think the filter would help a lot with the chick fuzz. I will have to try several types and see if I can find one that doesn't restrict the fans too much. I need to figure out how to put a filter on my brooders, chick dust all over the house!

I may just have to try it with eggs at several stages and let them hatch while leaving the humidity the same the whole time. I figure I can find some type of plastic tub to use in the bottom for hatching. Maybe have 2 so I can just switch them out for cleaning. Maybe with a puppy pad or towel in it to absorb some of the goop.

Quote:
David, yeah it's pretty cool. I can't believe that they were going to throw it away! I got it through a person my hubby works with. They told him they had an old incubator he could have if he wanted. I guess they had talked about chickens before. I told hubby to go ahead and get it but it probably would just be a little styrofoam one or something. I was really shocked when I saw it AND the Dickey hatcher. I had no idea it would be something like that!

I'm wondering how to deal with humidity if I add a hatching tray to the bottom of the incubator and have eggs at different stages, some hatching, some at day 10 or whatever.

 

[Davaroo]

I'm wondering how to deal with humidity if I add a hatching tray to the bottom of the incubator and have eggs at different stages, some hatching, some at day 10 or whatever.
Simple. Dont make things so complex.

Use one of your units as a main incubator and one just for hatching. Then you only have one set of variables to contend with in either one.