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Hi, Angie66 & Grace!
I don't know whether you have already found out answers to your questions or not because it was some time ago that these posts were made (My apologies for not realising that people had posted as well on the subject. December is busy time for most people! My feeble excuse!
), so you probably have found out by now, but here goes for those newbies who wish to know:
Oh! Please note, these notes are for my new Yellow 48 egg digital machine but I will post how to use the Janoel 24 machine as well. It will be very similar anyway other than some of the more automatic features in my Yellow one.
a)
Yes. The Humidity is controlled by the amount of water you put in. Humidity is best to be kept around 45% during Days 1 - 17. On the 18th day, you increase the water to increase the humidity level to 65%. The chick starts to breath from the air sack during the later stages before the 18th day (not sure which day though) so it's best not to have the moisture any higher during those first 17 days otherwise the chick may drown from too much moisture getting through the porous shell. The reason that the moisture is increased during those last 4 days is to make it easier for the chick to peck it's way out of the shell otherwise the shell can be too hard for it to do so. One of the reasons that a chick may die in the shell but, please note, there are many other reasons that may not have anything to do with how you looked after the egg. It may just be that something went wrong with it inside the chick during the forming/growing process. If you find the humidity level gets too high between Days 1 - 17, the only way you can reduce the humidity is to remove some of the water. I use the water bottle that is usually supplied with the incubator and just squeeze it first before syringing the water out. If you don't have one, you can also use a syringe for this. You can use something like an old cleaned out cat worming syringe if you have cats or probably get one from the chemist.
I discovered that it only takes a little water to increase the humidity to the level required. I discovered that the outside water channels in my Yellow machine causes water marks on my cupboard so I don't use the side channels around the perimeter any more but I do have to open the lid to squirt the water in or suck it out rather than the side hole. But, the incubator is working better for me this way plus it's not damaging my cupboard any more! Yes. I did report it to the manufacturers.
So, my method is (with my new yellow machine), 5-6 squirts with the water bottle straight into the centre of the inside unit. Close the lid and check the progress of the humidity level in about 10 mins. Then, you can choose to leave it, remove some or add some more water depending on what the humidity level is.
Why is there a HU (Humidity) setting? You or the manufacturer sets the Humidity at the required level which is usually set for the first 17 days i.e. 45%. Most incubators nowadays have an alarm which sounds if it goes above or below the set Temperature or Humidity Levels. Then, you can adjust the levels accordingly. With my Yellow Incubator, the alarm will sound for a few moments, then, it will stop as the digital computer will stop the heating process thus reducing the temperature. So, you don't have to do anything there. But, if the Yellow Incubator is consistently sounding an alarm, you can bet the Humidity Level is incorrect and needs to be corrected by yourself.
With the Yellow Incubator, the eggs have to be stopped from moving on Day 18, so you disconnect the cream connections between the wires that are connected from the lid to the plastic yellow cradles. This stops the cradled eggs from moving.
With the Janoel 24,
There is a rod attached to a wheel fixed to the lid so that when the lid is closed, it is suppose to insert into the slotted area available for this purpose i.e. as the rod turns in the wheel it moves and slides the tray backwards and forwards making the eggs roll gently from side to side.
You have to be careful with this as it can easily miss the slot so you need to check that the rod is inside the slot after you have closed the lid through the clear side of the unit. Then,
on Day 18, besides adding the extra water, you need to remove the tray so that the eggs are no longer rotated enabling the chick to more readily adjust itself into a more secure and comfortable position ready for "pipping". But, I find I need to still use the dividers to hold the eggs into position, so what I do is just open the lid and turn the lid around so that the rod is on the opposite side which prevents the tray from being able to move.
As regards, the little hole in the lid, I'm not entirely sure about this as I've had some people say one thing and other people say another.
This is the way that I put it together:
I'm presuming that if I close the little hole in the lid, it will keep the temperature and the humidity a little higher, therefore, I've been keeping it open during Day 1-17 and closing it during Day 18 - 21. If anyone disagrees with this, please let us know on this post and give us the reason why it is the opposite to what I've been doing. Thank you.
If I've missed any other questions regarding this, just let me know and I will answer if I have the answers!
I hope this is a help to everyone who is new to all this. Maybe you won't have to make the same mistakes that I've made.... the hard way! Lol!
Cluckin' & Chucklin' Away!
Best Wishes,
ChickyChooky
