Little Giant Incubation Experiment - Day 21 - Hatch Day!

Which model Little Giant do you prefer?

  • Model 9200 (Manual controls)

    Votes: 24 44.4%
  • Model 9300 (Digital controls)

    Votes: 30 55.6%

  • Total voters
    54
My 9300 is still air as well, what exactly ruined your hatch? Mine hasn't given me any complications yet, but I would like to know your cause to ensure I'm not overlooking anything. I still haven't gotten a hatch out of the 9300, and despite the temp spikes in the other I still don't know which will perform the best.
@AmyLynn2374 , here's to hoping you get another great hatch!
fl.gif
Right back at you too!!
 
T
My 9300 is still air as well, what exactly ruined your hatch? Mine hasn't given me any complications yet, but I would like to know your cause to ensure I'm not overlooking anything. I still haven't gotten a hatch out of the 9300, and despite the temp spikes in the other I still don't know which will perform the best.
@AmyLynn2374 , here's to hoping you get another great hatch! :fl
That was my first attempt at incubating, and the results were so horrific that I didn't try again until I could afford a Brinsea. The few that did hatch were late, and had curled toes, splayed legs, and unabsorbed yolk sacs. Had to cull 3 of 5. After watching a fully automatic incubator, I think I know what my mistakes were. Temperature dips and spikes were some of it, but I think my biggest mistake was not buying a hygrometer. I was excited to use it, and had my own endless supply of eggs. I just filled up the water channels and put them in. Temperature would vary from 95 to 103, and I work long hours, so I couldn't babysit that, but I am certain that my humidity was way too high for the first 18 days. Fully developed chicks that never pipped. I never measured humidity, and I am certain that it was too high with all of the channels full. I think a lot of first timers do the same thing. I think I could do better if I tried again, but with a full time job the Brinsea was worth the money for me
 
T
That was my first attempt at incubating, and the results were so horrific that I didn't try again until I could afford a Brinsea. The few that did hatch were late, and had curled toes, splayed legs, and unabsorbed yolk sacs. Had to cull 3 of 5. After watching a fully automatic incubator, I think I know what my mistakes were. Temperature dips and spikes were some of it, but I think my biggest mistake was not buying a hygrometer. I was excited to use it, and had my own endless supply of eggs. I just filled up the water channels and put them in. Temperature would vary from 95 to 103, and I work long hours, so I couldn't babysit that, but I am certain that my humidity was way too high for the first 18 days. Fully developed chicks that never pipped. I never measured humidity, and I am certain that it was too high with all of the channels full. I think a lot of first timers do the same thing. I think I could do better if I tried again, but with a full time job the Brinsea was worth the money for me
Part of the problem as well is that new people go by the manufacture's instructions for hatching and they are useless. A person needs to understand what humidity is all about and why we control it -not told to "fill 2/3 of your wells until lockdown..." One person can fill that much and get 70% humidity while this other person is in a very dry climate, and uses the same instructions and ends up with maybe 20%. I hate those instructions. I wish they'd read, "For best results research hatching well and talk to local hatchers before attempting." On top of that, most of the still air incubator instructions still recommend 99.5F in these machines that should be 101-102. I'm trying to start a chicken blog and one of my posts I intend to name 'Throw out those incubator instructions'. (Not really advising them to throw them out, but to use other areas of research for the actual methods of hatching.) I don't have all that much experience, I'm fairly new myself, but I research and perfect ad naseum. I have a pretty good learning curve and I'm very opinionated...lol I believe if you figure out the why you can figure out the how. Most people don't care about the why as long as they can figure out a how.

It's understandable though. As a newbie you expect the product instructions to guide you. I think they make it worse for beginners, not better.
 
Part of the problem as well is that new people go by the manufacture's instructions for hatching and they are useless. A person needs to understand what humidity is all about and why we control it -not told to "fill 2/3 of your wells until lockdown..." One person can fill that much and get 70% humidity while this other person is in a very dry climate, and uses the same instructions and ends up with maybe 20%. I hate those instructions. I wish they'd read, "For best results research hatching well and talk to local hatchers before attempting." On top of that, most of the still air incubator instructions still recommend 99.5F in these machines that should be 101-102. I'm trying to start a chicken blog and one of my posts I intend to name 'Throw out those incubator instructions'.  (Not really advising them to throw them out, but to use other areas of research for the actual methods of hatching.)  I don't have all that much experience, I'm fairly new myself, but I research and perfect ad naseum. I have a pretty good learning curve and I'm very opinionated...lol I believe if you figure out the why you can figure out the how. Most people don't care about the why as long as they can figure out a how.  

It's understandable though. As a newbie you expect the product instructions to guide you. I think they make it worse for beginners, not better.
That was what hurt me as well. I think humidity is the most crucial part, and I have learned a lot since then on BYC. Even with the Brinsea I've had better results making adjustments after double checking the factory settings. I read everyone's recommendations about doing that before my first attempt, but I thought "How hard can it really be?"
I found out the hard way. What I created in that first batch was inhumane
 
@scflock You still had temp spikes in the 9300 model? I understand the 9200, but my 9300 hasn't spiked once and holds a constant temperature.
 
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scflock, did you happen to notice if those temp spikes happened when your humidity was going down?
Honestly, I couldn't tell you. I didn't measure humidity, but I kept all the wells full. It was in January, so the bedroom could have had some fluctuating temps, but not much. Would always be between 65 and 70.
 
Ok, so after touting how well my bator NORMALLY holds temps, it of course decides to go tempermental. I rotated my thermometer (cause I know that even though it's forced air, it has its hot spots.) I have two in there and I normally use 3 but this is the first time I have had a FULL bator and no room. So my bigger accurite has been kept at the back and my smaller thermometer has been sitting on the eggs. Now, not only has this ment displacement of my usual thermometers, but I have all the egg slots filled in the turner and it's not as easy to rotate the eggs to aviod them being in a hot/cool spot. The usually small difference between my thermometers has been increasing. And it hit me....the bigger accurite is down by the turner motor. Now that wouldn't be a problem, but so are the first couple egg slots and since my bator is full... (I usually try to keep eggs back away from it, but....) So I took a peek in the eggs and sure enough the one by the motor is developing more rapidly. Now I thought about rotating but with out extra empty slots that means I have to be coordinated enough to move two w/o dropping them at the same time. (Sounds like it should be easy, and I am not a clutz by any means, but I have a fear of dropping them...lol).So......this is what I decided....the turner had to come out. This would give me space to place both thermometers and move both thermometers to monitor temp better throughout. It will also allow me to rotate them better around the incubator. It also means I will have to hand turn, something I must admit I have not had to do before. Not that it's a problem. I'm a stay at home-homeschooling mom, caretaker of my elderly father. (In other words-I'm here to do it 3++++ times a day...lol) I am nervous though about all of the unknown variables that I am not used to dealing with and though I have wonderfully developing eggs, the outcome of having the hot spots and changing things 4 days in.
fl.gif
they continue to progress and this glitch hasn't caused irrefutable damage. Just going to think positive thoughts!!!!!
 
I hope your hatch goes well! The motor does produce quite a bit of heat, and I avoid the slots near it as well. If I need to use them, I use them. I doubt the eggs there will hatch, but at least they have a chance; better than not setting them at all. In your case, I would do what I'm accustomed to and what I know yields good results. Personally, I could risk a couple eggs to keep an entire hatch. You shouldn't have any issues, but I'm nervous with you.
 

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