Little Giant Incubator Tricks

[Citygrl1766]

Thank you both! I've had my magnifying glass and flashlights out trying to read the writing on theses the little eggs. I guess my last question is when i do install the LG fan, should I try to turn it off during lock down or is it ok to run the final days before hatch?

 

[Arielle]

Thank you both! I've had my magnifying glass and flashlights out trying to read the writing on theses the little eggs. I guess my last question is when i do install the LG fan, should I try to turn it off during lock down or is it ok to run the final days before hatch?

I added my fan part way thru the first time I hatched. Took abou the time a hen might be off the nest. And I was wiring a pc fan, etc.

Some poeple have the fan on during hatch , others do not. I'm not familiar with the LG fan design, but you surely don't want the air blowing ON the eggs. THe fan should be drawing in and blowing on the LG side or ceiling.

I placed my PC fan on the seiling below a red plug vent. I like that it can blow air out of the incubator. IT gives me flexibility on drying down the eggs if they are not drying enough.

Incubators WITH a fan dry much faster, so you will want to monitor the air cells carefully. Still air is different than with a fan regarding humiidty needs.

Some people turn off the fan during lockdown. I personally keep them going.

 

[SunnySkies]

Ugh, I had a spike in temperature today, twice. One was during the night; when I we t to bed at midnight, it was 100, and when I got up at 5, it had a high recorded temp of 102 but was back to 100. I left it all alone and then this afternoon, I looked in on it, and the temperature was 102, but there had been a spike of 104! Scared me a bit. I turned it down a hair and it's been fine since. I am reasonably sure the eggs are probably OK, as t wasn't for long, and it would take a while to warm the inside of the egg up that far, kwim, but it makes me nervous.

Onward and upward though....I checked the eggs that got lost in the mail, and a couple seem to have veins! A few are clear right now, and a few others look dark to me. Going to leave things alone for another 7-10 days and see what happens.

 

[Arielle]

Ugh, I had a spike in temperature today, twice. One was during the night; when I we t to bed at midnight, it was 100, and when I got up at 5, it had a high recorded temp of 102 but was back to 100. I left it all alone and then this afternoon, I looked in on it, and the temperature was 102, but there had been a spike of 104! Scared me a bit. I turned it down a hair and it's been fine since. I am reasonably sure the eggs are probably OK, as t wasn't for long, and it would take a while to warm the inside of the egg up that far, kwim, but it makes me nervous.

Onward and upward though....I checked the eggs that got lost in the mail, and a couple seem to have veins! A few are clear right now, and a few others look dark to me. Going to leave things alone for another 7-10 days and see what happens.

104 isn't too bad. THe LG does fluctuate sometimes. It is known for small spikes but it seems to be an intermittent event as it is heating up the LG a bit more. I was surprised during one hatch to reach 108+, for an unknown time, up to 8 hours since I last checked it; no problems, hatched well enough. Guess I'm trying to say, don't panic yet. All may be fine.

 

[cmom]

I run my fan even in lockdown. As Arielle said, if you use a PC fan have it blow up not down on the eggs. The fans made by Miller LG expel the air out the sides of the fan.

SunnySkies, as long as the temp wasn't high for several hours you should be ok. Shipped eggs are always a gamble. I have had good hatches with shipped eggs and some not so good hatches with shipped eggs. Even though they may have been packed well you never know how they were handled while in transit. I wouldn't candle before day 10. You should be able to see some movement then. If you don't, the embryo may be resting. I usually candle at day 18 when I put the eggs in the hatcher. I mark questionable eggs (X) and toss the eggs that definitely haven't developed. Some of the eggs I have marked have hatched. They may have been a day or two late but they hatched ok.

 

[Citygrl1766]

It happened! I had two hatchlings yesterday ! I can't believe it. One at 10am and another around 5 pm. I left them in there until around 8 am and had the brooding area set up and varying between 99-100 on a digital thermometer.

They were dry and curious when I checked them so I thought it was ok to lift just the plastic window and scoop them up. There is a lot of mess in there and they seemed to be rolling the other eggs around an awful lot. I'm thinking it's ok that I took them out even though it wasn't a full 24 hours?

I am just so excited we had a couple of hatches out of this late batch. If it wasn't for you all, I would have given up and discarded the eggs! Thank you so much!

 

[cmom]

I usually take my chicks out of the hatcher shortly after they hatch and put them in a brooder box to finish drying. I keep my humidity around 70% to 75%. Also when the chicks hatch they are wet and that also makes the humidity go up some. I have seldom had any problems and my hatches have been nearly 100%. I have had 100% hatches but most are between 95% and 99%.

 

[SunnySkies]

It was 100 all day. Who knows.

I bought a second one to use as a hatcher. Some of the eggs my friend gave me are definitely more advanced than the others. I just have to figure out when approximately to move them over to the new one and boost the humidity.

This is fun. A bit like going to Vegas and hoping to hit it big but not expecting anything.

 

[cmom]

100 degrees is fine. I usually keep mine around 100. This is when my hatch was almost done. I think there were 1 or 2 eggs left that hadn't hatched yet.

 

[Arielle]

It was 100 all day. Who knows.

I bought a second one to use as a hatcher.

Some of the eggs my friend gave me are definitely more advanced than the others. I just have to figure out when approximately to move them over to the new one and boost the humidity.

This is fun. A bit like going to Vegas and hoping to hit it big but not expecting anything.

WHen I candle, the pointy end seems to be the last area to fill. Has anyone else experienced this? Perhaps you can candle looking to see how dark the point end is: almost completely dark or if light goes thru . It takes a little practice.