Little Giant Incubator Tricks

[cmom]

Quote:
I did the same thing when I first started hatching. I had a friend that gave me some of his eggs to hatch. I hatched a few batches. I gave the chicks that hatched back to my friend as I didn't want barnyard birds in my flocks. Since I had roosters, I put my roosters with some hens that I had to do some test hatches. Slowly I have been trying to improve my flock and getting into the Heritage RIRs. I did buy some eggs that were shipped for a new heritage blood line. The first set of eggs after the chicks hatched did not look like heritage RIRs. The second set of eggs hatched, the chicks looked much better. I bred those pullets with my Heritage RIR rooster and the chicks came out beautiful dark mahagony color. Now they are just starting to lay (not every day yet), and when they get going and the eggs get a little larger I will hatch those. I am also working with Rose Comb RIWs. My pullets are too young and have a couple of more months before they should start laying. I have a broody BO right now sitting on a dozen BO eggs. I am trying to breed and get back into the Heritage (pure) breeds.

 

[cmom]

Quote:
Our first birds were chicks my husband brought home from a local feed store. He brought home the first batch of three day old pullet chicks in a small box and a small bag of chick feed, I thought OMG. We had nothing to keep them in. We were not prepared. Well we went out and bought a brooder and everything that goes with it. When the chicks were two months old we built their coop. The nest boxes weren't added until they were 4 months old. It was a lucky thing we did add them when we did because the following week we got our first egg. That was many years ago. We now have 4 coops and talking about building number 5. Chickens are addictive... LOL

 

[seventreesfarm]

Raising purebreds of any species is a noble cause, but can be a pita. I had a Dexter milk cow and ended up bailing on the effort because it was so hard to score the services of a good bull. At least chickens are smaller and a rooster isn't as deadly as a bull or horned cow

My laying flock is barred rock plus a few easter eggers. I have some cuckoo marans and welsummer pullets coming up soon for egg color and breeding olive eggers. I've trialed countless heritage breeds for my laying flock and found that adherence to breed standards is sometimes better for showing or selling, not so much for laying eggs or making meat birds. I guess it all depends on what purpose you have in mind for your flock.

I'm looking for mixed breeds this go-round. I want certain color eggs, certain color birds, good foragers, decent stewing hens, good roasting cockerels and cull pullets, not to mention egg production. Having my own incubator will definitely give me more control over the direction my flock goes.

 

[cmom]

I have birds for eggs, meat and some for showing. I have around 300 birds right now.

 

[Lisa Pedro]

Hello, I have spent the last 2 days off and on, reading over this thread. Thursday was my birthday so I got my new LG still air incubator and ordered Ameraucana eggs that will be here this week sometime. We spent the weekend setting up space in my feed/tack shed for hatching and brooding. My husband even installed a new window for me.

I will be putting a curtain on that window to control any heat.


Ok, here are the couple questions I have.
1. When my shipped eggs get here, how long should they sit before putting them in the incubator, and in what position should the sit?
2. I do not have a turner and plan to turn them by hand. Can they just lay in the incubator or do I need to put them in an egg carton with the bottoms cut out? Big side up?
3. I did a test run all day today and had 1 digital thermometer/hygrometer and 2 glass thermometers that were all reading the same. I slowly turned the heat up over the course of the day till I got it to 102. It was consistent all day. My shed is not insulated, but is tight and no drafts. I left the LG running all night so I could check the temp in the morning. If it is lower in the morning, do you think it would be good to throw a towel on it at night?
4. Humidity- Once I turned on the LG, the humidity went down from the 60's to upper 30's as the temp got closer to 102. We are in central FL and it is humid here. I think 38 was the best I could do. That was with the red plugs in. Would the humidity go lower if I took out the red plugs? Or should I just not worry about it? I was planning on running a dry hatch and putting in coffee cups with sponges at day 18 to raise the humidity.

Please let me know what you think. I am not new to chickens, just incubating. I think it is going to be fun! Thanks for your help!

I checked the temp this morning at 7:00 am and it was 97. Any thoughts? Thanks.

 

[Arielle]

Hello, I have spent the last 2 days off and on, reading over this thread. Thursday was my birthday so I got my new LG still air incubator and ordered Ameraucana eggs that will be here this week sometime. We spent the weekend setting up space in my feed/tack shed for hatching and brooding. My husband even installed a new window for me.

I will be putting a curtain on that window to control any heat.


Ok, here are the couple questions I have.
1. When my shipped eggs get here, how long should they sit before putting them in the incubator, and in what position should the sit?I let mine sit about 8-12 hours in an egg carton with bottom cut out. Let's the egggs come to room temperature and I set close to midnight ( for record keeping purposes)
2. I do not have a turner and plan to turn them by hand. Can they just lay in the incubator or do I need to put them in an egg carton with the bottoms cut out? Big side up?Big end up in an egg carton for the full incubation period. DO NOT TURN for about 5 days to let the aircell heal back into it's normal position. SOmetimes this doesn't work anyway; but I put ALL eggs in. I TURN by putting a wedge under one side of the carton then the other side.
3. I did a test run all day today and had 1 digital thermometer/hygrometer and 2 glass thermometers that were all reading the same. I slowly turned the heat up over the course of the day till I got it to 102. It was consistent all day. My shed is not insulated, but is tight and no drafts. I left the LG running all night so I could check the temp in the morning. If it is lower in the morning, do you think it would be good to throw a towel on it at night? I have concerns about this method except in emergencies like a power outage. Eggs are living breathing creatures and need oxygen. THe further along in the incubation the MORE oxygen the eggs need, then more at internal pip and more at hatch. Try the heat sinks aka jars of water, mentioned below.
4. Humidity- Once I turned on the LG, the humidity went down from the 60's to upper 30's as the temp got closer to 102. We are in central FL and it is humid here. I think 38 was the best I could do. That was with the red plugs in. Would the humidity go lower if I took out the red plugs? Or should I just not worry about it? I was planning on running a dry hatch and putting in coffee cups with sponges at day 18 to raise the humidity.THe point of managing humidity is to have the aircells develop in a timely manner. About 11-13% of the weight of the egg is lost as moisture over 18 days ( for chickens) and so you MUST have a means of tracking this. I candle on days 7, 14 and 18 to match charts ( available on line) and adjust the humidity accordingly. I had a good hatch with my own eggs the first time hatching--50%. I've gotten beter as I understand exactly how large the air cell should be. Weighing is more exact IMO.

Please let me know what you think. I am not new to chickens, just incubating. I think it is going to be fun! Thanks for your help!

THis is my experience from a year plus of hatching ducks, chickens and turkey eggs and reading, and participating in BIG hatcha thons where everyone shares experience.

LG likes a STABLE environment. THe tack room is experiencing fluctuations. THe LG is a very small incubator and can't easily compensate for night to day temperatures.You could add heat sinks like glass jars of water I can fit FOUR in my LG.

Turning eggs in an egg carton in the still LG is problematic. THe air around the eggs elevated the highest gets high temps and the lower eggs get temps that are too low. My suggestion is add a fan. --YOu can add a PC farn cheaply if you have all the parts: PC fan from an old pc and AC adaptor plug. I didn't know what I was doing the first time, and me without any electrically experience wired mine in about 3 hours. THis makes the temps more even all over the LG.


Closing up your LG( covering at night) will reduce the air flow; Moisture needs to leave the egg then leave the LG. If you are at about 35% right now with out eggs in there, I would suggest starting with the dry incubation method. Rh is a guide and I don't get fanatical about the RH as it is all relative!! What works for you might be what works for CMOM as you are both in FLorida, or the environment the LG is in sufficiently different to need slightly different management. I change how I manage humidity through the year to adjust for natural humidity from dry winter to humid summers.

IMO putting the LG in a more stable location might be better. You are also dealing with shipped eggs in your first attempt.

GOod luck--very exciting.

 

[seventreesfarm]

Arielle,

Thanks for sharing your experiences in such detail. Very helpful getting my LG set up and also for knowing how to handle my eggs right off the bat.

This morning my LG was still showing 87.4 so I went ahead and bumped it. The room it's in is a bit cool, and I also don't know if the knob had been moved in shipping/packing. So glad to have a week to get it settled in.

Humidity is down to 26% but it's really more like 34 based on my calibration earlier. There's no water in it. I have the fan & turner on and the red plug in. Is that a decent level for the first 18 days?

-Joanna

 

[Arielle]

Arielle,

Thanks for sharing your experiences in such detail. Very helpful getting my LG set up and also for knowing how to handle my eggs right off the bat.

This morning my LG was still showing 87.4 so I went ahead and bumped it. The room it's in is a bit cool, and I also don't know if the knob had been moved in shipping/packing. So glad to have a week to get it settled in.

Humidity is down to 26% but it's really more like 34 based on my calibration earlier. There's no water in it. I have the fan & turner on and the red plug in. Is that a decent level for the first 18 days?

-Joanna

THe knob is NOT preset so you will need to find the "right" setting. Did you put a knob on?? CMOM has posted a number of photos to do that; I did it and have much finer control of the temps. Turning it a hair is now possible. LOL

Once the eggs go in the RH inside the LG will change; if it is 34 now you are in the ball park. As it bears repeating: monitor the aircells and adjust the humidity accordingly. I put my PC fan under one of the red plugs. I can increase the air flow by removing the plug and that in turn dries the eggs faster.

Turners add heat sot he setting of the knob is different when no turner is used in the LG. THis becomes a problem at lockdown and the turner is turned off. So I don't use a turner at tiis point. OThers use TWO LG one as hatchers and one as incubator with turner.

 

[Lisa Pedro]

THis is my experience from a year plus of hatching ducks, chickens and turkey eggs and reading, and participating in BIG hatcha thons where everyone shares experience.

LG likes a STABLE environment. THe tack room is experiencing fluctuations. THe LG is a very small incubator and can't easily compensate for night to day temperatures.You could add heat sinks like glass jars of water I can fit FOUR in my LG.

Turning eggs in an egg carton in the still LG is problematic. THe air around the eggs elevated the highest gets high temps and the lower eggs get temps that are too low. My suggestion is add a fan. --YOu can add a PC farn cheaply if you have all the parts: PC fan from an old pc and AC adaptor plug. I didn't know what I was doing the first time, and me without any electrically experience wired mine in about 3 hours. THis makes the temps more even all over the LG.


Closing up your LG( covering at night) will reduce the air flow; Moisture needs to leave the egg then leave the LG. If you are at about 35% right now with out eggs in there, I would suggest starting with the dry incubation method. Rh is a guide and I don't get fanatical about the RH as it is all relative!! What works for you might be what works for CMOM as you are both in FLorida, or the environment the LG is in sufficiently different to need slightly different management. I change how I manage humidity through the year to adjust for natural humidity from dry winter to humid summers.

IMO putting the LG in a more stable location might be better. You are also dealing with shipped eggs in your first attempt.

GOod luck--very exciting.

Big end up in an egg carton for the full incubation period. DO NOT TURN for about 5 days to let the aircell heal back into it's normal position. SOmetimes this doesn't work anyway; but I put ALL eggs in. I TURN by putting a wedge under one side of the carton then the other side.

I understand about letting the eggs rest. The part that is confusing is about "not" turning them for 5 days. I thought it was really important to turn them the first 5-7 days? When you do turn them, are you saying that you just tip the carton from one side to the other with the large ends always up?

As far as the location of the LG, I wonder if the brooder heat lamp turned on over the incubator at night would stabilize the temps. I am just trying to spare my family from having to have the chicks in the house again. We just raised day old chicks who are now 13 weeks old and day old guineas that are now 8 weeks old in the house until their coop was ready.

Thank you for your help. I am sure I will read this over a couple times and have more questions. Thanks.

 

[Arielle]

Lisa, ittakes some thinking and trial and error to adapt the LG to your situation. GL