Little Giant Incubator Tricks

[SunnySkies]

Our basement is really dry. When they built this house, they did an incredible job of waterproofing it. The home inspector even commented on what an excellent job they did, and he was some old guy who has been doing home inspections for 30+ years.. It has never even leaked into the basement after a storm!

I've already got 1 plug in and the other halfway covered or the temp doesn't stay up and the RH drops even further, like into 16-20%. I figured that out when I hatched the very first time. Tried most of the other tricks. I'll try them all again.

It's weird. I live in MD. It's humid here. Like dripping wet outside today. But the bator is dry. Temps are perfect. No spikes or drops from 100. Hoping for more girls. I think I have like 10 roosters running around between my last successful hatch and the chicks we were given, which is more than 1/3 of the whole flock!

 

[Arielle]

NIce to hear of another well built house!! THe older inspector said about the same thing about our house; a cantakerous fault finder generally, so I was rather surprised and pleased as we had worked hard to build a well built house.

Hoever the basement is moist and DH runs a dehumidier. I cant account for the humidity as below the floor we laid plastic before pouring the concrete; and the walls we lined with plastic and ran drains ( pipes and rock) around the entire perimeter then back filled with sand. So depite that we have moisture. Your must have a very well done basement--lucky you.

did you find any tricks that people in the desert area use other than filling every day? Maybe that is the only way. Is the lid seated correctly?

Have you candled??

You know I feel like I am right there with you, eager for a good hatch!!

 

[seventreesfarm]

So my LG has been running with 27 eggs since saturday. It has never gone below 98 or above 100.8 but it doesn't stay steady. When leave for work it reads about 100 and 99.5 on 2 thermometers. By the time I get home it's 98 or so. By bedtime I get it up to 100, and by morning it's down to 98 again.

I'm afraid to bump it up too much before I leave in case it goes too high but maybe I should seeing as it always goes down over the course of the day. Should I try wrapping a blanket around it to hold in more heat at the seam?

 

[cmom]

So my LG has been running with 27 eggs since saturday. It has never gone below 98 or above 100.8 but it doesn't stay steady. When leave for work it reads about 100 and 99.5 on 2 thermometers. By the time I get home it's 98 or so. By bedtime I get it up to 100, and by morning it's down to 98 again.

I'm afraid to bump it up too much before I leave in case it goes too high but maybe I should seeing as it always goes down over the course of the day. Should I try wrapping a blanket around it to hold in more heat at the seam?

I wouldn't worry. My incubators have fluctuated like that too and my hatches have been good. It takes many hours for the internal temperature of the eggs to change so as long as the temp is in that range, it should be ok. When I first started hatching I was worried about the temperature not being right on but the eggs hatched ok. You can put something over it but I wouldn't recommend it as long as the temp stays in that range. I have friends who put tape around the incubator where the top and base come together. My Hova-Bators actually fluctuate more than my LG's do.

 

[Arielle]

I agree with cmom, as the LG fluctuates a lot. Thermometer readings are a measure of the air temp in the LG NOT the temp of the eggs. I used to use a human thermometer that read and held the highest air temperature. That was very revealing of the fluctuations. I could never catch that reading on the other thermometers as the temps had already normalized again.

After hatching this group you will have more information on your technique and temperatures. ANd have more information on the accuracy of the thermometers.

I learned a lot when I tracked the % hatch, and the number of males:females.

 

[seventreesfarm]

Before I left for work I took a small fleece blanket and kind of rolled it like scarf and wrapped it around the "waist" of the bator where the top &bottom come together. That seemed to help keep the thermostat from cycling on a bunch. I opened the vent plug not over the fan and temps seemed to stay at 101(this mometer only reads whole numbers) 100.6.(this is the thermohygrometer that came with the bator) and 99.5 on the glass thermometer. I'm hoping it doesn't creep too high while I'm gone, but its all a good experiment isn't it

And thanks for the reassurance about the diff between air temp and internal egg temp. That takes a lot of worry off my mind while I'm stuck at work wondering if ill come home to hard boiled eggs.

 

[SunnySkies]

Well, hatch day for the local eggs is tomorrow. They look good. Shipped eggs start next week and don't look so good. I pulled half as quitters or clears the other day. What is there looks good. I hope it doesn't go like last time....looked good then all died.

I did set up a hatcher this time, since it's a staggered hatch.

 

[cmom]

Here is one of my broody's and some of her chicks. 10 eggs out of 12 hatched.

 

[Arielle]

Before I left for work I took a small fleece blanket and kind of rolled it like scarf and wrapped it around the "waist" of the bator where the top &bottom come together. That seemed to help keep the thermostat from cycling on a bunch. I opened the vent plug not over the fan and temps seemed to stay at 101(this mometer only reads whole numbers) 100.6.(this is the thermohygrometer that came with the bator) and 99.5 on the glass thermometer. I'm hoping it doesn't creep too high while I'm gone, but its all a good experiment isn't it

And thanks for the reassurance about the diff between air temp and internal egg temp. That takes a lot of worry off my mind while I'm stuck at work wondering if ill come home to hard boiled eggs.

Haven't heard from you!! HOw did it go??

 

[Arielle]

Well, hatch day for the local eggs is tomorrow. They look good. Shipped eggs start next week and don't look so good. I pulled half as quitters or clears the other day. What is there looks good. I hope it doesn't go like last time....looked good then all died.

I did set up a hatcher this time, since it's a staggered hatch.