Little Giant Incubator Tricks

[Arielle]

Quote: Yup it keeps us on our toes--look how much we learn. ANd how much we appreciate the broody hen!! lol For the price it is worth keeping as a back up.

 

[JWEBB]

yes hoping my little bantys hatch I have jobs for them!!

 

[CGinJCMO]

What about using a ceramic or stone tile in the bottom of the incubator to act as a heat sink to stabilize the temperature?... There is also a thread started on using heating pad on a baking rack on some risers as a brooder - seems like that is a possibility too without the risers for the incubator.

I'd think the tile(s) would have to be small or else you stop the air flow. What about some (clean) rocks?

CG

 

[aart]

Here's something I used on my last hatch in an LG with fan and turner to help keep humidity up.

I cut some pieces of colored plastic shim stock to fit in the bottom of the reservoirs because I couldn't see them to fill them during incubation and hatching.

Slowly and carefully wetting a paper towel and pushing it down into the reservoirs, this greatly increased the surface area for evaporation as the paper towel wicked up the water from the reservoir. I would actually use a larger piece of paper towel if I hatch again. I put some cheap chopsticks between the paper towel and the mesh because the paper cartons I use for hatching got soaked...which might or might not have been a problem, but I was uncomfortable with it.

Then during incubation and especially at lock down filling the reservoirs with a siphon with extended tubing made up of a small section of aquarium silicone air line and some hard plastic irrigation tubing.

I also had a couple of sponges in there during lock down after the turner was removed. Oh, I also set the bator on a pcv stand in a pan filled with water(not sure that did much tho.) This was during a February hatch in Michigan; could control a nice steady heat but no options for humidifying the area the bator was in.

Maybe these tips will help someone else....lots of stuff on this thread sure did help me out!

 

[CluckyJay]

Thank you cmom for pointing me to this page.

 

[CluckyJay]

To calibrate a hygrometer you will need:

1/2 cup table salt
approximately 1/4 cup water
coffee cup
hygrometer
large resealable freezer bag

Can I use 1/4 cup salt and 1/8 cup water?

 

[cmom]

Quote:
Don't know, I never tried. Try it and see if it works.

 

[aart]

Can I use 1/4 cup salt and 1/8 cup water?

I think so...it's more about the ratio of salt to water than the total amount...just make sure you wait a good 12 hours for the air in the bag to become saturated and the device to register and stabilize.

 

[Arielle]

Quote: THat's a good idea or use glass jars, like spagetti sauce jars, filled with water and a tablespoon of vinegar. I have 4 , which allows for flexibility if I have a few eggs or a lot.

 

[Arielle]

I have been either lucky or lazy or both-- I did not check my digital hygrometer. I do use it to track info, but I let the eggs tell me if they need higher humidity. I always start with no added water now that I know a method that works for me. Water can be added at any point, but removing it is much harder; the water seems to absorb into the foam and drying it oout takes several days and sometimes several day is the difference between success and failure at the end of the incubation time.

I really like the flexibility of the LG-- many ways to tweek it to fit individual needs and supplies.