Little Giant Incubator Tricks

[Marty1876]

I assume you are using a still air, since your aiming for 101*? I use a fan, otherwise they can be hard to control. I've done the in carten hatches, just moving stuff from end to end for "turning". Remember, you want the average to be about 101, so I'd turn it up minutely. If it goes back and forth between 100 and 102, your still ok. Its important to remember that its the internal temp of the egg thats important. I use a water weasel (available at various online toy stores), thats alike a hollow filled water tube. I put a human thermometer in the center, and check its temps 2x a day. If thats about 99.5 (or 98 - 101) your still golden. Its the average temp that is important here.

If your using a fan bator, keep the temp lower, like 99-100.

I need some help from the great brains here on this thread.

I bought 6 turkey eggs, These are shipped. I have read that to keep the eggs upright in an eggcarton and still, shipped eggs hatch better. This is a change as I always incubate on the sides.

I removed the mason jars of water, inserted an empty egg carton, and checked the temps often until I reached a reasonable temp of 101.

I put one egg carton on a dowel, so it is raised higher than the test height. And the turkey eggs are rocked slightly with a folded TP tube under 1/2 the carton.

It's been 24 hours since, and the temps are running low at 98. BOTH plugs are in.

Edited to add--put 3 1qt mason jars of water back in at time of set.

What am I missing??

Will check back in the morning for ideas. Night.

 

[chocolate m'scovy]

Cmom, your brooder shelves are quite nifty! It seems you have quite the incubator collection. I can only imagine someone sitting something heavy on one of those styrofoam things...ugh...

I think I will look for a more fool-proof incubator- though good for you for figuring out all those tips! Too bad incubator prices and ease of use aren't inversely related.

 

[Arielle]

Cmom, your brooder shelves are quite nifty! It seems you have quite the incubator collection. I can only imagine someone sitting something heavy on one of those styrofoam things...ugh...

I think I will look for a more fool-proof incubator- though good for you for figuring out all those tips! Too bad incubator prices and ease of use aren't inversely related.

If you read the Easter Hatch along you will see that all the incubators are problem prone. Users do need to monitor and adjust and use correctly for a good hatch. Even the set it and forget its have experienced poor hatches because of user malfunction. LOL I like the LG because I can adjust it easily, but with forethought first.

Edited for clarity.

 

[Arielle]

I assume you are using a still air, since your aiming for 101*? I use a fan, otherwise they can be hard to control. I've done the in carten hatches, just moving stuff from end to end for "turning". Remember, you want the average to be about 101, so I'd turn it up minutely. If it goes back and forth between 100 and 102, your still ok. Its important to remember that its the internal temp of the egg thats important. I use a water weasel (available at various online toy stores), thats alike a hollow filled water tube. I put a human thermometer in the center, and check its temps 2x a day. If thats about 99.5 (or 98 - 101) your still golden. Its the average temp that is important here.

If your using a fan bator, keep the temp lower, like 99-100.
Quote: Thank you.


THe floor is reading 97 and thermometers on the egg cartons are 98-99. TUrned it up a hair. Will wait and watch.

 

[Arielle]

I'm having some problems and need HELP> Read carefully. Lots of data.


About 8:30am this morning I turned the knob a hair--really just a hair.. Temperature keeps climbing.

Thermometer B 98,99,100,100
Thermometer A --,101,99, 99.
Thermometer BLK 96,97,97,98

THermometers A and B rest on the egg carton. To measure the floor of the incubator I use BLK thermometer. Both red plugs are closed during the entire time.

AND then, I altered the PC fan: I let one end hang down off the ceiling, now at 45 degrees, to see if it changed the air flow and consequently the air temperatures.

Two hours later:
B 103
A 105
BLK 103

THe floor temp is approaching the temp at the egg carton level. HURRAY
Temp is getting too high, open 1 red plug, over the PC fan.

One hour later
B 104
A 104
BLK 105

What the HECK???? THe room temperature has remained the same 63-64 degrees.


Action One----
I reset the PC fan up against the ceiling and in this position it spews out the most air thru the hole.


IMO the fan effects the heating element, by blowing air across the metal tubing. ANd it circulates the air better when it can hang from the ceiling.

Any and all input welcome!

 

[Marty1876]

When I use a fan, the air is circulated much differently, and the still air levels, some of which are very warm, get circulated suddenly. I have switched mine on mid way before, and temps rise. I just lifted the lid and fanned it up and down a few times, and put it back. Then I turned thermostat back until light clicks off. Now, check every 5 minute (or 10) and see if you need to adjust in small ways to get temp set. I also added a couple of tablespoons of cool water, to help cool the environs and compensate for moisture loss from bator opening. This is just what I do.

Your going to have to decide to use fan, or skip fan, but don't go back and forth. It just doesn't work in an LG. If your using as bator, go fan. If its for hatch only, go still. If its both, you will have to decide your preference, or be prepared for a major temp drop when you unplug your fan later.

I want to get a rheastat to use to adjust speed of my computer fan more. I think if it blew very gently, you could find a happy medium, but no testing while eggs are baking.

I'm having some problems and need HELP> Read carefully. Lots of data.


About 8:30am this morning I turned the knob a hair--really just a hair.. Temperature keeps climbing.

Thermometer B 98,99,100,100
Thermometer A --,101,99, 99.
Thermometer BLK 96,97,97,98

THermometers A and B rest on the egg carton. To measure the floor of the incubator I use BLK thermometer. Both red plugs are closed during the entire time.

AND then, I altered the PC fan: I let one end hang down off the ceiling, now at 45 degrees, to see if it changed the air flow and consequently the air temperatures.

Two hours later:
B 103
A 105
BLK 103

THe floor temp is approaching the temp at the egg carton level. HURRAY
Temp is getting too high, open 1 red plug, over the PC fan.

One hour later
B 104
A 104
BLK 105

What the HECK???? THe room temperature has remained the same 63-64 degrees.


Action One----
I reset the PC fan up against the ceiling and in this position it spews out the most air thru the hole.


IMO the fan effects the heating element, by blowing air across the metal tubing. ANd it circulates the air better when it can hang from the ceiling.

Any and all input welcome!

 

[Arielle]

Marty,

I am committed to using the fan. More about trying to determine the best location: hanging or against ceiling. I know it is not to blow on the eggs, and in either position it does not.

Since my last post here is more information I have gathered.

With fan placed up against ceiling, some temperatures have dropped some and others a lot creating temperature layers again.

I want A and B to be 100, and the floor (BLK) to be 100.
Of course it was these temps BEFORE I set the Eggs!!

Need to do:
Turn down temp using knob a hair.
Let PC fan hang down.
Go crazy ..... oops already there.

 

[Marty1876]

Yeah, I understand. When you put in eggs, you have to walk away for 12 hours, becasue in an hours the temp is dropped, and you want to up it, but the eggs aren't too temp yet. Drives me nuts too. Thats why I ordered and hatched silkies, so they can start to do this for me.

You will be there soon. Remember, they will all say different temps, take the average, and move your eggs around every other day, to keep them all incubating evenly, In an LG the ones under the heater will be ready before the others, if you don't. Some will seem early, on time, and late. My quail were 2 days late, but 2 ducks were early.

 

[chicksgalore]

I've had many attempts with my LG, some not successful and some not too bad. Anyway, one of the ways I manage the humidity is to lay down soft rags under the turner. Last year was my first time using the turner and my hatch turned out pretty well. This year, I've done two so far and have...only 1 peep:-( My temps. stayed very stable this last time (surprisingly) 99-100 in the middle of the bator but I think my humidity was way off. Last year it seemed like I could go by the cheap-o hygrometer I got at Wal-Mart but it didn't seem to be reading right this year. I even bought a new one and it's doing the same. There was lots of moisture on the viewing windows but the hygrometer was only reading in the low 70's. I usually get it up to about 85. My husband put his "expensive" hygrometer in from work and it read 100 percent. ???

This time, I had one peep hatch a day later than expected and over the next 4 days, several more pipped but they most all died after pipping or mid-zip. Today I emptied the bator of all the other eggs and almost all the eggs had fully formed chicks that never pipped and they seemed very wet. So, I really don't know where to turn...

 

[Arielle]

I've had many attempts with my LG, some not successful and some not too bad. Anyway, one of the ways I manage the humidity is to lay down soft rags under the turner. Last year was my first time using the turner and my hatch turned out pretty well. This year, I've done two so far and have...only 1 peep:-( My temps. stayed very stable this last time (surprisingly) 99-100 in the middle of the bator but I think my humidity was way off. Last year it seemed like I could go by the cheap-o hygrometer I got at Wal-Mart but it didn't seem to be reading right this year. I even bought a new one and it's doing the same. There was lots of moisture on the viewing windows but the hygrometer was only reading in the low 70's. I usually get it up to about 85. My husband put his "expensive" hygrometer in from work and it read 100 percent. ???

This time, I had one peep hatch a day later than expected and over the next 4 days, several more pipped but they most all died after pipping or mid-zip. Today I emptied the bator of all the other eggs and almost all the eggs had fully formed chicks that never pipped and they seemed very wet. So, I really don't know where to turn...

Do you know about the dry incubation method?? It's about keeping the %RH about 30 for the entire incubation period until lockdown. I live in an area that is about this RH so I don't add water unless its fall and the wood stove is going. My first time, I followed Chookschick's Cheat Sheet and tracked room temperature. The LG will follow the room temp. If temp goes up, the LG goes up, etc.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/incubation-cheat-sheet

Do you track the development of the air cells? The loss of moisture creates the increasing size of the aircell; RH is a big factor in the development. Higher RH the smaller the aircell, the lower the RH the bigger.

Diagrams of air cells, duck and chicken:

http://www.poultryconnection.com/quackers/aircell.html