Little Giant still air incubator?

[d_rooster]

SnM, I put the water in the wells in the center of the bottom of the LG incubator. The hygrometer can sit on the wire screen in the bottom if you aren't using the turner. If you do have the turner, then I recommend attaching the hygrometer facing up on the inside of one of the top viewing windows using some self-adhesive velcro. I can send you a photo of that arrangement if you're interested.

 

[jkcove08]

I have used a LG for 3 year now. I have had good and bad luck with it. I will share my experience and hope that all of you that got them will be able to find a little help.
Ok, first I dont like the egg turner, it is my preference but I couldnt regulate the temp for the egg well enough for it and both times I used it I ended up cooking the eggs. There are water wells in the bottom but most of the time that was not enough, or depending on where you are the water evaporated quickly. One thing with these is if you water dries out the temp will go up. I had the well dry out with it set at 100 and it shot up to 104 over night. That was the time I had blue slate turkey eggs and others I bought on ebay and fried about $60.00 worth of eggs. I turn mine by hand. I usually turn them 3 times a day. That gives me a chance to check water and eggs to make sure there are not leakers or other problems. I also put a bowl with 2 sponges in a corner to keep humidity where it should be.
The next thing it to make sure you can keep it in a place where the temp stays constant. A basement it a good place, it is really the best during the summer since basements usually stay around 60 degrees even if it is 100 outside. The only problem I have found it hatching in the winter it get even colder, also my hubby starts the wood burner and throws everything off. The thin foam doesnt insulate the best for outside interferences. Make sure you start it at least 3 days before you are going to put in eggs so that you can regulate the temp and see that it stays where you want it for at least 24 hours. When you put the eggs in the temp will drop but leave it alone, it will go back up as the eggs warm up. I also dont turn them for about the first 24 to 36 hours after puting them in the bator so that they get warm and happy. This seems to work for me. I would suggest for everyone that can to use your own mutt eggs or nonshipped eggs for the first time or 2 until you get the hang of it and get to know how yours is going to work for your area. If you have any specific questions you can certainly send me a message and I will try to answer you. Jenn

 

[Crazy4Chicks]

Wow thank you for all the wonderful info ! I was going to get the egg turner-but sounds like it will be best to just turn the little guys by hand ? I work from home so its not like I will be leaving them much during the day. Do they really need to be turned the same time everyday ? what about overnight do I need to get up in the middle of the night to turn them?

So lets see -- add a bowl with 2 sponges so water does not run out so fast - no problem

turn little guys by hand -- ok no problem

get some egg cartons to sit eggs in ( big part up )- no problem
how do you turn them if they are sitting up???

shelf liner so when babies hatch they have something comphy to sit on while they dry -no problem

anything else I should know before I set eggs this spring ? I would love to use some mutt eggs from my flock as long as my banty roo - can umm do the deed with the girls LOL

Julie

 

[d_rooster]

Julie, for the egg carton used as egg holders I trimmed down an egg carton and turned it upside down to use it to hold the eggs.

Example of how I trimmed the carton to allow for airflow around eggs once inverted.

Here are how the eggs sit in the inverted carton. Notice I marked one side of eggs with a "O" and the other with an "X" to keep track of which side was supposed to be up for each turning.
When turning, I just flipped the eggs back and forth like flipping a light switch. I never even had to pick them up for turning - just slid them back and forth on the slick styrofoam. This type of setup will work for probably less than two dozen eggs in the LG 9200 because of the space that the cartons take up. I had to get creative because the motor on my new LG turner overheated and died the first day of incubation.

I wrote down which side was up on my incubation log sheet, each time I turned the eggs. I turned/flipped the eggs three times a day - morning before going to work (~7:20 a.m.), evening (~5:30 p.m.), and at night before going to bed (~11:30 p.m. or later).

Here are some more pics with a mock up of how I set up the incubator. I added a self-wired circulating fan from an old computer with a screen of plastic canvas added over the exposed end to protect newly hatched chicks from the fan blades. There is a plastic plant watering catch tray that I used with decorative stones and a sponge to increase humidity on Day 18. The stones keep chicks from possibly drowning in the dish of water, but they can still drink between the stones (I saw mine do it).

I added water to the incubator through one of the top vent holes using a syringe and some aquarium tubing. I was able to add water through the bottom screen into the water wells in the bottom of the LG incubator or I could add water to the dish and sponge was I added it on Day 18.

I used a variety of thermometers in an attempt to get an accurate temperature reading. Here's how I used a mercury thermometer with a piece of chenille wire wrapped around it through the top vent hole. The chenille wire keeps the thermometer from slipping with the height of measurement being adjustable. Also the chenille wire insulates around the opening if necessary when you're trying to keep the humidity up the last few days. You could also cut a piece of cork or foam to serve the same purpose. I just happened to have chenille wire and improvised.

There are lots of good ideas and suggestions in the posts in this particular Incubating & Hatching Eggs forum. Many people have success with very different setups and methods. So there are many ways to get this incubation process to work right for you. You'll have to do what works best for you depending on your available materials, time, and ingenuity, but why reinvent the wheel. Search through the older posts and you'll find lots of good information and ideas. If you have more questions about my specific setup, just drop me an e-mail.

Good luck and let us know when you get started incubating!

 

[seminolewind]

Quote:
I think the Little Giant is a bit more limited on where you put the water because there are holes on the bottom for air. If you find you need more humidity, add a soaked sponge. I put the thermometer/hygrometer on top of the eggs

 

[seminolewind]

I'm learning from the advice here as well! I liked mine, but had to learn some things about it. I also turned by hand and it was no problem. I put each egg in a little rubber ring or anything to prevent it from rolling around without covering the shell too much. I had to add a sponge. The temp adjuster is very sensitive. I had totally stable temps when I threw a piece of bubblewrap over the top loosely. If you put your hand on top of the bator when its on, you can feel the heat that you're losing.

 

[mandylaw]

I also received a Little Giant this year for Christmas. I'm wondering if the thermometer that comes with it is pretty accurate? Does anyone know? Thanks.

 

[AprilAWZ]

Quote:
They can be hit or miss. The one that came with my old LG is dead on, but the thermometer that came with my new still air hatcher is low by about 2 degrees. You will always want to calibrate them with a thermometer you know to be accurate, and measure the temp with both from the same spot in the incubator, as it can vary slightly by location in the still air models.

Many here recommend using water wigglers to get a more accurate measure of the internal egg temp, and as soon as I find one, I'll probably be using one, too!

 

[d_rooster]

Mandylaw, I have never even bothered with the thermometer that came with my LG. I found the scale was hard to read from any distance and I have pretty good eye sight. I just recently bought an oral thermometer from Wal-mart and it seems to measure a finer scale and in the range of what we are shooting for (99.5 degree Faren.) However, I find myself reading the Celsius scale and shooting for the 37.5 C. I figured that an oral thermometer would probably be fairly accurate since they are sold to measure the fevers of our precious children.

The electronic/digital thermometers seem to be affected by the humidity inside the incubator. I don't really trust any of the digital thermometers anymore. I've got one laboratory grade mercury thermometer and the Wal-mart thermometer that agree whereas the electronic vary a bit high or low for no particular reason that I can determine. I guess I'm sticking with the good old-fashioned non-digital thermometers for now.