Little giant vs. nurture right 360

[Susan Skylark]

I have a shipment of quail eggs en route (this will be my second batch of anything!) and have two second hand incubators. I used the nurture right 360 for the first batch (standard chicken turner) and had some issues with eggs in the outer ring getting turned around/tipped upwards that had to be manually adjusted several times daily plus a possible temp issue as my eggs hatched day 18-20 instead of day 17. The other is a little giant model with an automatic egg turner (also chicken size but the quail eggs fit in the cups just fine). Any thoughts on either of these models (pros, cons especially with quail?). I ordered two dozen eggs so thought I'd split them between the incubators and see what happens. I'll up the temp slightly (and try and calibrate the thing, my calibration thermometer is apparently off, it thinks water boils at 207F not 212!) and also fix the spacing problem on the outer ring of the turner. I'm also curious if a dry hatch on the little giant might not be a good idea as it seems to be much harder to regulate the humidity than on the nurture right. Curious to hear your ideas!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

You can try using the normal chicken egg tray in the NR360 but it's probably worth getting a Quail tray. I line my NR360 with shelving liner, so Quail's tiny toes don't get hung in the grid of the incubator floor when they hatch.

Test your "cups" on the Little Giant, while yes, a Quail egg may "fit" in the cup, will it actually turn? I don't have an LG but do have another incubator similar, Quail egg certainly will fit or sit in the egg turning rails, but just "roll" they don't turn like a chicken egg will in the same setup.

Same thing for a LG, line the "floor" with shelf liner so toes don't get hung in the grid. Makes it slightly easier for cleanup too.

Dry hatch is up to you. Experiment with it and see.

You may find this thread interesting. I may try this for the NR360 when I get ready to hatch next time. I'm not sure if this method could be modified somehow for the LG or not.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/nuture-right-360-shoe-string-method.1577033/

This article may be helpful for calibrating your thermometers.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...incubator-thermometers-and-hygrometers.73634/