Little Giant

[cherub78]

The only way I could get the temp and hum to stay regulated was with both vents open for the whole time. I knew that at least one or both should be closed, but it worked out great in keeping it regulated and I had a great hatch rate.

I would say open both vents and try to get a little sleep. Otherwise it is going to be a rough couple of weeks.

 

[enola]

My LGs are doing just fine. The key to LG's is patience....and just BARELY turning the heat adjustment knob.

I am getting 80% hatches with my own hen's eggs.

I incubate in one and hatch in the other one.

 

[duck&chickencrazy]

i have 2 LGs and i love them...granted i have only hatched out 2 batches and i am working on one more now, the rate so far of fertile eggs is 19 are fertile out of 20...i think thats a pretty good rate...but then again they still gotta hatch...but anyways i really do like my LG and i like how i dont really have to do anything but watch the duckies grow...cause my humidity and temp are consistant all the time...

 

[skyedobb]

I just got an LG (still air, no turner) from another BYC'er...she had 8 eggs already incubating in another LG and offered them to me. Of course, this is my first attempt at incubating - why did I take the eggs that were already growing?! Why didn't I just take the bator and get it stabilized and then start incubating?! Oh well, you live and learn. Sorry, chicks, if I've been the demise of you.

I've had 3 different therm/hygrometers and one outdoor thermometer in there (count 4!) - all of which give me totally different readings! The only thing that stays constant is the humidity. I can have 3 thermometers in there and I might get readings of 98, 107, and 100. As long as they average 100-101, I've been happy. I can even have 2 give me temps 10 degrees apart, and several hours later they may still give me temps 10 degrees apart but are now swapped in regards to who's high and who's low!

Once I get to day 21-25 (still keeping all fingers and toes crossed that I didn't kill them all) and am done with this batch, I'm going to try and calibrate everything.

My humidity has been constant. I have one hole plugged, one open, and I have the unit wrapped in a very large comforter to hopefully insulate it and avoid temp fluctuations. None of the rooms in my house stay constant - the pleasure of old farmhouses! However, since even my therm's don't all tell me one temp, I have no idea what the temps have been in there! So I know it's possible that I will have nothing hatching, but I'm going to hope for the best.

Any suggestions?!

 

[lakeshorenc]

I just finished my first hatch ever using a LG and did very well. Out of 19 I had 17 to hatch. Thanks to the good people here. First off get the humidity reader/thermometer. That was a life saver. I turned mine 5 times a day at 7am, 10am, 1pm, 4pm, and 7pm. I also used the egg cartons for the hatch and loved it. After they broke open the shell they would stay in there long enough to poop, so the bottom of the bator stayed fairly clean. I also positioned a sponge under each vent hole on day 18 so I could add water with out opening it. I'm very pleased with mine and want to get a 2nd one.

 

[cherub78]

I noticed that the LG is on sale for $5 less (on sale for $44.99) here where I am in the CM ad if you have one of those near you. The ad goes until 4/13.

Just thought everyone would want to know if they are looking to buy a LG.

 

[Hens_And_Chicks]

I have the LG and I am on day 20 - having the hardest time getting the humidity up and keeping it there. I had put a turner in for this hatch and that meant adding a notched slot for the turner cord - when I removed the turner, the humidity plunged. I had filled the wells with water on Day 18, added a wet sponge and a glass of water and then a wet towel folded. It still went down. I finally figured out last night that the notched slot was allowing the humidity to escape. I plugged that hole and this morning the humidity had climbed back from 41% to 59% but that's as high as I can get it to go.

I'm baffled - not sure if that is high enough for the hatch - so many people talk about mid 60's to 70's on the humidity.

I don't know what I could do to add more moisture at this point. I'm gonna try adding the sponges right under the plug holes - I think that might help a lot for not opening the lid.

 

[Marion]

I have an LG that is on its 3rd year and I have never had any problems with it, it is forced air w/auto turner. The knob is very difficult to adjust but once it is set it stays pretty well and the temperatures don't fluctuate much. I just bought a hovabator still air to use for a hatcher but haven't taken it out of the box yet to see how well it works... hmmm that is something I should get busy with!

 

[Chickenaddict]

I just got an LG with the fan kit and the turner altho i originally was gonna turn them myself i opted to get the turner just in case work picked up and i was gonna be away from home more. I test ran it for 24 hours before i put the turner in and the eggs. Some of the eggs came from a byc member but the rest came from my flock.

Everything was stable or so i thought before i added the turner and eggs. I had a cheap thermometer/hygrometer in there like the one you hang on the wall so i expected it to be inaccurate. I went and got an accurite one with the wire sensor that stays in the bator and my temps were alll over the place the past 2 days and for the life of me i can't get the humidity to even 30% thats with one vent plug open and the other closed, the one that is open the fan is mounted right under it so the fan draws the fresh air from the hole.

When i went to bed last night the humidity was 27% and the temp had been steady at 99.7 for a few hours before bed. I woke up this morning the temp had spiked to 102.7 and the humidity went to 23% I'm about ready to give up and throw the darn thing out the window with the eggs in it. This thing is beyond touchy and for what i payed for all the extras NOT worth it at ALL!!!

The only reason i went and got it was because i had a broody hen on reserve for when the eggs arrived in the mail but she of course failed me and got off the nest the day before the eggs got here. I have always done my hatching under broody hens and never had problems. Guess i should have stuck to what i was comfy with and just chalked up the shipped eggs as a total loss.

I have not been mesing with the dial except for this morning i barely turned the knob to drop the temp a bit. It has been holding steady at 99.0 degrees which is where it will stay i guess but the humidity is a major issue and not to mention virtually impossible to get water in the bottom with the turner in there. I fully expect this to be my worst hatch ever, if any make it i will be completely amazed and will go out and buy a lottery ticket.

When i stick my hand in there i can tell that the humidity is up there far more than the guage reads so im not sure what the heck to do, major frusteration..... I'm only on day 2 and already exausted

 

[WalkingWolf]

Quote:
How many eggs are you putting in?

Did you raise the temp after the initial drop from putting the eggs in?

I dislike the water troughs too but not sure what you can do using a turner. Maybe get some tubing and attach it to a squirt bottle and then add water that way.

If you have a less than full turner if it is possible to take off some of the racks to expose space to put in some containers with water to help stabilize the temps. It is apparent the bator was designed to work when full. So in place of eggs you must find a way to increase the mass to hold and release heat. Maybe you can find some ceramic eggs, or fill easter eggs with sand.

I do not use a turner I have in mine 3 to 4 pint containers with sand. I wet the sand with warm water for humidity. If that is not enough I put pieces of sponge on top of the sand.

I do lose one to two degrees of a night but do not worry about this because this is normal for broody hen when the temp drops or she gets off the eggs. Set the bator for 100 then it should only drop to 99 or 98 of a night. If you are getting more of a drop than that you do not have enough volume in the bator.

I made the mistake of throwing away my boxes the bators came in. I should have kept them, cut out the bottom and placed them over the bators of a night to reduce heat loss.