maybe i shouldnt try and hatch

[Time-Out]

Here we go... I thought I'd saved it somewhere...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/we...et&PHPSESSID=6a9ef75252d048761e502795e39964f4

Check that link out. It's supposed to have helped a lot of people with LGs..



As for 80% humidity at lockdown, Gypsy, I thought I was the only one! I persistently read about really low settings and people having to 'rescue' shrink-wrapped chicks. Mine are at 80% minimum at lockdown. Admittedly, I need to take the chicks OUT for them to fluff up - it's like a tropical rainforest in there - but it works!

 

[al6517]

Quote:
Great idea.......... I was looking for that thread to suggest the OP read it through. It's really just a support group for LG owners but I think some have hit on some technics to improve hatch rates. Some of them have totaly rebuilt them and made alot odd different modifications to make them work. In the end good incubator or bad one must understand the hatching process from inception of the laid egg to the end result, it is rare that we become expert hatchers on our first hatch, so you gotta keep plugging along. As long as you don't get all emotional and teary eyed if you lose a few clutches of eggs or chicks, it happens so you have to deal with it and even plan to have some set-backs.

 

[Gypsy07]

Yeah, that's Chookschick's LG cheat sheet that I was thinking of. I'm sure that'll help the OP a lot! I'd agree that it helps if you can be detached and rather clinical about incubating rather than all warm and fuzzy and emotional. Getting worked up serves no useful purpose and can often get in the way of logical thought processes. It's hard sometimes but I always try to look on each incubation as an experiment and a series of small problems to be solved.

As for my ridiculously high lockdown humidities, that started as an experiment to see how high I could go and still have my chicks hatch out healthy. Having had lockdowns run upwards of 90%, I've kind of concluded that as long as your eggs have lost the correct amount of moisture prior to lockdown, anything goes! Also, mine always fluff up and dry fine even when it's so humid in there that I have beads of condensation running down the bator window.

I've now started going the opposite way and reducing the humidity to see how low I can go and still have them hatch out okay. I'm being much more careful with this, as I reckon there's a very real chance of harming some perfectly healthy chicks, which I obviously don't want to do. My Brinsea EX makes it very easy to control the humidity percentage right down to single digits, and I've read a lot about people incubating in the Brinseas then transferring to something else for hatching cause the fans in the Brinseas are so strong that they shrinkwrap chicks very easily. So it's an interesting thing to experiment with...

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

Quote:
Some people have gotten lucky with them, but from what I've heard on here, there are more people who have had bad experiences then good. You are one of the lucky ones.

The real truth is all the LG owners say the same thing it's the best they could afford, but then end up wasting more $$ on wasted ruined hatches and expensive shipped eggs than they would have saved buying a real incubator, It's a poor excuss but they like it. And yes the fact's state the LG is the most unwanted bator in the hatching industry, I do feel bad for the owners of them, always having to rationalize for buying one and not admitting they stink.

Exactly.

 

[Time-Out]

Here's an except from the MPC ebook, which I found to be true.

Keep in Mind...
Wherever you choose to get your hatching eggs, there are three main things you should be aware of. First, remember that if they ship, their AVERAGE hatchability will be about 50%. If they don't ship (that is, if they are from your flock or if you get them locally) the AVERAGE hatchability is about 80%. So, even under ideal circumstances, not every fertile egg will hatch. It just doesn't work that way. Second, be aware of your guarantees BEFORE you purchase. Third--to repeat--remember that the average hatch rate for shipped eggs is 50%; it is 80% for eggs that have not shipped. We sometimes hear from people new to hatching who are LIVID that only 10 out of their dozen eggs hatched, and from old hands, ECSTATIC that five did. If you want to hatch eggs, you must understand it is not a pursuit for the inflexible or the easily disappointed!

I've spent the last hour trying to find it lol. I was feeling so down when I discovered only four eggs were developping. I read that and realised that I'm easily disappointed and I shouldn't be! I should just hatch more

 

[al6517]

After I set some egg's and candling time comes around and I have more clears or non developers I get disappointed but only for a minute, as I plan the next collecting cycle and try to figure out what I can do to improve them. It's a challenge and it test your resolve. But in the end it's all about the numbers so you just have to keep plugging away at it.