Please help! incubator problems!

[americana-chick]

Ok i have eggs due on the 9 and 14. i am getting my older incubator ready for the eggs that are due on the 14 but it wont keep its temp and it is going nuts! what am i going to do? i have been working with this old incubator and trying to fix the temp problem for 3 days now. what if it never gets the right temp, will it be ok to just keep all the eggs in the same incubator?

 

[americana-chick]

Can no one help me?

 

[americana-chick]

Anyone?

 

[AngieChick]

Oh dear. If it were me, I would continue to fuss with it until 3 days before the first ones hatch. Because the hatching chicks and the ones with a later date have different humidity needs it is not really recommended to do a staggered hatch like that. But, if the other bator has wide temperature swings I would keep them all together in the working bator. Humidity issues are probably preferable to potentially frying the eggs in a malfunctioning incubator.

 

[clkingtx]

I haven't hatched any myself, just watched my mom as a child, but I have read this thread a lot, so will offer some suggestions. If I understand you, you are trying to set up a second incubator to put in the second to hatch batch so the others can be left where they are to do their thing.

What kind of incubator are you trying to set up? I have heard that some styrofoam incubators are really tricky to maintain the right temp. Some people put a heat sink in the bator(like a baby food jar filled with water, lid closed; the bator warms the water, which stabilizes the temp in the bator).

Is the temp going up and down? Or just staying high or low? Room temperature fluctuations can cause bator temp fluctuations.

Maybe if you give more details, including specifics about the problem, what you have tried, and the results of your efforts; someone who has more experience will be able to help you.

If I were you, I would definitely keep the eggs in the working bator until you stabilize the other one, as the previous poster suggested.

Carrie

 

[americana-chick]

Well honestly i have no idea what the other bator is.. it is very old, round, and metal. It usually works ok but it was outside for sometime ever sence i bought my new incubator. I have tried just about everything and yet the temps will go from 98-105! Also, what would i do if i do have to keep the eggs together and the newer eggs will still have to be turned for another 4 days.. do you think the chicks would really get stuck to the egg shell even if they're are other chicks hatching and rolling around in the incubator (i hope this happens and rolls the new eggs) I am just so mad that the old bator had to go bad now that i needed it

 

[clkingtx]

I think I know the kind of bator you are talking about, I think my mom had one years ago, it is the first kind I remember her using. I wonder if the wafer thermostat needs to be replaced? I think she had to do that with hers once(or maybe that's when she got a new incubator? Not sure which.).

I know you are on a limited timeframe, with lockdown for the first eggs coming in about 4 days, but could you see about getting a new wafer for your old bator?

If not, then I am not sure about the turning of the second set while the first set is hatching.

I think I have read the main problem for the later hatching eggs(staggered hatch or not) is that they get kicked around by the earlier hatchlings, and sometimes get injured or killed from that. I think if you are not able to get the other bator figured out(and I would definitely keep trying it until "lockdown" time for the first set), I would put the second set in an egg carton(inside the bator of course, I think people cut the bottoms out of them, to help with air circulation, a paper type verses styrofoam would probably be better); to prevent them getting used as kickballs while the others hatch. As far as turning the second set; I am not sure. I have read on byc about some people who do not turn eggs at all after the point they are free swimming on their own, but you might read up on that, and see if you are comfortable with that. I would probably bite the bullet; put the eggs in a carton, pointy side down, and prop one side up, and instead of turning, switch which side is propped up; and just really watch the humidity to make sure it stays where it needs to be. There is another person on here who regularly does staggered hatches, you might try to search for that, "staggered hatches", and see what info you can get, maybe contact that person?

Hope that helps, maybe some others can chime in with better advice. Sure hope your hatch goes great!
Carrie

 

[OzarkCountryGirl]

Quote:
Sounds like you have an old Brower 845 or 846 (depending on size) incubator...I have two of them. Yes, the temps fluctuate, but the main thing is that you need to get it to where it goes up to, but not over, 101.5°F. The temps will drop to the upper 80's or lower when you open the incubator up to turn the eggs, but it doesn't "stay" there. Mine constantly bounces back and forth in a pretty wide range (just never over 101.5°F), but I found that it averages out somewhere between 97°-100°F. I used a thermometer probe in a water wiggler (to simulate the inside of an egg) and found the temp inside the wiggler stayed pretty constant despite the gross fluctuations of the incubator temperature. And just because it's not exactly 99.5° doesn't mean you won't have a good hatch. I've had them hatch out at lower temps, although it's a day or so later than normal, and have also had them them closer to 102°F and hatch out sooner than normal. If you need the manual, let me know as I have the manual and scanned it to Adobe in .pdf format and can email it to you if you want.

 

[PandoraTaylor]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=3335463

hope that link helps..

I would try to fiddle the second incubator until Lockdown, as said previous it may need a new Thermo waffer or it might just need to be fiddled with.

 

[dbcooper02]

Make sure the wafer is screwed snugly onto the adjusting screw. If it is loose it will make adjustments difficult. Check your local feed or farm stores for a replacement wafer. They are available around here for about 10 bucks. I have the instructions for the old metal Brower 'bators stored on a pdf in my computer. If you'd like a copy contact me.
db