Setting 100 on 1/6/16 in new Ova Easy 100...hatch along

[WVduckchick]

Yea, it does seem rather odd. I dont like how difficult it is to add water to the Octagon 20 channels, but I haven't seen any that are really easy. And then there are those d*%$ rails that we love so much (but others have no issue with them!) Can't beat the temp stability, but there are things that they could have done differently, to provide more range for varying conditions. So I guess that's where we have to adapt on our own.

 

[scflock]

Quote:
That makes perfect sense, its just not what comes with the bator or what is discussed in the manual. So you're right, but then how did Brinsea get it so wrong? I would have been very easy for them to have created sections in the tray, like so many other bator trays have. Fill channel 1, 2, 3, or 4, or some number of them, all the other bators I have used have that. This one comes with a single large tray which has a cover that covers 90% of the tray...and then this block. I am having problems with my camera right now or I would show pictures, sorry.

I saw that in the manual, and believe it or not, I agree with you. That's a large surface area of water that doesn't allow much control. I'm really watching this with interest, because this could be my next incubator

 

[NTBugtraq]

I saw that in the manual, and believe it or not, I agree with you. That's a large surface area of water that doesn't allow much control. I'm really watching this with interest, because this could be my next incubator

I've sent an email to the founder of Brinsea after chatting with their customer service staff. We'll see if he can suggest something.

Meanwhile, I have just learned something very important about raising chickens...namely, if you don't give them water they tend to die...in droves!!

Ok, not funny, but its true...I really did just learn this.

You know that suffocating I have been talking about with my young birds...well, not crowding...no water. No water, no digestion, no heat generated, they die.

My great solution to keep fresh water coming and prevent it from freezing, turns out, had a flaw. So its 2 eaves troughs, mounted back to back on the common wall between my 2 pens. One end has a water supply, the other has a short pipe between the 2 gutters. Fill one, they both fill...or at least that's the theory. Every day I would go into the coop and dip my finger in the end of the first trough to make sure its full. Once I week I hold the inlet valve open and "flush out" anything that might accumulate. Wonderful, problems solved.

After 2 days losing 5 chicks a day, presumably due to suffocation because of crowding, this morning I discovered 11 dead. So I started taking everything out and/or apart...and when I took the cover off the juvenile birds' waterer...bingo, no water. I have no idea how long its been since there was water as that's not the side I dipped my finger in. I never imagined that small pipe between the two could get so jammed that NO water would flow through it.

I feel like I should lose a toe or finger for this mess up...

So, got my shopvac out, cleaned out both trays, and have added that job as a once a month chore. Meanwhile, both waterers will be checked every day from now on.

 

[RubyNala97]

Quote:
That makes perfect sense, its just not what comes with the bator or what is discussed in the manual. So you're right, but then how did Brinsea get it so wrong? I would have been very easy for them to have created sections in the tray, like so many other bator trays have. Fill channel 1, 2, 3, or 4, or some number of them, all the other bators I have used have that. This one comes with a single large tray which has a cover that covers 90% of the tray...and then this block. I am having problems with my camera right now or I would show pictures, sorry.

That's interesting. Even with the tiny mini's there are only 2 small wells. But every time I've set, filling one well puts me higher then I want to be. So I have a collection of smaller, different size containers that I have to use inside the wells. They should create removable/adjustable walls for the wells. That way you could make the surface area as small or large as you need for your specific humidity.

I've sent an email to the founder of Brinsea after chatting with their customer service staff. We'll see if he can suggest something. Meanwhile, I have just learned something very important about raising chickens...namely, if you don't give them water they tend to die...in droves!! Ok, not funny, but its true...I really did just learn this. You know that suffocating I have been talking about with my young birds...well, not crowding...no water. No water, no digestion, no heat generated, they die. My great solution to keep fresh water coming and prevent it from freezing, turns out, had a flaw. So its 2 eaves troughs, mounted back to back on the common wall between my 2 pens. One end has a water supply, the other has a short pipe between the 2 gutters. Fill one, they both fill...or at least that's the theory. Every day I would go into the coop and dip my finger in the end of the first trough to make sure its full. Once I week I hold the inlet valve open and "flush out" anything that might accumulate. Wonderful, problems solved. After 2 days losing 5 chicks a day, presumably due to suffocation because of crowding, this morning I discovered 11 dead. So I started taking everything out and/or apart...and when I took the cover off the juvenile birds' waterer...bingo, no water. I have no idea how long its been since there was water as that's not the side I dipped my finger in. I never imagined that small pipe between the two could get so jammed that NO water would flow through it. I feel like I should lose a toe or finger for this mess up... So, got my shopvac out, cleaned out both trays, and have added that job as a once a month chore. Meanwhile, both waterers will be checked every day from now on.

Oh no! That's terrible! But at least now you know!!

 

[FridayYet]

Sorry you lost so many. Thank goodness you found the problem.

 

[WVduckchick]

Sorry you lost so many. Thank goodness you found the problem.

x2!

 

[scflock]

Sorry you lost so many. Thank goodness you found the problem.

x2!

You both know good and well you are thinking the same thing I am
Ol' NT

 

[RubyNala97]

You both know good and well you are thinking the same thing I am
Ol' NT

 

[NTBugtraq]

Well, two more dead this morning, so that's at least 21 attributable to my water issue. Hopefully these are the last though.

I got a response from Frank Pearce, the founder of Brinsea. It was a little underwhelming. I told him things were fine with the humidity pump, but wanted to know how the Ova 100 could work without one. He said it was a matter of experimentation...hmm...so Brinsea hasn't experimented with their own product? I said, in response; "I guess what I am asking is, can this thing work without a humidity pump? And, with 100 eggs, do you have to have a dehumidifier in the house...as in, what is the target intake air humidity to handle 100 eggs with no tray, block, or pump??" When I put eggs in there the humidity is going to rise because of the eggs alone. I have no idea how much 100 eggs are going to increase the humidity in the bator, but if your indoor humidity + humidity created by eggs losing moisture is > 40%, you aren't going to be able to maintain a reasonable RH...humidity pump or not.

I am waiting till I have 100 eggs (close, but not there yet) and I am then going to put them in for 1 day just to see what they do to the humidity. When I do, I will remove the block and pump hose...as an experiment. When I asked the Brinsea Florida people if they could try this themselves, they admitted they couldn't because their ambient humidity was too high...hrrrmmm...all experimenting is done in their office in England.

I'll be honest, I expected better answers.

I disassembled one brooder and reassembled it in the main flock run, but my other two brooders are going to go into my green house for the winter. That should reduce the amount of time the heat lamps need to run, as the greenhouse can get to 90F+ in the middle of winter on a sunny day. The walls will prevent any wind chill, so it should be great, I only wish I had thought of it before I put that one in the main coop...doh! I have to figure out how to handle April and May, though, as the brooders will be in the way when I want to put starting plants in the greenhouse.

Processed my 3.5 yr old pure red sex-link layers...they were less than 1Kg...lolz, not worth the cost of processing. My 22 week roosters ended up no bigger than 2.14Kg, smaller than the layer's mates I bought as chicks from the hatchery. It would seem the genes I am creating are definitely less than the "special dual purpose" the hatchery sold me. Their males were 2.5Kg on average at 16 weeks, mine are at most 2.14Kg at 22 weeks, I need to come up with a new strategy. Someone once said to me, "Dual Purpose is no purpose"...I'm getting what they were talking about.

I am currently getting between 5 and 7 eggs a day. On paper, I have 14 who are old enough to lay. They are from 2 different settings (7 and 7) which explains why I am getting eggs in 2 different size ranges. But it suggests they are all laying every other day...not a great lay rate. I am definitely not getting 50% darker eggs, so my first hatch will definitely be based on quantity, not quality. Its a learning experience, after all. On 12/22 I have another 13 layers that should start laying, so hopefully that will tip the scales in my favor.

 

[NTBugtraq]

I've been having a running conversation with Brinsea. I've been able to verify that my ambient room RH is 53-55% @ 70F, which should result in an incubation RH of 20% (with no water in the bator). That should allow me to achieve the 40% RH I am aiming for. However, with the provided tray and cover, full of water, I get an incubation RH of 50%. I am testing the bator with no water at the moment to verify 20% RH.

Although I am 16 days away from my setting date, I have started to collect eggs for it. I am still getting at least 6 eggs a day, which means I have to start collecting now to have 100...but should I get better counts I will drop older eggs from the setting. The hope is that all eggs in this first setting will be no older than 10 days.

I hope everyone else is doing well.