Some incubator questions...

[Bettacreek]

I finally bought a cabinet incubator, but there are no egg racks with it. It's an OLD GQF model. They don't make this model anymore. It's at least 10 years old. I want to buy some egg racks for it, but not sure if the newer racks will work with it. I need at least one quail rack (probably two), a duck rack (or two, or three, lol) and some chicken racks.

Another question I have is about humidity. The tray keeps it at exactly 60%, but for hatching, if I remember correctly, you need a higher humidity. So, how do you increase humidity for the eggs in the hatcher without mucking with the eggs in the turners?

Thanks in advance guys!

 

[SpiritedFarm]

So the metal racks for holding the trays are there, but no egg trays?
Is it an old sportsman model?

 

[Bettacreek]

Yup. The wire mesh things are there, but no egg trays to actually hold the eggs. It's a model 1202, but I don't see sportsman on it or anything.

 

[SpiritedFarm]

ok, i think you have a sportsman.......don't waste money on the trays....I have the same bator.
I use egg cartons! works great.

Cut out the bottom of the egg cups for air.

Place the cartons in the trays and cut some styrofoam to wedge between the side od the tray and the end of the egg carton. This will keep the cartons from shifting when the turner activates!

 

[Bettacreek]

I was wondering about using those egg flats. Do they take up more room than a tray? I plan to be hatching out a LOT of eggs and want the most space for eggs possible. I checked on ebay, and all the trays I want would cost me $50! Ouch! Lol.

 

[SpiritedFarm]

The thing about the egg cartons is that you can cut them up to completely fill the mesh trays. Using every bit of space available!

 

[SpiritedFarm]

Thing about the cabinet models, the hatching space on the bottom cannot handle the volume of eggs the trays hold. Be prepared to build/buy a separate "lockdown hatcher" if you are going to fill your bator.

i have over 100 eggs in mine right now, staggered hatch, but 60 or so will hacth at the same time. NO WAY they will all fit in the bottom. I am in mid construction of my hatcher!

 

[Bettacreek]

I'm planning on doing staggered hatches for sure. I'll be getting quail eggs, chicken eggs and duck eggs at about the same time, so they'll all hatch at different times. It's definately something to think about though... If I do a rack and a half of chicken eggs, they won't all fit in the hatcher. Hmmm. I always like to hatch them in the egg holders (with my Genesis, I just turned the turner off and left the eggs like that to hatch), so the hatcher will hold just as many eggs as one of the trays, but I definately have to be careful that no more than one tray will have similar hatching dates. :/

 

[chickensinwasillaAK]

the way to increase himidity if you want to is use a wick pad in your water tray. Where I am filling the water tray leaves me about 35%, put in a wick pad in the front slot towards the fan will push me up to 58%. They suck the water dry pretty fast so if you do this, be prepared to fill the tray from an outside sourse. I use a 5gal bucked where I've attached a nipple to run 1/4" tubing from the bucket into the sportsman water tray. Every day I open the valve and allow water to flow in.

 

[Bettacreek]

Well, I just put the eggs in with cartons (with cut-out bottoms). I fit 72 eggs in one rack, instead of 60 with two of those trays, so the egg cartons are freaking wonderful. They came with the eggs, so they were free, vs $50. I'll probably have to purchase quail cartons though, because people rarely sell the eggs with flats. :/ I might buy the actual trays for quail though, because they can be stacked, and they'll be easy to clean, which will make it cheaper in the long run... Maybe cardboard cartons in the incubation part and plastic in the bottom? Or just plan my hatches out so I have enough room in the hatcher, use cardboard flats in the incubation part and just lay the eggs down in the hatcher.