Stablising a Little Giant!

[gumpsgirl]

 

[Tam'ra of Rainbow Vortex]

I think the little giant is a P.O.S.!
Out of 32 eggs, 2 tries, I got TWO chicks and one of them promptly died.
I wrote a polite but angry letter to the company and they refunded me.
I say return it now and get a better one. You'll waste more money buying replacement eggs thinking somehow it was your fault than you would spend upgrading to a better incubator.
Even after adjusting it (I started a week early on my second attempt) I had it dip to 95 and spike to 109 over short periods of time... in a room with a constant temp, even though the unit HAD been keeping an even temp for 2-3 days prior.

 

[Katy]

Quote:
Very funny ....and very true!!

LOL

As you can tell there are some (more likely a bunch) of us who are not LG fans. Seriously, I'd box the LG back up, return it and order a hovabator. I've got 4 of them and have had very good results with them.

 

[gumpsgirl]

Quote:
This was my problem and I was hatching some of hinkjc's Lav. Project Orpington eggs in it. I got 2 out of the whole bunch. Now that was very frustrating.

I'm sorry to be discouraging here, but IMHO, the LG's are worth even looking at let alone hatching in. They are just to unreliable.

 

[Akane]

Mine took a week to get the temp set the first time.

When you get the temp close and go to adjust the knob apply pressure until just before you can feel it turn. If you actually feel it turn then it will go too far the other way. It's far too sensitive. For humidity don't bother relying on the troughs. You'll either need to buy the plastic insert to hold more water, plug some holes and add new vent holes to the sides, or place other containers along the sides. Many people use sponges. I managed to find some lids that fit all 4 corners under the mesh. I've also taken a plastic egg carton, cut holes in the top, and filled the bottom with water. It let's the moisture out without allowing chicks to get in and drown. Whatever you use make sure it doesn't touch the eggs or they'll absorb too much water and make sure chicks can't get to it because all it takes is a drop or 2 of water in the nostrils to drown a newly hatched chick.

 

[BantyRooster]

Quote:
This is good advice. You can get the temp set and it will hold, it just takes patience.

When justme says tiny bits, that litterally means a fraction of a turn. Think one minute, or less, on a clock.

Take a deep breath, wait for temp to get where you want it, very slow and easy turn just enough to get the light to go off. Wait an hour or so and readjust as necessary.

You have to allow some time for the temp to stablize before adjusting the thermostat, the longer you can wait the better. I know it will seem past the point of ridiculous, but trust me, it will be easier and take less time than trying to adjust the temp every twenty minutes.

It can be done. I've used an old LG I got from a friend almost twenty years ago and still get successful hatches. Remember, if you add a turner after you set your temp you will have to re-adjust the therm. because the turner motor produces heat and will raise the temp inside the bator.

Keep some simple notes as you make adjustments. It will save alot of unnecessary fiddling and might keep you from pulling out your hair.

You get what you pay for and being a low end bator it isnt perfect. Obviously there are alot of folks out there who think LGs are junk. But with a little patience, and practice before you set your eggs, you can have successful hatches.

Hope this helps.

-Banty

 

[Akane]

Yes it's a low end bator and yes it can hatch but I think the reason a lot of people call it junk and not worth it is that the hova is the same price and twice as easy to adjust. I had my hova ready to go in 24hours and it was my first bator. I can readjust it after it's sat for 6months within an hour if I throw some bottled water containers with hot water in there to bring the temp up quickly at first. The lg still takes me a day to get it back to the right temp again. I never pull out the lg in an emergency like when my broody got killed because I'll just kill the eggs where my hova is always ready even if I accidentally knocked the temp knob around while it was in storage. I also don't have to add anything for water. It has 3 seperate main water areas and a couple smaller ones. I can run the humidity from 20-90% without adding another container for water. The base is deeper so it holds more heat and humidity when I have to slide it open for something and if I hatch quail they don't run out as soon as the bator is opened. I never hatch quail in my lg mainly because of the shallow base but they also do better with even higher humidity and the lg can barely stay high enough for incubating chicken eggs plus other water containers have to be added for hatching. It's near impossible to keep the humidity up for hatching quail eggs. The design of the LG is just extremely poor when compared to incubators in the same price range.

 

[BantyRooster]

Akane,

I agree with you completely. However, I wasn't advocating the LG. The original poster asked a specific question and most all of the responses were "buy a hovabator".

That wasnt what the OP asked for help on.

 

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

Hi! I have 4 Little Giant incubators and they incubate and hatch chicks weekly.

I also have a Hovabator that I use for quail eggs.
edited to add: No quick way, take your time and get it right --- then leave it alone.
The humidity readings sound like your hygrometer might be reading incorrectly.

Lisa

 

[Katy]

Quote:
I think most of us said we bought hovabators because we got tired of fighting the temp flucuations......what he was asking how to stabilize.