Stablising a Little Giant!

[justmeandtheflock]

Mine holds the temp just fine. Now that it is colder out it is jumping around some but not outside of the limits. Don't worry if it drops a little when it is colder in the room. Once you get it close, leave it and watch it for 24 hours. If it isn't getting too cold or too warm, just leave it alone. I am hoping to figure out the humidity with this hatch, I had trouble getting it up high enough the 1st time which led to a bad hatch rate but I do have live chicks. They started piping at the start of day 21 so I don;t think there was too much of a problem with the temp. I am trying it a degree higher this time to see what happens but these are my own mutt eggs. This time I am going to try putting something under the screen to hold more water to increase the humidity. I bought one of those shamy things to try. Good luck

 

[BantyRooster]

I think if you added a Sham-WOW! you could add at least 2 qts of water...

Good point on the aftermarket thermometer, too.

 

[Sillystunt]

Quote:

Sham-fastic

 

[Katy]

Quote:
She asked how do you get it to be stable....I told her I never had much success getting mine to be stable.

Since it seems she bought it used, returning it probably isn't an option. I hope whoever sold it to her was truthful with her about it.

My LG was a piece of junk and I'd never recommend it to anyone or pretend that I think it's a good incubator.

As far as being smarter than the equipment, I don't think my intelligence level had much to do with the temp spikes. Me and my hovabators get along just fine.

I hope she gets some chicks, ducklings, whatever to hatch, but I hate to see a young person start out with something that often times doesn't do very well.

 

[BantyRooster]

Katy,

Why are you quoting me as if you're trying to convince me of something? I agreed that the Hoverbator was easier to use.

I am not a spokesman for LG, nor do I stand to gain anything by endorsing them.

Not that the good ol' Bantyrooster Seal of Approval isn't a much sought after commodity in today's market....

I just answered her question which was: Stabilizing a Little Giant? Is there No fast easy way to do that?

You read my response. Some agreed, some did not. All is well....

The OP asked for help. I offered mine. The only place I mentioned a name was when I said I agreed that the hoverbator was easier to use, however, that was a moot point and I wasn't even talking to you but to another poster.

I agree the LG is finicky, but it's not impossible. The point is she has one and asked for some info. You yourself said you hate to see a young person start out with something that often times doesn't do very well. I agree with you there, too. But to trash what she has is rude, not to mention not very encouraging.

Thanks

 

[Rogue_Woman]

Mine works great now that I've gotten the hang of it. The most important things for mine were to keep it out of any drafty places (no open windows near it, no basement, etc) and keep it in a temperature controlled room (ie with the AC or heat on so that room temp is fairly stable) and keep it away from windows where it could get direct sunlight. If the temps still fluctuate wildly, put a few heatsinks in it. You can just put warm water in a sealed jar, this works great to hold the temps constant.

For those of you telling her it is worthless and to smash it with a hammer, you may think it is funny and lighthearted, but it comes off as grating and condescending. And honestly, if you can't add anything helpful, why even post?

 

[Rainstorm]

Quote:
She asked how do you get it to be stable....I told her I never had much success getting mine to be stable.

Since it seems she bought it used, returning it probably isn't an option. I hope whoever sold it to her was truthful with her about it.

My LG was a piece of junk and I'd never recommend it to anyone or pretend that I think it's a good incubator.

As far as being smarter than the equipment, I don't think my intelligence level had much to do with the temp spikes. Me and my hovabators get along just fine.

I hope she gets some chicks, ducklings, whatever to hatch, but I hate to see a young person start out with something that often times doesn't do very well.

I didnt get it used, I bought it from a tsc the swap was at, I know it isnt one of the best incubators out there but I figured I needed to start somewhere and I definetly didnt have enough for a hovabotor nor would getting someone around here to actaully order one for me is easy either, and I already got eggs from the swap for it so if I can ever get it stable I might as well go with it anyway or dump the eggs which I dont want to do.


6am and I got it stable at 98.4

I did the thing and turned it a fraction and it went to 102.5 gonna let it sit awhile now and go look for some sponges!

I turned the eggs also, How long can the eggs last out of the incubator?

 

[Katy]

Quote:
She asked how do you get it to be stable....I told her I never had much success getting mine to be stable.

Since it seems she bought it used, returning it probably isn't an option. I hope whoever sold it to her was truthful with her about it.

My LG was a piece of junk and I'd never recommend it to anyone or pretend that I think it's a good incubator.

As far as being smarter than the equipment, I don't think my intelligence level had much to do with the temp spikes. Me and my hovabators get along just fine.

I hope she gets some chicks, ducklings, whatever to hatch, but I hate to see a young person start out with something that often times doesn't do very well.

I didnt get it used, I bought it from a tsc the swap was at, I know it isnt one of the best incubators out there but I figured I needed to start somewhere and I definetly didnt have enough for a hovabotor nor would getting someone around here to actaully order one for me is easy either, and I already got eggs from the swap for it so if I can ever get it stable I might as well go with it anyway or dump the eggs which I dont want to do.


6am and I got it stable at 98.4

I did the thing and turned it a fraction and it went to 102.5 gonna let it sit awhile now and go look for some sponges!

I turned the eggs also, How long can the eggs last out of the incubator?

Sillystunt said you got it used, so that is why I thought you had.

The optimum time to get eggs into the incubator are the first 7 days after they're laid. They are still fertile after that for quite awhile, but the fertility starts declining the longer they set out.

 

[Katy]

Quote:
I quoted you so you'd know that I was addressing what you had said and why I had answered her the way I did....not trying to convince you of anything.

 

[kidsmaw]

Hi there,

I currently have my LG set up holding a steady temp waiting for my 3 hatch out of it. I have found a couple things that have helped me and offer them up to you as suggestions.

#1
I swiped a round knob off of a dimmer switch in one of my rooms at home and fit it over the little metal post of a knob the Little Giant offers. This makes it MUCH easier to adjust the Little Giant temp ever so slightly for a few reasons, mainly I can actually FEEL the knob turning (before adding the dimmer knob, it was really hard to tell if I'd actually turned it when I was trying to "slightly" adjust). The round dimmer knob fits perfectly on top of the metal post the LG has as a control knob.

#2
No matter how SLIGHTLY I tried turning the knob, the temp would always seem to raise or decline more then I wanted. I found a way around this by setting up a "work" light directed at the FRONT of the LG with a 65 watt bulb in it. By doing this I can adjust the temp of the Little Giant few degrees + or - and everything in between in moments by turning the light more toward or away from it. Makes for much less stressful adjusting. Before I added the light, it would seem like making adjustments on the bator itself was like taking my own life in my hands, you'd adjust, watch it like a hawk, finally walk away and come back later, hold your breath and HOPE FOR THE BEST. Not anymore.

#3
I am assuming your Little Giant is a still air incubator which means no fan. The air in your bator stratifies (is in layers) and the temp will fluctuate. I am a little neurotic about watching my temp and I was going a little overboard with it (adjusting when it got to 102.2 or 101.7--instructions say 102 at the top of the egg so that's where I'd work like a dog to keep it). Anyhow, I have found that adding a Water Wiggler toy (also known as Water Worms, etc.) have helped slow the fluctuations way down since my thermometer is no longer keeping track of air, but actual mass.

Hope you find some of this helpful, and best wishes.