Staggered Hatch Opinions Needed

[PurpleChicken]

I am picking up 24 RIR/Barred Rock Cross eggs today from a local
breeder. In my Octagon 40 I have 7 silkie eggs on day 16. I have
an empty Little Giant 9200 w/fan and turner sitting next to it.

Do I

1-Start the eggs in the LG until the silkie hatch is done and then
transfer them to the Octagon 40?

2-Put the eggs in the Octagon 40 and hatch the silkies in the LG?
I'd rather hatch in the Octagon since it is so much more stable, has
a wet bulb thermo/hygro, and is plastic.

3-Put the new eggs in the Octagon, then move them into the LG
for a few days while the silkies hatch, then back into the Octagon?

4-Just let them sit on a 65 degree tile floor until next weekend when the
silkies are done?


I'm leaning towards #3 or #4.

 

[Wooden_Pony]

3-Put the new eggs in the Octagon, then move them into the LG
for a few days while the silkies hatch, then back into the Octagon?

I would go with three. We are doing staggered hatching here to.

 

[MissPrissy]

Put them all in the Octo.

As day 18 aproaches move them into the LG as your hatcher (if you trust it for humidity and temps).

As they hatch move them into your brooder.

Assembly line chicks

Just my thoughts -

 

[PurpleChicken]

Quote:
That makes the most sense and is the reason I kept the LG. Trouble is I don't trust
it even though it hasn't failed me in the past. My past troubles were bad thermo/hygros
and being an idiot opening the bators too much. Plus this Brinsea is spoiling me bad.

So I'm asking myself what is the bigger risk? Hatching the silkies in the LG or having
eggs in there from day 4 to day 9. I'm so torn!!!



Wooden, what is your bator setup?

 

[mergmet]

I do what missprissy said, I have assembly line chicks from 8 little giants into a brower used for hatching.

If you know the eggs are fresh you can also wait until next weekend, but I would put them all in the brinsea and hatch in the little giant

the first 7 days are most critical so put them in the better one to start.

when the chicks go into the hatcher I add damp paper towels for extra humidity, especially this time of year when its so dry. they are cheap and you just throw them away after the hatch, no cleaning, if they start to mildew or smell, replace them with others damp with WARM water you can put your hand under - slightly warmer than you. That way the bator doesn't work as hard to heat up the damp paper towel(s)

try not to open it except to add water, and when you do leave the lid in the same position as when its on the bator, it will loose less heat that way. in other words don't turn it sideways or upside down.

these are just simple ideas that have made a big difference to me in keeping stable temps on the little giant. I check the temp (probe) EVERY day and watch the humidity levels. those do have a tendency to have spikes - high and low

It probably depends on how valuable each set of eggs is to you. You will lessen the chances of a good hatch by waiting a week, but on the other hand if you get a much better hatch from the brinsea....

you'll have to weigh all the factors! good luck

Margaret

 

[Katy]

I'd put them all in your Brinsea and then use your LG as your hatcher. I still use my LG as my hatcher when I need to......but never as an incubator anymore.

 

[Leslie In North Pole]

Ms. Prissy nailed it. You shouldn't run into too many issues in the three days you eggs set in the LG and it will keep you from having to clean your brinsea so soon.

Good luck PC

 

[PurpleChicken]

Thanks everyone. I needed to hear that stuff. While #3 is what I'd
like to do and probably would have done, I have to believe the new eggs
should be left alone in the Brinsea during those critical days.

I'll fire up my LG today so it has 3 days to stabilize and adjust humidity.
I've got shelf liner for the metal screen so I'm good to go.

Thanks again.

 

[Katy]

PC...we'll be hatching at the same time. I've got some on day 16 or 17 (have to go count again!!) too. Good luck with your hatch.

 

[Wooden_Pony]

Wooden, what is your bator setup?

Here is what I have set up.

One Hova-Bator forced air w/ egg turner.
Two LG Still air's

We will have about four or five different hatch dates happening here. On all the eggs we write the date and time we set them in the incubators.

We are using the Hova w/ turner and one of the LG's as the incubators. The other LG is being used as the hatcher temps and humidity are set and holding for the first eggs to hatch.

As we candle and get rid of the bad eggs. We shuffle the good eggs from the one LG Still into the Hova w/ turner. So far it has been working really well.

When the hatch date of our frist batch comes up we will move them into the hatcher LG. We also keep about 4 -5 days between hatch dates on the different groups of eggs. So first batch was set four days later we added another batch of eggs ect.
Lisa