Suggestions for modifications to LG incubator for better hatch?

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
Explain how you mean to flip it so that it not blowing directly on the eggs?? I may have mine in wrong!!

All of eggs are to one side in the turner, so not sure if that will matter.

You don't want the fan blowing on the eggs. Ideally, it should blow up towards the top so that the air goes around the outer portion of the incubator. Having the fan blow directly on the eggs would make them dry out too fast.


@sweeterdeeter42: The LG does not have a knob, it's just a little stick-type thing that you turn. You can barely tap it and have the temps jump up or down at least 5 degrees so it is better to have something to hold on to when adjusting it.

 

[Mommysongbird]

Now I am wondering if I should turn off my fan and flip it over? Right now (PC Fan) it is label side up at the roof. Will it be okay to turn it off and open the bator long enough to flip the fan over?

 

[shelleyd2008]

Yes, a hen gets off the nest at least once a day for up to 30 minutes at a time, letting the eggs cool off a bit won't hurt them.

 

[ThaJuicyJuice]

Egg turner and fan are the way to go. Get thermometers and hygrometers with digital probes and add water through the top holes with a piece of fish aquarium tubing. Why not be exact? It may be crazy, but after a bad hatch I did it all. Things are looking good now.

 

[sweeterdeeter42]

Quote:
I was looking at the digital thermometers and hygrometers too. How do you get the water through the aquarium tubing. I have tons of that.

 

[Mommysongbird]

Quote:
I was looking at the digital thermometers and hygrometers too. How do you get the water through the aquarium tubing. I have tons of that.

I have tons of aquarium tubing too, that would be good to have another use for it.

 

[Mommysongbird]

Flipped our fan over, only took about a minute and the bator is back on. My son is so worried that something will happen to HIS babies. I told him he can't count his chickens before they hatch.

He has aspergers syndrome so he doesn't understand things like that. He sees everything black and white, there is no grey.

I am going to be praying that this batch hatches and we get some healthy chicks.

 

[youngbiddy]

Looks like people already mentioned most of the things I would say, but here's a couple of things. I just finished my first hatch and got a 66% success rate on shipped eggs in an LG with a fan and a turner. I mounted the fan so that it blew upwards, bought a digital thermometer/hygrometer,

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230579365773&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

pushed the probe through one of the big vent holes, and lined the bottom with smallish aquarium rocks that act as a heat sink. I also used a Sharpie to make a little mark on the heater stick thingie right at the base so that there was a little black spot on both the stick and the top of the bator. That way if it gets fiddled with all you have to do is make both those little spots line up again. Just get your temp perfect, then make a little mark. I'll take a picture of it when the camera is done charging.

Also, you want it in a room where the temp holds steady at about 70. This is very important. It's just warmed up here recently and I immediately saw a difference in how the LG held it's temp. My master bath was 65 for the last three weeks during my first incubation and the temp in the LG would go down almost 2 degrees every night. Since the room warmed up to 70 the temp swing in the bator is .2 degrees in the last 48 hours. I'm hoping for an even higher hatch percentage with this new batch of eggs.

 

[Junkmanme]

youngbiddy,

THANKS for posting the "Link" to the remote temperature/humidity tool on Ebay. It's the first and ONLY one that I've seen that measures humidity remotely. All the other ones that I know of only measure the temperature remotely. It's on my "GET THIS" list now.

-Junkmanme-

 

[Emmalion]

I actually have two of those in my bator right now. Just remember to calibrate it when it comes in as my first one was well over 25% off in rh but the temp was dead on.