THE Brinsea Octagon 20 Eco Thread; Hatches, etc. (PICS)

[sonjab314]

I need help with my incubator. I keep getting around a 50% hatch rate and cannot figure out why. I do better in my little giant, then my Brinsea. I set the humidity at 25-30 the first 18 days. Take it off the auto turner, and remove the rails on day 18, bump the humidity up to 65% give or take a few. The temperature the whole time is 99.5. I also do not open the incubator until everyone has hatched. I do candle and get rid of Any eggs that are infertile or that stopped developin. Any suggestions? I think I just have a bad unit...

.

I usually try to keep my humidity at 50% during incubation but I dont have a Brinsea yet. Mine will be here Wednesday. Cant wait for it

 

[ChcknNurse]

Unless you are using another Hatcher so you can set again, I would hatch in the Brinsea. Such a controlled environment, and a snap to clean

I have an unintended staggered hatch. I even tried to find another octagon eco used so it's cheaper. But, I've been unsuccessful.

 

[scflock]

I need help with my incubator. I keep getting around a 50% hatch rate and cannot figure out why. I do better in my little giant, then my Brinsea. I set the humidity at 25-30 the first 18 days. Take it off the auto turner, and remove the rails on day 18, bump the humidity up to 65% give or take a few. The temperature the whole time is 99.5. I also do not open the incubator until everyone has hatched. I do candle and get rid of Any eggs that are infertile or that stopped developin. Any suggestions? I think I just have a bad unit...

.

I run my humidity at 40-42% for the firt 18 days. I tried 30-35, and only had a 50% hatch rate. At 40-42%, I'm getting over 90% of fertile eggs every time. Is your hatch delayed at ll, like hatching on days 22-24? I had that twice, then bumped my display temperature up to 100.0 and they have been popping like popcorn now

 

[silkiecuddles]

My humidity is at 50% ish. Is that ok because I have 12 duck eggs and 8 chicken eggs (including silkie)? Temp is at 100about. Hard to tell exactly

 

[Phoenix5ire]

I'm sure my question has been answered already somewhere in this 98 page discussion but after reading 10+ pages of post after post, I'm a little overloaded with info.

I don't have any incubating experience whatsoever and have never incubated anything ever, so thanks for any feedback. I just bought the Brinsea Octagon 20 eco last week and have finally stabilize the temperature to approx. 99.5F. This evening I'm going to put in 20 eggs. I've been doing a lot of reading and researching, seems the more I know the more questions I have. Again, could just be info. overload at this point.

My question:
Regarding the water, the manual says at the beginning to fill one of the channels 3/4 full. (mentioned very briefly).
Do I continue to maintain this channel 3/4 full the entire 18 days or is this a "one-time" fill only? Another words, if I see that the water in the channel has dried up or lowered on day 15th, do I refill it up to the 3/4 mark again?

I understand that the last 2-3 days after day 18, I need to fill both channels with water to maintain humidity for the chicks. (open for feedback on this too).

Thanks again and great feedback on this forum!

Phoenix~

 

[scflock]

I'm sure my question has been answered already somewhere in this 98 page discussion but after reading 10+ pages of post after post, I'm a little overloaded with info.

I don't have any incubating experience whatsoever and have never incubated anything ever, so thanks for any feedback. I just bought the Brinsea Octagon 20 eco last week and have finally stabilize the temperature to approx. 99.5F. This evening I'm going to put in 20 eggs. I've been doing a lot of reading and researching, seems the more I know the more questions I have. Again, could just be info. overload at this point.

My question:
Regarding the water, the manual says at the beginning to fill one of the channels 3/4 full. (mentioned very briefly).
Do I continue to maintain this channel 3/4 full the entire 18 days or is this a "one-time" fill only? Another words, if I see that the water in the channel has dried up or lowered on day 15th, do I refill it up to the 3/4 mark again?

I understand that the last 2-3 days after day 18, I need to fill both channels with water to maintain humidity for the chicks. (open for feedback on this too).

Thanks again and great feedback on this forum!

Phoenix~

Depending on your humidity in your area, you will have to refill that channel every 3-5 days. You really need to get a hygrometer if you want to accurately measure humidity, that way you can tell what works and what doesn't. In the winter, with my furnace running, it takes filling both channels just to maintain 40% humidity, in the spring and summer I can get by with just one. Depth of water doesn't affect the humidity, it's the surface area, so your humidity will remain constant until the well is dry. I would recommend topping off every 3 days until you see how quickly the water is evaporating. After day 18, I have to add a paper towel to the bottom, after filling both wells, just to get enough moisture to maintain 65% humidity

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Hi Phoenix

Glad you could join the flock! scflock has given you some great advice on humidity. X2 on getting a hygrometer to measure humidity. Great choice of incubator. Wishing you the very best of luck

 

[Phoenix5ire]

Depending on your humidity in your area, you will have to refill that channel every 3-5 days. You really need to get a hygrometer if you want to accurately measure humidity, that way you can tell what works and what doesn't. In the winter, with my furnace running, it takes filling both channels just to maintain 40% humidity, in the spring and summer I can get by with just one. Depth of water doesn't affect the humidity, it's the surface area, so your humidity will remain constant until the well is dry. I would recommend topping off every 3 days until you see how quickly the water is evaporating. After day 18, I have to add a paper towel to the bottom, after filling both wells, just to get enough moisture to maintain 65% humidity

Hi scflock,
Thanks for the great advice. I do have a hygrometer and am planning to use it solely to measure the humidity. So in short, fill up the channel as necessary to maintain humidity. I guess I just need to hear it in plain English, maybe it's too obvious in the UK.

 

[Phoenix5ire]

Hi

Phoenix

Glad you could join the flock! scflock has given you some great advice on humidity. X2 on getting a hygrometer to measure humidity. Great choice of incubator. Wishing you the very best of luck

Thank you Yorkshire coop. Ditto on the hygrometer.

 

[scflock]

Hi scflock,
Thanks for the great advice. I do have a hygrometer and am planning to use it solely to measure the humidity. So in short, fill up the channel as necessary to maintain humidity. I guess I just need to hear it in plain English, maybe it's too obvious in the UK.

I'm on this side of the pond, too

Yes, if you have a hygrometer, fill as needed. If one channel doesn't bring your humidity high enough, fill them both. If one channel gets it close, fine tune with the air vent. You will be very glad that you bought a Brinsea for your first hatching experience. I bought one after a miserable failure with styrofoam.
What is your target humidity for the first 18 days?