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

[RooRidgeFarm]

I am totally thinking of doing the same thing.... getting a mini to hatch out so I can keep my 20 going.... I haven't done this yet, but sounds like a great idea to me! have heard of others who use the mini for hatching and seems to work good.

I absolutely agree with rotating several incubations. I can't wait 21 days or more to free up the incubator before starting more lol. Also, even though it is possible to save eggs for incubating about 3 weeks, sometimes fertility can decrease while they are waiting for the incubator to open up.

 

[RooRidgeFarm]

I have no self-control!! I broke down and ordered a second incubator today. Whoops.

Haha! I know what you mean! I have three chick brooders full of chicks right now, and the 2 incubators FULL. I can usually find homes for my chickens pretty quickly around here. I just like to get them to the "safe" zone: an age where they aren't as sensitive to dying before I rehome them.
Right now I have in the incubator(s):
Red Quill gamebirds
Golden Hulsey/Birchen gamebirds
A few La Fleche mixes (I am breeding in some stronger genetics to toughen up the breed)
LOTS of Serama
A few Kelso gamebirds
And finally, some OEGB Silver Duckwing bantams

 

[jbher]

Hi All! I'm going to be buying this incubator this week and will be hatching my first set of eggs in a few weeks. I am SO nervous!! I have read and read and read. I feel like I have a lot riding on this hatch too because I am hatching for myself and a friend. We can only keep 5 hens because of our city's ordinance. We are ordering day olds but also getting shipped eggs from a couple BYC members. So these aren't cheap eggs by any means - and it will be my first hatch ever. What are my chances that this hatch goes okay? Should I be ordering a lot more extra eggs? I am ordering 8 eggs of one breed in order to try for 3 pullets - and ordering 6 eggs of another to get 2 pullets... etc... Both members have great fertility results with shipped eggs from what I read from others. I will be filling the incubator with 24. I have read some do more but I don't want to risk it. And I also don't want to do less since this is really 'it' for us. Any tips or advice? As I live in Wisconsin it is very dry outside - and in our house. We're always shockin' each other haha So I'm also not sure which room I should keep the incubator in. Also which temperature or humidistat do you buy to keep in the incubator?

Thanks!!

 

[dretd]

Hi All! I'm going to be buying this incubator this week and will be hatching my first set of eggs in a few weeks. I am SO nervous!!.....Any tips or advice? As I live in Wisconsin it is very dry outside - and in our house. We're always shockin' each other haha So I'm also not sure which room I should keep the incubator in. Also which temperature or humidistat do you buy to keep in the incubator?

Thanks!!

Wow, good luck on your chicken adventure!

I have gotten many batches of eggs mailed in from FL, GA, MT, CA, NH, and NM. My hatch rate is horrible! Most got 0%. I tried a styro incubator and also made my own. I did end up with this one and did have a slightly better result (2/13) from shipped and 4/4 on my own flock's eggs. So for me and my postal hub, its the shipping process and not necessarily my incubation technique.

I have heard some folks get much better results from shipped eggs. I think part of it is that if the eggs are flown in the results are worse vs just getting driven in a mail truck. In my first few tries, I did candle the eggs with a flashlight and I think I may have damaged the embryos as the light was slightly hot (eggs were hotter where the light was held) so I have switched to am LED flashlight with a duct tape collar and it works much better.

I loved this incubator in its simplicity. If you read my posts, I did have a mis-marked thermometer from the factory and spent some time adjusting the Brinsea until I realized it was the reference thermometer. After the new one arrived I ended up adjusting the setting back to about where the factory setting was.

I had hygrometers (both dial and digital) that I put in. Be sure to calibrate them (there is a wet bulb method and a salt method). I found both to be off reading too low--the analog by about 10%, the digital about 25%.

I do a semi-dry hatch in that I do put water in one of the wells but this only gets me to about 25% humidity because we are so dry. I actually prefer to weigh the eggs on a gram scale and then track the weight loss. I write the starting weight on the eggshell in pencil to start, number the eggs and write a table in a little notebook along with other data. I aim to have about 15% weight loss over the 3 weeks. I have had eggs hatch with over 20% loss, but it is not ideal.

The down side to this incubator is the water wells are not as accessable as some other types, but its not that big of a deal. If you see that your temp is doing up a little, I am willing to bet it is becasue you ran out of water in your wells.

Try putting the incubator in whatever room has the most stable temperatures with no direct sun. I have used my basement or a spare bedroom depending on the season. If you are having problems with humidity (too dry) consider running a humidifier in the room itself as the incubator draws in room air and you will start with a higher humidity.

You've probably already read them, but here are two threads on BYC that should be re-read many times if you are new to incubation:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/704328/diary-notes-air-cell-detatched-shipped-eggs

and

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-101

Good luck!

 

[jbher]

Wow, good luck on your chicken adventure!

I have gotten many batches of eggs mailed in from FL, GA, MT, CA, NH, and NM. My hatch rate is horrible! Most got 0%. I tried a styro incubator and also made my own. I did end up with this one and did have a slightly better result (2/13) from shipped and 4/4 on my own flock's eggs. So for me and my postal hub, its the shipping process and not necessarily my incubation technique.

I have heard some folks get much better results from shipped eggs. I think part of it is that if the eggs are flown in the results are worse vs just getting driven in a mail truck. In my first few tries, I did candle the eggs with a flashlight and I think I may have damaged the embryos as the light was slightly hot (eggs were hotter where the light was held) so I have switched to am LED flashlight with a duct tape collar and it works much better.

I loved this incubator in its simplicity. If you read my posts, I did have a mis-marked thermometer from the factory and spent some time adjusting the Brinsea until I realized it was the reference thermometer. After the new one arrived I ended up adjusting the setting back to about where the factory setting was.

I had hygrometers (both dial and digital) that I put in. Be sure to calibrate them (there is a wet bulb method and a salt method). I found both to be off reading too low--the analog by about 10%, the digital about 25%.

I do a semi-dry hatch in that I do put water in one of the wells but this only gets me to about 25% humidity because we are so dry. I actually prefer to weigh the eggs on a gram scale and then track the weight loss. I write the starting weight on the eggshell in pencil to start, number the eggs and write a table in a little notebook along with other data. I aim to have about 15% weight loss over the 3 weeks. I have had eggs hatch with over 20% loss, but it is not ideal.

The down side to this incubator is the water wells are not as accessable as some other types, but its not that big of a deal. If you see that your temp is doing up a little, I am willing to bet it is becasue you ran out of water in your wells.

Try putting the incubator in whatever room has the most stable temperatures with no direct sun. I have used my basement or a spare bedroom depending on the season. If you are having problems with humidity (too dry) consider running a humidifier in the room itself as the incubator draws in room air and you will start with a higher humidity.

You've probably already read them, but here are two threads on BYC that should be re-read many times if you are new to incubation:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/704328/diary-notes-air-cell-detatched-shipped-eggs

and

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-101

Good luck!

Oh thank you so much!! I will read those links for sure. I'm thinking I will put the incubator in my youngest child's room. It's dark and I keep a humidifier running in there 24/7. I do have a kitchen scale that measures grams - I will make sure to use that. I will look into those hygrometers and calibrating. I wish I had time to do a test hatch - really should have done that a month ago with some cheap or free eggs locally. Ugh. Oh well - live and learn. Now there's no time as in my climate I don't want to wait until May to have chicks because they won't lay until almost winter and then may just decide to wait until spring next year or something weird. Blah. Okay going to go do more reading - thank you!!

 

[RooRidgeFarm]

Quote: Hi,
I am in SC and get what I would call excellent results from shipped eggs. early on I was reading others experiences with shipped eggs, and it seems the further they are shipped the worse it is. So I typically only order from the nearest surrounding states. It does limit me a bit on choices, but my hatch rates are good. I ordered eggs one time from Arkansas and had a 100% hatch rate. My one hatch that was almost a complete dud (1 chick out of 12) were eggs shipped from only THREE hours away...but they were Serama eggs. I decided I will either pick the Serama eggs up in person and not have them shipped at all.

I have my Brinseas running right now (again lol) with tons of my own Serama eggs in one, and I am trying my first peafowl eggs as my peahen just started laying-so I will see how the Brinsea works for those.

 

[dretd]

Quote:

Hi,
I am in SC and get what I would call excellent results from shipped eggs. early on I was reading others experiences with shipped eggs, and it seems the further they are shipped the worse it is. So I typically only order from the nearest surrounding states. It does limit me a bit on choices, but my hatch rates are good. I ordered eggs one time from Arkansas and had a 100% hatch rate. My one hatch that was almost a complete dud (1 chick out of 12) were eggs shipped from only THREE hours away...but they were Serama eggs. I decided I will either pick the Serama eggs up in person and not have them shipped at all.

I have my Brinseas running right now (again lol) with tons of my own Serama eggs in one, and I am trying my first peafowl eggs as my peahen just started laying-so I will see how the Brinsea works for those.

You bring up an excellent point. I have heard that some breeds have more fragile embryos and they don't handle the shipping as well as others. I was on the Swedish Flower Hen thread and many people said that the eggs just don't ship as well as other eggs. I have also found that eggs ship better in cool weather rather than the heat of summer. How the eggs are packaged can make a big difference, too. The most securely wrapped eggs will have no broken shells, but I have personally seen a higher rate of detached air cells and rupture air cells in those ones that are locked in tight with no ability for the eggs to shift.

 

[RooRidgeFarm]

Quote: I tend to agree with that. Without being able to move a little, maybe the eggs get 'shaken egg syndrome' haha.
It was crappy when I specifically ordered my Serama eggs from only 3 hours away, I thought I had it all figured out and that maybe I could get some intact Serama eggs if I limited the shipping distance and time. I candled them and it appeared that the air cells were all detached except one. I incubated them all anyway in the hopes that something good might happen, and I only got one chick. Now, I just drive an hour or so and get some young chickens here in SC-it's worth it to know I have some live chickens (I get a little stressed waiting and worrying about shipped eggs lol).

 

[jbher]

You bring up an excellent point. I have heard that some breeds have more fragile embryos and they don't handle the shipping as well as others. I was on the Swedish Flower Hen thread and many people said that the eggs just don't ship as well as other eggs. I have also found that eggs ship better in cool weather rather than the heat of summer. How the eggs are packaged can make a big difference, too. The most securely wrapped eggs will have no broken shells, but I have personally seen a higher rate of detached air cells and rupture air cells in those ones that are locked in tight with no ability for the eggs to shift.

Oh gosh was thinking of doing some SFH eggs - maybe I'll do day olds for that breed instead.

 

[kmollyhughes]

Hi All! I'm going to be buying this incubator this week and will be hatching my first set of eggs in a few weeks. I am SO nervous!! I have read and read and read. I feel like I have a lot riding on this hatch too because I am hatching for myself and a friend. We can only keep 5 hens because of our city's ordinance. We are ordering day olds but also getting shipped eggs from a couple BYC members. So these aren't cheap eggs by any means - and it will be my first hatch ever. What are my chances that this hatch goes okay? Should I be ordering a lot more extra eggs? I am ordering 8 eggs of one breed in order to try for 3 pullets - and ordering 6 eggs of another to get 2 pullets... etc... Both members have great fertility results with shipped eggs from what I read from others. I will be filling the incubator with 24. I have read some do more but I don't want to risk it. And I also don't want to do less since this is really 'it' for us. Any tips or advice? As I live in Wisconsin it is very dry outside - and in our house. We're always shockin' each other haha So I'm also not sure which room I should keep the incubator in. Also which temperature or humidistat do you buy to keep in the incubator?

Thanks!!

Make sure you calibrate! Thermometer and hygrometer. I didn't before my first hatch which didn't effect anything until hatch time, which ended up being way too dry. Also, instructions say keep humidity between 40-50%....I let my humidity sit right around 40%. Good luck