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

[sreihart]

We had below freezing temps here (in SC no less!) and I took a few eggs that were freezing cold and test incubated them. They hatched yesterday! The hens laid them in about 25 degree temps and we didn't collect eggs until late in the day, so they had been sitting out for hours. My experiment/test worked, so you may want to give one or two a try and see what happens.

I didn't realize you had eggs in already. Mixed 'mutts' as I call them, tend to be some of the friendliest chickens I had. And, it's kind of neat because they will 'imprint' with you if they see you first after they hatch. I have several game fowl I hatched that will come sit in my lap if I am out in the yard.

Great! I just went out and there was one egg in a nest and it was still warm. There's another hen on the nest so I'm going out in a little bit and grab that one too. I guess it wouldn't hurt to add one day after the main batch was set would it? I won't add any after today though. Thanks again!

 

[RooRidgeFarm]

Great! I just went out and there was one egg in a nest and it was still warm. There's another hen on the nest so I'm going out in a little bit and grab that one too. I guess it wouldn't hurt to add one day after the main batch was set would it? I won't add any after today though. Thanks again!

It will be fine to add today's eggs. When it is day 18 and you raise the humidity, the eggs you put in later today will be just fine. I have added eggs up to about 36 hours after putting in the first set, and they hatched out fine, just several hours to a day later.

 

[sreihart]

It will be fine to add today's eggs. When it is day 18 and you raise the humidity, the eggs you put in later today will be just fine. I have added eggs up to about 36 hours after putting in the first set, and they hatched out fine, just several hours to a day later.

Wonderful! I still have one hen on a nest so I'll get her's and put it in too. I set the main batch at 3 p.m. yesterday so it's only been 24 hours. I'm SO psyched!

 

[starlingdaly]

Well I am loving my octagon 20 Eco for my second year with it now
I went ahead and splurged on an Octagon 20 Advance because of the auto turning feature. thought the humidity reading would also be handy since my hatch this week with my Eco, the humidity dropped during the night (the cloth I put in to up the humidity during lockdown dried up) so I ended up having to help the last to chicks out of their shells.
So now I have two incubators! Yayyy! One for hatching, one for incubating or whatever it is needed for
Happy hatching, everybody!

 

[J2Jonner]

Just had my first hatch out of a new Octo 20 Advance, 13 out of 15 eggs. Coming from an mini-advance - I really did enjoy the humidity reading, and the lack of noise (beep and motor of the mini rotation). Hatch was a mix from the free-range flock. Buff Orpington over Lav Am & Colombian Plymouth Rock & RIR. Non-hatchers were a single unfertilized, and a full dev peep who never pipped. GREAT incubator, I think we will be hitting the egg auction often now though!

 

[Lil'ChickFarm]

To all brinsea users. I need some help. I have a Brinsea 20 with the glass thermometer. I started it up and set it at 100 but four days later I noticed it as 104. So I lowered it. I am used to using the styrophoam ones. This is new, but I got it last year and don't remember how things went my first time.
Is my Brinsea working wrong? OR did the eggs somehow raise the temperature? Are my eggs gone now?
I brought it down to 100, but it concerns me that the thermometer is at the top and not down where the eggs are, which in my other incubators, it was down on their level.
Please advise me. I need to know if my incubator is not working right or not? Also if I need to start over and do something different?

 

[dretd]

To all brinsea users. I need some help. I have a Brinsea 20 with the glass thermometer. I started it up and set it at 100 but four days later I noticed it as 104. So I lowered it. I am used to using the styrophoam ones. This is new, but I got it last year and don't remember how things went my first time.
Is my Brinsea working wrong? OR did the eggs somehow raise the temperature? Are my eggs gone now?
I brought it down to 100, but it concerns me that the thermometer is at the top and not down where the eggs are, which in my other incubators, it was down on their level.
Please advise me. I need to know if my incubator is not working right or not? Also if I need to start over and do something different?

Hi Lil'ChickFarm!

Do you have a different thermometer in the incubator's chamber you can use for reference, or is the bulb one that comes with the thermo the only one you are using? How long did you run the incubator prior to setting the eggs? How long were the eggs at 104?

The temp could be slightly lower initially if the eggs were cool and you used cold water to full the well. I notice a 1 degree drop if I fill the well with cold water.

The bulb thermometer in the top is picking up the temp as the air circulates and because the unit is well insulated, I found that it was very close to other thermometers I had placed in the chamber along with the eggs. So not to worry about that part.

I think the first step, if you haven't already is to put a calibrated thermometer into the unit alongside the eggs and see what it reads.

 

[Lil'ChickFarm]

I will put one in but the machine had been on for a day before eggs. My brain isn't functioning today, lol. I checked and I set them on Thursday and found it at 104 last night. So one day. I just don't know why it went so high. It was all set up and running good before they went in. No water at all. Running dry as our humidity here lands around 50 most all the time. I will put water in at lock down. It is staying at 100 now. I just don't know what made it spike. Eggs were not cold. They have been in a dish since laid. No refrigeration.
I just hope my machine isn't malfunctioning.

 

[sreihart]

I will put one in but the machine had been on for a day before eggs. My brain isn't functioning today, lol. I checked and I set them on Thursday and found it at 104 last night. So one day. I just don't know why it went so high. It was all set up and running good before they went in. No water at all. Running dry as our humidity here lands around 50 most all the time. I will put water in at lock down. It is staying at 100 now. I just don't know what made it spike. Eggs were not cold. They have been in a dish since laid. No refrigeration.
I just hope my machine isn't malfunctioning.

Mine is very finicky with temps. It fluctuates as much as 3-4 degrees depending on the humidity level, which is also a bit of a learning curve. I find the two reservoirs both need filled from the get-go and also I put a paper towel in one with about 1 inch of it sticking out to keep the humidity up to at least 45. I've only hatched two times with mine and soon to be a third, so I hope I get it figured out soon. I don't think this is anything you are doing wrong. I think it's a quirk in the machine.

 

[Flaming Chicken]

I just finished my first complete incubation and hatch with my Eco 20. I had used it once as a hatcher, the second time I used it, we had a power outage and the surge fried my circuit and it would only get to 75. Had it repaired on warrantee and now has a nice surge protector. The bulb Thermometer is reading 100-102. I used a separate digital and had it at egg level. The temperature dropped to 97 when turning, which I thought was weird. Turned it up to 99. At lock down (and the end of turning) the temperature rose nearly to 101, I turned it down slightly, back to 99-100.

End result, 14 out of 17 eggs hatched. Only one had dried membranes toward the end of hatch. The chicks looked amazing and had much less trouble than with my hovabator. My only concern was that it seemed crowded once the chicks started hatching, so I would let a few hatch, spray some water, snatch them out and keep hatching.

I might need another one, so I can split them up for hatching. LOL.