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

[Phoenix5ire]

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?

I am not entirely sure on the target humidity but based on what I've read, the RH should be kept close to 45% so this is the magic number I'm hoping to maintain. I live in OK, it's Spring time right now and the weather is perfect (aside from the sporadic brewing tornadoes), it's not too wet or dry, so 45% shouldn't be a problem.

This is my first season with the birds, they're all mature hens and they're laying good but nobody wants to brood/sit. One finally sat with 8 eggs, after 3 hatched she never sat again and the rest just died. I got a little frustrated with her and her friends... so I'm resorting to playing chicken Mama myself.

Thanks again for the comments.

 

[scflock]

I am not entirely sure on the target humidity but based on what I've read, the RH should be kept close to 45% so this is the magic number I'm hoping to maintain. I live in OK, it's Spring time right now and the weather is perfect (aside from the sporadic brewing tornadoes), it's not too wet or dry, so 45% shouldn't be a problem.

This is my first season with the birds, they're all mature hens and they're laying good but nobody wants to brood/sit. One finally sat with 8 eggs, after 3 hatched she never sat again and the rest just died. I got a little frustrated with her and her friends... so I'm resorting to playing chicken Mama myself.

Thanks again for the comments.

45% is good. I wouldn't go any higher, and I've had my best results at 40-42. The manual says 40-50, but the lower end of that has worked for me in SC. The broodiness has been bred out of most birds nowadays, and you are right, you are totally at their mercy about when they decide to sit. Be careful, it's addictive, especially when you have a good incubator. I'm hatching my 5th batch of the year as we speak

 

[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

Can someone answer this questions?

 

[silkiecuddles]

I've read somewhere where someone said that because silkies are so tiny they can drown in the egg when hatching if the humidity is too high. Is that true?

 

[Phoenix5ire]

45% is good. I wouldn't go any higher, and I've had my best results at 40-42. The manual says 40-50, but the lower end of that has worked for me in SC. The broodiness has been bred out of most birds nowadays, and you are right, you are totally at their mercy about when they decide to sit. Be careful, it's addictive, especially when you have a good incubator. I'm hatching my 5th batch of the year as we speak

Great advice, I'll keep an eye on the RH for this batch and experiment with it next batch. I agree, can be addicting, I'm going to get my kids involved too, should be exciting. 5th batch? wow!

Hope you've got enough coop for them. lol

 

[scflock]

Can someone answer this questions?

Oops, I had seen that one, but didn't know the answer

 

[silkiecuddles]

Oops, I had seen that one, but didn't know the answer

Ok. I'll post it in the silkie thread

 

[scflock]

I've read somewhere where someone said that because silkies are so tiny they can drown in the egg when hatching if the humidity is too high. Is that true?

That's true for any chicken if the humidity is too high

Great advice, I'll keep an eye on the RH for this batch and experiment with it next batch. I agree, can be addicting, I'm going to get my kids involved too, should be exciting. 5th batch? wow!

Hope you've got enough coop for them. lol

I have 7 coops, 65 full time chickens, and around 30 chicks at the house right now. I started with 4 pullets 7 years ago. It's a slippery slope...

 

[jonsccm]

Can someone answer this questions? 

I would not want to try to incubat duck eggs with chicken eggs. But if you have it started already your best luck should be around 50% for the first 18 days and temp should be around 99.5

 

[scflock]

Ok. I'll post it in the silkie thread

Ok. I'll post it in the silkie thread

No, I thought you were asking about the ducks. Any chick can drown if the incubation humidity is too high. I did it to silkies and marans in a styrofoam incubator. In my Octagon 20, 40-42% humidity has been good for 5 different breeds, from bantams to marans. The marans just seem to hatch a day later. 50% is probably borderline for chickens, but I have no experience with ducks