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

[silkielover5]

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congratulations!!!! They are addicting!

For your first hatch, I'd recommend you find some local eggs so you can learn how to have a good hatch rate. Shipped eggs can be a big disappointment even for an experienced hatcher.
The dry incubation method works very well for many people, do read up on it. Weighing your eggs at the beginning, day 18 and somewhere in the middle will increase your hatching confidence.
oh, and, sit on your hands!

i have 11 eggs in it right now but with the WI weather i doupt ill have any hatch but i couldnt keep it empty. the possiblitys of the eggs are showgirls, silkies, cochins, cochin silkie cross, and a silkie cross with my dutch bantam cochin mix hen. my parents want me to get shipped eggs as soon as possible so that they will be old enough for spring and summer shows

 

[cjwaldon]

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Oh, do tell us about your 2nd tray!

 

[crazyeggs]

This thread is very informative. I am looking at buying an Octagon 20 ECO and you all have helped me decide to go ahead and purchase one

Thanks!!!

 

[jmc]

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You know, it is a mystery what exactly the glass "should" read. You think it would be simple right? It's my opinion though that out of the box, there should be no reason to adjust it the thermostat. Brinsea has done their best to set it just right. The instructions say you shouldn't adjust it at first don't they? Actually the directions for the octo. eco 20 say specifically that the temp. SHOULD be set by the user before setting eggs. Reason? Because this model is NOT necessarily set at the factory. Therefore, the user must set his octo eco 20 to proper temp., since there is a good chance that it is not set to temp., right out of the box
I can't remember. The temperature that eggs should be incubated at is 99.5. I figure if my glass is above that and my digital below that then the average is probably right around that. That's how I deal with conflicting thermometer readings in my incubators. With your thermometers at 99 and 97.7 that means your average is 98.35 which is more than a degree too cold. Your eggs may hatch fine but the fact that neither of your thermometers is reading high enough (99.5) is concerning. I would encourage you to set the thermostat back to where it was if you can. If the glass is a little high like >100 like mine I wouldn't worry. As long as your thermometer at egg level isn't also reading >100 for extended amounts of time you should be fine. Good luck!

 

[chics n more]

In my Octo 20 the factory thermometer in the top of the bator read 100-100.5 and the accurite (which doesn't show a decimal) read 99 in the tray. My banties hatched a day early and my own mutts hatched right on day 21. I did not have to adjust from factory but I ran it for 2 days before setting eggs to make sure.

So much fun!

 

[namastemama]

Locking down for the New Years hatch (mine went in a bit early and they are silkies) I can't seem to get my humidity about 55%. I have felt in the bottom hoping it would help with things and its not. i do have my eggs sitting on a another piece of dry felt i wonder if its effecting the ability for the humidity to circulate?

 

[silkielover5]

the factory set temp for mine was like 101 and the light wouldnt stop flashing so i lowered it so now its right under the 100 and it still keeps flashing. it only stops when i take the lid off and it cools to 80

 

[Impress]

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Remove the dry felt, go to Wal-mart and get some of that shelf liner with the holes in it and use that. Do you have your felt wicking the liquid from the reservoirs up? That is very important.

 

[silkielover5]

do i want to lie the eggs on their sides or with the big end up?

 

[namastemama]

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Remove the dry felt, go to Wal-mart and get some of that shelf liner with the holes in it and use that. Do you have your felt wicking the liquid from the reservoirs up? That is very important.

Yes I have it in the reservoirs. I have the humidity up to 69 so I think I am good and I will get some shelf liner at the dollar store later today.