Very poor hatch, could use advice

[babyblue]

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im just sooo mad at that incubator that i have kill lots LOTS of babys fully form due to spikes and droops off and not holding humidity. i hate it got to love my home made ..

I know the OP doesn't like to hear it but none of the LG owners will. but the fact is they do kill more than they hatch, why do you think they have a 400 page thread going just for misguided LG buyers/owners just to figure out how to even use them, no other incubators have their own troubleshooting thread. I feel your pain but a little research would have prevented this. I wish you all the luck though.

yea well not everyone can afford to buy the super expensive incubators, especially for their very first try at incubating. so we do what we can and learn from it. no need to be slightly condescending.

 

[wolftracks]

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Yeah me too.................send some of those nicer birds my way!

There's a whole section on this site for building incubators. Lots of them are just styro ice chests. One of mine is made that way. Quick, cheap and works. I love cheap!

 

[scbatz33]

Cheap is good. I have a mini fridge I wanted to convert. But, alas, My dd is going to college and she claims she NEEEEEEDS it. Kids!

 

[wolftracks]

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hmmmmm

My 15 year old is going to his dad's on thursday. Last day of school. He'll be gone for the summer. My husband had bought him a mini fridge for his room a couple of years ago. Ya know...............OK no. I won't do that. Maybe if my husband was still alive, cause he'd go buy him another one. LOL

 

[scbatz33]

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hmmmmm

My 15 year old is going to his dad's on thursday. Last day of school. He'll be gone for the summer. My husband had bought him a mini fridge for his room a couple of years ago. Ya know...............OK no. I won't do that. Maybe if my husband was still alive, cause he'd go buy him another one. LOL

It's almost like being on crack this addiction, isn't it? If I pawn the family silver.............LOL!!!!!

 

[wolftracks]

Or you walk past some odd thing and wonder if would make a good bator, brooder or coop?

 

[scbatz33]

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Or you drive through a town/neighborhood/whatever and think wow, you know how many chickens I could put in that yard/shed/field!!!

 

[rancher hicks]

I offer and send an article on incubation from a past issue of Practical Poultry magazine. If anyone here would like it pm me your e-mail and I'll send it on. Don't worry I don't keep your address and send the junk stuff we all get. Plus I can't remember if it's from here or CL so i just delete a bunch at a time.

Rancher

 

[rancher hicks]

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Or you drive through a town/neighborhood/whatever and think wow, you know how many chickens I could put in that yard/shed/field!!!

This is so true. I say every barn should have chickens in it. But then I have a hard time cleaning and all that so I have to pay someone to do it for me. Not to mention the eggs, oh my.

 

[Cowgirl71]

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I clicked on the link and as I was reading it, I was quite shocked. That's almost exactly what I've finally figured out!

Here's the 3 secrets I've found for using a still air LG 9200. THIS IS JUST WHAT I DO!

1 - Plug in the incubator and let it warm up for at least 12 hours before adjusting the temperature knob to what you want it to be. Don't add the eggs until the incubator is keeping your exact temperature for at least 6 hours. Add the eggs. Leave the temperature knob alone for at least 36 hours so that the temperature can stabilize. At 36 hours, only touch the knob if it's 2F or more off of what you want. Keeping the eggs stable at a temperature slightly too warm or too cool is much better than moving the temp around a lot.

2 - For the first 18 days, DO NOT add water. Keep the red vent plugs open so that the eggs can absorb the humidity from the air, and also get more air current. On day 18, completely fill all the water trays. On day 19 replace the red vent plugs (the thinking behind this is I don't want to raise the humidity too fast, but it may not be a big deal, I don't know). As the chicks start hatching more and more condensation will build up on the windows. When the windows are 75% condensation pull the red plugs back out.

3 - Placement of the incubator plays a HUGE part in how your hatch goes. Pick a place out of any direct sunlight, away from any kind of draft/breeze, and of uniform day/night temperature. High humidity is good too. The best place I have found in my house is the basement. I'm still experimenting with different locations.

Another tip is when you HAVE to get in the incubator during hatching, you can pop out a window. You'll lose less heat and humidity this way, but as always, be quick! But make sure not to touch the heating element... It makes quite the shock.

Good luck!