Which incubator to use in the uk?

[penkwolf]

Good timing on your behalf I would be happy to know that someone else has learned from my mistakes - either through avoiding this machine, or navigate better how to use it.

I actually might use it again - at least until lock-down. With what I have learned and how to compensate for it, I think it might work well for the first stages (0.5C difference between the eggs isn't bad I believe). I have not tried it outside my living-room though, so it has been located in a stable 22C 24/7. With a good choice of liner (one that doesn't prevent airflow, but also protects from feet injuries) it might work for lock-down as well (maybe figure out a way to prevent the babies from falling into the corners - again without blocking airflow).

If I use it again I will try to put some "cups" in the turners, so that the quail-eggs don't fall on their side. For others eggs the turner should be fine (assuming that there is enough room above and to the lid - I wouldn't know)

If you do go with it, make sure to buy a few hygrometers (and thermometers) to check the temperature. Mine seems to be fine-ish temperaturewise, but I wouldn't trust it (well, you shouldn't trust any incubator in that regard).

I bought it through aliexpress. The ad claimed a 95% hatching-rate so I blasted them with the horrible cold spot-issue and got half my money back... I had it shipped from a warehouse in the EU, but I'm not in the UK so I don't know how taxes will be for you.

Hatch-rate;
My experience is from one hatch with quails (and I have not hatched anything before). I had done research before, and I also had this forum to vent and freak-out on

Short version; 61% (11 out of 18 fertile. Well, maybe 17 - I need to check later), but I expect a lot better next time! If I had known what I know today, maybe 95% wouldn't have been too far of.

Long version;
I still have 5 eggs in the incubator from that batch of 18 fertile eggs, but I think they are dead (probably could have been prevented if I had known what I know now). I lost 2 more earlier; one that pipped (on day 14!) and never absorbed the yolk (what can you expect from one that wants to hatch that early?), and one that zipped almost 360 degrees, but I think (s)he failed at pipping (goes back to my mistake of blocking the airflow and hence way to low humidity and just too tough membrane for the poor fellow to manage). Besides that I successfully assisted 2 that had pipped and/or zipped, but where stuck (probably because of the same issue with humidity during lock-down from blocking of air-flow), and 9 that hatched perfectly on their own.

Can add that I had the eggs shipped, but with a animal courrier (although at least one air sack was loose from what I could see). Being winter probably does help either (but would explain the low fertility; 18 out of 24)

Hi Als!

Its time for me to put my eggs in Lockdown tonight. Did you removed the egg turners when you did this? Im tempted to remove them, put a matt down and place the eggs on the bottom of the bator?

Any tips for lockdown would be great!

Thanks

 

[als77]

Hi Als!

Its time for me to put my eggs in Lockdown tonight. Did you removed the egg turners when you did this? Im tempted to remove them, put a matt down and place the eggs on the bottom of the bator?

Any tips for lockdown would be great!

Thanks

Yes, I removed the egg turner (probably a risk of injury if not).

Normal advice is to remove turner, put a shelf liner to prevent damage to the feet (if the "floor" has big holes), and place the eggs on their side on the "floor" (the grid-floor above the water reservoirs).

Do make sure your matt doesn't have so small/few holes that it blocks airflow! I did that with mine, which made the temperature differences in the bator go crazy (and probably locked the humidity below the matt, leaving the area above the matt being dryish without me knowing)

Will you candle the eggs? If so, let us know the results

 

[penkwolf]

Yes, I removed the egg turner (probably a risk of injury if not).

Normal advice is to remove turner, put a shelf liner to prevent damage to the feet (if the "floor" has big holes), and place the eggs on their side on the "floor" (the grid-floor above the water reservoirs).

Do make sure your matt doesn't have so small/few holes that it blocks airflow! I did that with mine, which made the temperature differences in the bator go crazy (and probably locked the humidity below the matt, leaving the area above the matt being dryish without me knowing)

Will you candle the eggs? If so, let us know the results

Thanks for this. I put them into lockdown last night and all seemed well. Got up at 5am to check and one part of the incubator is 37.5, one is 36.7 and the other is 38.8!! Ive tried to lower temp but then the one section goes really cold! So frustrating... im going to just have to let it ride i think. No eggs have pipped yet and theres no movement either. It is only just gone into day 19 though.

 

[als77]

Thanks for this. I put them into lockdown last night and all seemed well. Got up at 5am to check and one part of the incubator is 37.5, one is 36.7 and the other is 38.8!! Ive tried to lower temp but then the one section goes really cold! So frustrating... im going to just have to let it ride i think. No eggs have pipped yet and theres no movement either. It is only just gone into day 19 though.

So you have larger temperature variations now than before lock-down? Did you put down a matt - if so, do you have a picture of it?

From my limited understanding wrong temperature isn't as bad this late (but of course far from ideal). I had massive temperature differences during lock-down, but my matt didn't allow much airflow. Luckily, since I had small eggs (quail) I were able to gather them in a spot where the temperature weren't too bad.

 

[Mellowmalt]

I haven't candled my eggs much this time but hatch day has arrived and I can hear the first chirping, it either hatched a couple hours ago or has started pipping. So far so good.

 

[penkwolf]

That sounds promising mellow.

In the end i had 13 eggs enter lockdown and 7 hatch. 2 we had to help out the eggs as they were stuck. The matting i put down in there was not ideal and this caused some issues u think because eggs got stuck to it. Will order some rubber matting off ebay next.

I also had a row (bottom of incubator) that all didnt hatch once i put them in lockdown so need to keep an eye on this too.

Im going again! Put another 18 eggs in just! Lets see what happens!

 

[Mellowmalt]

ah penk, I'd be really happy with that. Mine turned out really bad. The eggs were developing beautifully and all 3 should have made it but only 1 did and it is always hard to find the reason but I am pretty sure the egg turner I thought originally was amazing is to blame now lol.
The two eggs that didn't make it were an egg that got pushed off the egg rolling tray - yes that apparently happens with small eggs, new world of egg turning for me. And the other egg had no pointy end, it was round as a marble so I don't think it was turning as well.

So although the rolling tray is great in theory in practice the eggs were rolling in one direction and as they were doing so they were getting squashed together to the point of getting pushed off the end... I figured out the way to stop this is to have equal amount of pointy ends on either side facing inwards. This way eggs on both sides are pushing inwards instead of into one direction only but I wouldn't want to use a rolling egg tray again! It was a bad experience for me, maybe they work on bigger eggs but I am hatching bantams and they did not do well on the rolling egg tray for me. Or temps were off, that could be a reason but one made it perfectly on time so I'm leaning more towards the egg turner which was a first and last try for me.

This is the first time I felt like I'd done something wrong. Not turning the eggs was great but I was relying on the egg turner too much and well I feel it was a terrible result so I am also trying again but I am going to give the yellow one a try this time!! With an egg turner I feel is better for reliability and peace of mind at least.

I took it apart yesterday which was surprisingly easy, just 4 screws on either side with phillips screw driver. I turned the fans around but that made no difference tbh but I have still left the fans blowing into the incubator instead of pulling air out. I feel this should circulate the air more but the heater on the left side is the big problem. Or the fact that the heat sensor is right on the other end on the right hand side. The bottom row not developing does not surprise me at all. I already warned you about the bottom left corner (now top left for me since I switched the fans around) but I will do exactly the same as last time, I will use a 30 watt wine heating cable attached to a separate thermostat instead of the heater in the incubator. With the sensor being all the other side, the heater has to overheat before the sensor registers the change and tells it to stop. and the fan blows all that heat across the bottom tray.
I can fit a heating cable snugly all around the outside - but tbh even just not using the bottom tray might be all I would have needed but I like to be a perfectionist.

I was actually experiencing up to 3 degrees C difference with the ptc heater the yellow incubator is built with which is a huge difference and not sure why mine was off that much but I've tested it briefly with the heating cable instead and the fans reversed and temps were spot on - I will still test it more before I start.

Edit: This i the only chick that made it testing out the heating cable in the yellow incubator I've temporarily set up as a brooder. I've had to turn the fans off as I've discovered chicks hate fans in a brooder..
Worth noting. Took me a while to realize they really don't like fans circulating the air once they are hatched.

 

[als77]

That sounds promising mellow.

In the end i had 13 eggs enter lockdown and 7 hatch. 2 we had to help out the eggs as they were stuck. The matting i put down in there was not ideal and this caused some issues u think because eggs got stuck to it. Will order some rubber matting off ebay next.

I also had a row (bottom of incubator) that all didnt hatch once i put them in lockdown so need to keep an eye on this too.

Im going again! Put another 18 eggs in just! Lets see what happens!

Congrats on the 7

Although a lower hatch rate than I would have though. Did you do an egg autopsy?

Sounds strange that a whole row didn't make it, which row was this? (i.e was it the warmest row, the coldest row or just a random one) Mine seemed to be hatching from all over the bator (which surprised me considering all the issues I had early on)

 

[penkwolf]

Congrats on the 7

Although a lower hatch rate than I would have though. Did you do an egg autopsy?

Sounds strange that a whole row didn't make it, which row was this? (i.e was it the warmest row, the coldest row or just a random one) Mine seemed to be hatching from all over the bator (which surprised me considering all the issues I had early on)

I am unsure what row they were in originally in the turner but when I put them on the floor for lockdown they were the bottom row. They were all Orpington eggs too which were slightly to big for the incubator anyway and kept hitting the plastic when turning.

I didn't do an autopsy.

The Temp was always in the 37s but moved up and down a lot but my biggest issue with this incubator is humidity. Ive set the alarm so it bleeps if it goes below 30 (this is lowest I can set it) but it bleeps quite a lot. Then as soon as I put a small amount of water in, it goes up to around 65%/70% which is too high! I wish I could turn the alarm off as it keeps going off in the night!!!

 

[PippinTheChicken]

I have a Brinsea Mini II Advance... Very clear instructions and No.1 incubator in the UK