Who uses Little Giant Incubators?

[Shellz]

I wish we had a broody! We are going round 2 with our LG tomorrow morning! This time we are going to try running it at 100.5 to 101... OUr two chicks that hatched this time hatched on day 23 so maybe with the warmer temps will get fluffy buts on day 21!

All right Peggy-Sue! Yeah, with still airs, you want temps to be just a wee bit warmer than you would for a forced air unit. The range you specified should be great. I had good success with even at 102.1 with no ill effects. It had spiked to 103.4 at times & immediately popped up the top when that happened. Best of luck to you!

 

[Shellz]

Hello, this is my first post and first time incubating. I really appreciate all the good info on this site. I purchased a LG Still Air after much research, the deciding factor was the price $34.95 at TS. I set it up, really just plugged it in added the thermometers -5! 2 were the same the other 3 were way off. the plastic one that came with it seems to be right on. After reading about calibrating with ice I put a digital in freezer it was way off 5 dgrees. they are all brand new. was very surprised but I was able to get 2 the correct temp. Then I had an idea I make my own yoqurt and have a therm. for that it is very acurate and I can just let it stay in one of the small air holes at the top the furthest from the element. It is very good to see the temp just past the height of the eggs. I followed the directions to turn knob all the way up and watch carefully for it to reach temp 100 degrees then turn slowly down till light turns off, then leave it at least 8 hours and check to make sure it stays stable. i have it in a room with a lot of windows although it has been cold here in NW PA 0-10 degrees and not much sun, it is not in the direct sun. The LG seems to be stable in there it is very open room. I must have got a good one I started with 12 eggs from my own chickens mixed lot 4 red linked production 4 white leghorns  1 silkie roo mix I think with a leghorn. No feathers on his blue/black feet and a comb like a leghorn but that Blue/black color, very fluffy otherwise. These were from TS last March 2012. I also have 1 buff Orpington and 1 mixed ameraucana pullet greenish blue egg. And 1 Pure ameraucana hen & roo. she lays a beautiful Blue egg. So each day I collected eggs 2x a day and just thought these eggs are so nice and warm & clean that they just had to go in too! after a couple of days I have 32! I think I am ADDICTED! The first ones have been in since Sat the 2nd. and they all have something going on with Veining and embryos its all very exciting!  I am trying dry hatching, it started at 19% and I have followed advice on here to put in some jelly jars with water in them and a sponge, now it has gone up to 29%. I am also hand turning -love the hands on. The LG seems to get right back up to 99-100 pretty fast and I do not touch the control knob at all. I am thinking because of having it full of eggs and jelly jars it keeps the temp up. I also when I take top off I put it on top of the box it came in so it stays warm when I put it back on. So far it is working great as far as I can tell with the chicks developing. e .  

Sounds like you're doing a good job! It is very addicting! When you're done that hatch, join a bunch of us for the 4th Annual Easter Hatchalong! We set eggs March 9th at noon. Find us on that thread - it'll be a blast!

 

[ddpbk1]

I got one from a friend of mine with a turner that had gotten it new and never used it. I got it to regulate temperature at 100 for 72 hours straight before putting eggs in. The temperature spiked to 103 and back to 100. The room its in has no traffice/never used. It has spiked as high as 106 and as low as 96 f during the entire 18 days. It would be fine for 36-48 hrs then spike, then drop. Nothing about the room temperature changed. I put in lockdown on day 18 tried to get humidty above 51% and couldn't. Yesterday 4 chicks hatched and another one pipped through. Temp reads 101 and humdity 51%. I used pullet eggs and have been laying about 3-4 weeks and put 7 into lockdown that looked promising. It requires constant babysitting. I bought a briensa 20 and its held strong at 100 since the day I plugged it in. Hoping for better results with it but going to use LG for hatcher. Could use advice on humidty? I put sponges and paper towels in it. It read 35-37% before adding water at day 18.

 

[kizanne]

If money was unlimited I wouldn't buy the LG. I do however own 5 for hatching (2 for incubators and 3 for hatchers). I like them well enough and don't have too many problems with them. I agree that anyone who wants to use one should read the tips and tricks thread.

Away from window , stable room. Set up and get stable 24 hours before setting. I like plugging the bottom 'holes' so that I can add water to the whole bottom instead of just the wells. It allows me to raise humidity easily. Heat sinks also help keep temps stable (that would be the pebbles or jars of water). Temporary temp spikes don't hurt but long ones will cook the embryo.

I love the removable windows. During hatch if I need to get into the bator for any reason I come in through one of those windows so minimize temp and humidity loss.

With my 5 bators, I've spent only slightly more than a brinsea 20 eco for all 5. I can hatch 84 eggs easily but if pushed could hatch 210 eggs at a time. I use 2 for incubators then switch to 3 for hatchers. this allows me to stagger hatches setting whenever I want. I'm not limited to 12 eggs or some as small as 7 eggs. I can then spread them out for hatching so that the eggs have more room to hatch and move around without breaking the 3 day lockdown. I can also keep breeds in seperate incubators so that I know which chick is which.

I also am not hatching $100 / doz eggs. If I was hatching more expensive eggs on a regular basis I'd upgrade.