Chicks~We did a small batch a while back

[Ridgerunner]

I use a 1588. It works well after I got the temperature set. Is yours the old time one with the dip switches or the newfangled one with the easy way to reset temperature? When I got mine new it was running about a full degree too warm which made for some early hatches, like 19 days instead of 21.

One time I did not get the cord for the automatic turner back in the slot correctly one time. The incubator help temperature fine even with the top cracked open like that but the humidity was running a lot lower than it should have been. I was totally confused until I finally figured out the top was cracked open.

 

[baymule]

Your chicks are so cute! I never tire of baby chicks. Now that we have moved and no longer live in the middle of town, I can have a rooster!! I am looking on craigslist for an incubator. And you are right, the red sex links are so calm and friendly. Do you breed your own or do you buy them?

 

[journey11]

I use a 1588. It works well after I got the temperature set. Is yours the old time one with the dip switches or the newfangled one with the easy way to reset temperature? When I got mine new it was running about a full degree too warm which made for some early hatches, like 19 days instead of 21.

One time I did not get the cord for the automatic turner back in the slot correctly one time. The incubator help temperature fine even with the top cracked open like that but the humidity was running a lot lower than it should have been. I was totally confused until I finally figured out the top was cracked open.

I'm not sure what a dip switch is, so I guess I have the new one. It has an LCD screen that displays the preset temp with buttons to adjust the temp in small increments if needed.

 

[Ridgerunner]

You don't want to know what a dip switch is. Just be glad you got an easier one to work with. I'd follow the instructions to try to change the temperature 1/2 degree and it would change 5. It wasn't just me either, others on BYC had similar complaints. But once I finally got it adjusted by not following the directions it held temperature very well. That new controller has to be a huge improvement.

I put mine in a spare bedroom away from outside doors so a cold draft doesn't blow on it, away from direct sunlight, and positioned so an AC /heater vent doesn't blow on it. I'm being overly cautious, it does hold temperature pretty well as long as the room temperature is around 70 or warmer, but I try to find as stable an environment as I can.

Check your thermometers too. Don't trust any of them, especially the one that comes with the incubator. My preset was wrong. I got two thermometers and both were reading wrong. One was reading a full degree low, if it said 99 it was actually 100. The other was reading five degrees low. I would have cooked the eggs if I had trusted that one. I checked them against a pre-calibrated medical thermometer so I knew what I was dealing with. With mine being too warm my first incubation I had eggs piping when I went into lockdown and the hatch was over after 19 days. I still got a decent hatch, 75% of the eggs that went in hatched a healthy chick but its better to be closer, especially if you want to time it for your daughter. I did that once for a niece, timed a hatch for when she would be staying with us for a few days. That was a huge hit plus probably my best incubator hatch ever, 23 out of 24 eggs that developed. I started with 28 and had 4 clears.

 

[Carol Dee]

Awww Babies We have not hatched chicks since the boys (now in their 30's) where young.

 

[valley ranch]

The Sex-linked chicks we bought. If we incubate their eggs the chicks won't be exactly the same but I think they will have much the same nature.

I use a incandescent light as a heat source for the bator with a thermostat controlled dial switch. Once set it holds well, turning the light off when the thermostat is satisfied.