Not parrots, but incubator troubleshooting

[bug_n_flock]

I know some of y'all use poultry incubators fer yer parrots, or have poultry also, so maybe some of you clever people will have tips.

I decided to add more poultry eggs into my incubator while it's running rather than wait for all eggs to hatch then reload. I've done this in the past and never seemed to have issues other than marking eggs, managing turning and humidity etc. so basically no drama, but have to pay more attention ok fine no prob.

This year I got a new incubator (had been several years without a working one) it's something like a "home professional" series or whatever so supposedly a bit better than just backyard flock tier. I think it's little giant brand but not sure. Forced air, digital, all that. But I only got it at the "farm Petco" next county over so maybe that's just marketing. Tho I will say before sales and price matching n coupons and etc it was a nearly 200$ incubator without a built in turner. I got it for 90$ before tax tho so that's nice.

First batch of eggs I loaded went great. 6/19 chickens hatched(old hens, low hatch rate not incubators fault), 8/9 turkeys hatched, 4/5 ducks hatched.

Then I started having trouble with it overheating. Thought it was because of a heat wave, but it has overheated since then when not hot weather. Second batch of eggs out of 14 turkey eggs, 7 chickens, I got one turkey to hatch. Full stop. I did eggtopsy and the eggs that didn't hatch were clearly killed by the incubator malfunctioning

Third batch of eggs I put 7(I think) turkey eggs, more chicken, and 7 quail. All seemed to be going well, and then

Sunday I added in 22 quail eggs, and the temp spiked up over 120°. I noticed a few hrs later when I went to turn the eggs. Craaaap. So I lost nearly all the eggs that were partway. Still leaving any that I can't candle, or that I'm not 100% sure are kaput. Internet says the ones early in development are more resistant to that spike so hopefully not all the eggs in there got cooked.

Gonna put more quail eggs in again this upcoming Sunday, and today I put six more turkey eggs. Gonna be watching it like a hawk and make sure it don't temp spike again. Google suggests it might be due to overcompensating for the new, "cold" eggs added. I never had this issue with incubators in the past. Is it just user error? I can deal with user error, that's easiest to fix. I plan to buy a turner to put in but if this is an issue with the incubator maybe I'll instead buy a different incubator and keep this one as a EMERGENCY backup, or use it as a hatcher only to keep the messy business of hatching out of a future, more expensive, incubator

And for anyone who read my thread Abt cockatiel eggs, I didn't end up putting any in. The birds are half-heartedly sitting and I don't wanna take the eggs away. Hopefully they'll learn and then when back in their normal house with nest box, can sit new eggs with more success

Anyway, all this typed on my cell fone, so I sure hope it all makes sense. Any questions please ask.

 

[TiredOldMan]

Look around for a used GQF
I've had an "old analog" one I have used for years with great success. Cheap? no. Reliable? yes
If you buy a really old one like mine and want digital you can always upgrade it with late model parts. If the cabinet is ugly or maybe starting to rot from sitting it's easy to build a new one and just install the important hardware.

 

[Jcas]

I incubate quail and chicken eggs with a little plastic incubator I got off Amazon and it works just fine. My aunt hatches guineas almost every year using one of the foam incubators similar to the little giant one you’re describing. We’ve never had issues with a temp spike like that. Adding eggs would make it heat up a little, sure, but the thermostat should not let it get much above the programmed setting. I hate to say this after you spent money on it, but it sounds like a faulty thermostat in the incubator . You might be able to buy a replacement thermostat? Or it may not be worth it and you might just want to buy a new incubator . Adding a second thermometer into the unit to compare with the built in gauge can also help you see just how “ off” the real temperature in the unit is. Good luck! Failed hatched are always frustrating so I hope you can figure this out

 

[bug_n_flock]

I have a tiny plastic Amazon incubator too, think it was like 30 bux. I've never really had a success with that one. I got it last year it got three or four turkey eggs to lockdown, but they died in shell just before hatch, same for a few chickens I tried. Then it sat in storage over winter and this spring when I loaded it with about 10 quail eggs I realized the turner built in is busted now. And it's a pain to open n close, so that one's just an emergency backup/tiny hatcher now. Those ten quail eggs I moved to the foam incubator halfway thru and turned by hand, then temperature spike so between everything going wrong only one of those quail hatched. It was alone for almost a week, then I put the one turkey in with it. They're doing ok together, but soon the size difference will be too much n I'll need to separate and have two Singleton babies again.

So far today with the new eggs it hasn't spiked, but I've been watching close n opening it to turn and shuffle them frequently. More frequently than I would otherwise. So far so good, knock on wood.


But yeah, sounds like I'm still in need of an incubator and this one's just another fricking "band aid" incubator. Oh well. At least with the chicks it's already hatched it should be able to pay for itself, but still seems like a waste of money and definitely sad/frustrating to lose so many eggs! Especially after such a successful first hatch with it. Gives just enough hope to keep trying well, I was planning to pack it up for the season soon anyway. Other than quail I'm about done with my patience for all the extra work with brooders going, plus I don't want to hatch anything too close to winter. I have heritage turkeys so they take a long time to grow to adult size and I don't want anyone unprepared for cold weather

 

[bug_n_flock]

My guess for the plastic one why they died right at hatch, was not enough airflow. It was enough for them while growing but hatching takes a lot of energy n oxygen. That incubator has two teeny tiny openings, and one small opening that easily closes itself accidentally. And plastic don't allow airflow at all, and it closes tightly. But not sure, that's just my guess.

 

[TiredOldMan]

My opinion is when I purchased my GQF I paid 400 for it. Other than replacing a thermostat wafer and making a plexiglass door for it(my choice but not necessary) I have had zero issues in almost 40yrs. I consider it a great investment and it's worth more now than what I purchased it for.

 

[bug_n_flock]

I'll keep an eye out for a used one, looks like new they're around a grand. That's not in my budget this year, I'm redoing the roof of my cabin in addition to many smaller investments, and divorce is expensive even when friendly and peaceful

 

[TiredOldMan]

I occasionally see older model for 500 or less.
Completely understand the budget constraints and divorce is never easy

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I find that incubators work best when the room temperature is in the 70s. I have two small egg incubators and when the bathroom where I keep them while in use with eggs gets really hot during a shower the incubator gets too hot to. What is the temperature of the room where you're using it?

 

[DonnaBudgie]

My small incubators are from Amazon. JANOEL-12 is the brand and model. I've hatched and brooded three baby budgies using it. The hatch rate isn't 100% but I don't think it would be with the parents either.
The egg turning mechanism works great and it doubles as a brooder.

 

[bug_n_flock]

My small incubators are from Amazon. JANOEL-12 is the brand and model. I've hatched and brooded three baby budgies using it. The hatch rate isn't 100% but I don't think it would be with the parents either.
The egg turning mechanism works great and it doubles as a brooder.

That's way too small for what I need but good to know it works for parrots. I think that's probably the same tier as my small incubator, which was big enough for quail eggs, or maybe 10-12 small chicken eggs, or 4 turkey eggs(which really were too big and it was only just able to turn them). Not big enough for duck eggs or geese, and eventually I want to get larger birds even than that. Swans and emu are on my radar for sure. And not only the egg size, but number of eggs not where I want it to be. This foam one fits quite a lot of eggs but even that one I want to be able to do more at a time. Cabinet incubator definitely a worthwhile, and justifiable, investment for me. I live on a homestead and raising animals is a very big part of that.

Heck, sub adult heritage turkey hens sell for around 100$ a pop. That's not a huge amount of money, but a good solid big spring hatch of poults followed by a summer of them foraging in the sunshine and feeding themselves from the bounty of the forest, and boom a cabinet incubator has *more than* paid for itself in a single year. Not gonna get rich on any of my homesteading projects, but that's not the goal so who cares.

 

[bug_n_flock]

I have Muscovy ducks, they're great *big* ducks. Eggs more like small goose eggs in size and flavor imo

 

[DonnaBudgie]

That's way too small for what I need but good to know it works for parrots. I think that's probably the same tier as my small incubator, which was big enough for quail eggs, or maybe 10-12 small chicken eggs, or 4 turkey eggs(which really were too big and it was only just able to turn them). Not big enough for duck eggs or geese, and eventually I want to get larger birds even than that. Swans and emu are on my radar for sure. And not only the egg size, but number of eggs not where I want it to be. This foam one fits quite a lot of eggs but even that one I want to be able to do more at a time. Cabinet incubator definitely a worthwhile, and justifiable, investment for me. I live on a homestead and raising animals is a very big part of that.

Heck, sub adult heritage turkey hens sell for around 100$ a pop. That's not a huge amount of money, but a good solid big spring hatch of poults followed by a summer of them foraging in the sunshine and feeding themselves from the bounty of the forest, and boom a cabinet incubator has *more than* paid for itself in a single year. Not gonna get rich on any of my homesteading projects, but that's not the goal so who cares.

I understand your need for capacity. I do think the ambient temperature affects the ability of the incubator to keep a stable temperature. What ambient temperature range are your incubators operating in? Is there AC when it gets over 80 degrees? The Janoel-12 is good for about a dozen quail eggs or parrot eggs and fewer large eggs. They cost about $50 each. Ypu should look at it on Amazon because it's designed differently from most home use incubators.

 

[bug_n_flock]

Yeah a dozen quail eggs is less than I'm doing currently, and my birds only just started up laying again after arrival. I got the adults back the beginning of May. Been trying to get quail for years, so to say I am happy to have them on the homestead is about as big an understatement as one can make.

No I don't have AC yet in my cabin. That's why I initially thought the issue was related to the heat wave that hit at the first time the incubator overheated. But it has since done so on much cooler days, and even "chilly"(for this time of year) nights

Eventually I'll probably have an incubator room built into a building that's gonna have a section for general storage, and a coop. But for now I'm just running it in my cabin. Also have the brooders set up in here for the first few weeks it's cramped and my allergies hate me but it's temporary and everythings gotta start somewhere.

I did look up the incubator when you mentioned the brand and model there's a few different types of home incubators and I've had several over the years not just the two I have currently. I've had two like that one you have. One worked but wasn't big enough for peacock eggs I had been given at the time(don't remember what happened to that incubator, i maybe just gave it away i bought it not long before i moved)The other just had too small a capacity and it ended up breaking anyway. I still have it somewhere gathering dust oh actually I also had a mini mini super teeny tiny one that was designed similarly, but it was *too* small to even work properly and I never had a single egg hatch from it. I think it had something absurd like a 4 egg capacity. This was a long long time ago tho so I don't remember well

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Looks like you hatch a lot of eggs! Don't you have parent birds to do this work for you? If not, where do you get the eggs? It seems it would be easier and less expensive than doing it yourself.
I do think it would be hard to use my incubator for much larger birds' eggs. I have two of them in case I have both eggs and chicks at the same time or as a backup if one malfunctions. I have no plans to raise any more baby birds in the near future. As successful as it was, I have more than enough budgies right now and it's a lot of work to handfeed them every 2 or 3 hours. Baby budgies are helpless and incredibly tiny!

 

[bug_n_flock]

When hens go broody, they stop laying eggs.

Plus not as many fit under a hen as do in an incubator, predators and varmints can get at eggs or chicks under a hen. Hens who are still laying can push broodys out of a nest n lay under them. Poultry are very different from parrots, they do not stay on the nest with any unhatched eggs or they do not leave the nest with any hatched chicks. Eggs are cheaper to buy than chicks, tho I'm incubating eggs from my own birds only so far this year. Poultry are precocious babies. They can run and eat and all that good stuff from day one. Just need Mom to show them food keep them warm and protect from predators. Much easier to brooder raise poultry than parrots, it's totally different.

Babies can get thru smaller fences than adults so even if you have a good momma hen and everything else, chicks can and do get out of the chicken yard and leave their moms behind. Plus brooder raising you can keep them safe from other livestock -i used to have a horse who would eat baby chicks! Momma hens knew this, but still would go scratch in the horse pasture chicks in tow

The list of reasons to incubator/brooder raise chicks goes on and on. There's many pros to letting hens do if for you, but it isn't always possible or really the best way to do it depending on what your goals are. If you want free range birds who can feed n fend for themselves, absolutely no substitute to being raised by a savvy hen. But you might only get 1 or 2 chicks to adulthood if your lucky.

 

[bug_n_flock]

And not all poultry will lay a nest or sit a clutch. Quail drop um like horses in a parade...

And broad breasted turkey types can't even breed naturally, forget about sitting a clutch of eggs. Tho I have heritage turkeys not broad breasteds