Chinese incubator issue moisture in fan going on chicks

[NZpoultry]

Hi all my name is Jake and I am from New Zealand.

I have a query regarding a Chinese egg incubator I have used, I don’t have the exact model number. It is a 96 egg one but I have only used it as a single layer with 48 eggs.

Anyway to my question.

On my first attempt last month using it about 30 eggs were fertile and I had a disappointing hatch rate of 8. The humidity was hard to maintain at 65 and constantly fluctuated.

On my second attempt just recently, I had read multiple people online stating to use the styrofoam packing the incubator came in. I decided to do so but only after day 18 in order to keep the humidity high enough.

From the instructions I also filled the vents up with warm water which seemed to help and it maintained a humidity of 65-66 during hatching.

Out of 36 eggs 13 eggs hatched, so still not an outstanding rate by any means but a improvement on last time.

The issue however was when today I went to take the chicks out they were absolutely soaked in water as the condensation had got into the fan on the roof and was going all over them (some would of been for an entire 24 hours or more).

Luckily, after putting them under a heatpad all day they have dried out and are eating etc.

What suggestions would anyone on here have in future with this incubator to avoid this happening, as I definitely wouldn’t want it to occur again.

The reason I didn’t take the chicks out earlier, is that I always like to leave them in the incubator to dry and also not lift the lid until most if not all have hatched, to avoid affecting the temperature and humidity.

Luckily, this is only my secondary incubator when I want to hatch a few extra. My main one is a Brinsea 56 EX which works perfectly with great results.

I’m not surprised that a cheap Chinese incubator can’t compare but I still wouldn’t of expected it to do what it did.

I won’t likely be hatching more eggs for a few months now due to it being well into Autumn in NZ now and the fertility rates being lower, but if someone who may have experienced similar issues with a Chinese incubator has any suggestions, your help would be appreciated.

Kind regards,

Jake

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Jake!

Do you use a second known to be correct thermometer and hygrometer so you know what it is really running at? I ha e a chinese incubator and I can’t trust it. What the incubator is set at and what it actually runs at is a mile apart.

Water dripping in your incubator would say to me it’s got too much humidity for what’s required so too much surface area of water and not enough ventilation. Does the incubator have plugs for ventilation? Or vents?

 

[HeidiGetsChicks]

Hey Jake,

I have a Chinese incubator as well and also use the Styrofoam packaging it came in. I've found it very easily gets way too moist. I had humidity at 70% and then when the chicks hatched it spiked to over 80%! There was condensation dripping everywhere and the chicks took forever to dry.

This time around I'm doing a dry incubation and don't plan to add water when they start hatching because I know it'll spike on its own. I don't know if it's more airtight than other incubators or what--mine has a tube for adding water that I've been leaving open lately just to allow a little more airflow.

The most helpful thing I've heard so far about these type of incubators (this is my second one) from an experienced breeder is that each one has its own "personality" and is going to be very different. Some run too wet, some too dry, some you have to constantly adjust, some you can leave alone and just let them run. You have to get to know your incubator's quirks and adjust accordingly.

I echo the recommendation of a separate thermometer and hydrometer.

 

[NZpoultry]

Jake!

Do you use a second known to be correct thermometer and hygrometer so you know what it is really running at? I ha e a chinese incubator and I can’t trust it. What the incubator is set at and what it actually runs at is a mile apart.

Water dripping in your incubator would say to me it’s got too much humidity for what’s required so too much surface area of water and not enough ventilation. Does the incubator have plugs for ventilation? Or vents?

I did use a thermometer and it was inconsistent unfortunately even on my Brinsea incubator which I got an 80 percent hatch rate from so I disregarded that.

For ventilation it has the two vents on the side where you add water for humidity.

Thanks for your thoughts, I also did think that it must have been too much humidity although that part has me a bit confused as for hatching the manual recommends 65-85 humidity.

 

[NZpoultry]

Hey Jake,

I have a Chinese incubator as well and also use the Styrofoam packaging it came in. I've found it very easily gets way too moist. I had humidity at 70% and then when the chicks hatched it spiked to over 80%! There was condensation dripping everywhere and the chicks took forever to dry.

This time around I'm doing a dry incubation and don't plan to add water when they start hatching because I know it'll spike on its own. I don't know if it's more airtight than other incubators or what--mine has a tube for adding water that I've been leaving open lately just to allow a little more airflow.

The most helpful thing I've heard so far about these type of incubators (this is my second one) from an experienced breeder is that each one has its own "personality" and is going to be very different. Some run too wet, some too dry, some you have to constantly adjust, some you can leave alone and just let them run. You have to get to know your incubator's quirks and adjust accordingly.

I echo the recommendation of a separate thermometer and hydrometer.

Thanks for your help. The incubator I have has a reasonable amount of features, with automatic turning etc and one hole on each side for adding water and for ventilation. It holds the humidity and temperature well for the first 18 days, it’s day 19 where the humidity can get inconsistent with it jumping around. I do have a thermometer which was inconsistent on both my Chinese incubator and Brinsea incubator (which ended up having an 80 percent hatch rate). But when I eventually get back to incubating I could consider using another thermometer and perhaps hydrometer. Thanks.

 

[HeidiGetsChicks]

I did use a thermometer and it was inconsistent unfortunately even on my Brinsea incubator which I got an 80 percent hatch rate from so I disregarded that.

For ventilation it has the two vents on the side where you add water for humidity.

Thanks for your thoughts, I also did think that it must have been too much humidity although that part has me a bit confused as for hatching the manual recommends 65-85 humidity.

Lots of folks on here recommend tossing the incubator manuals. I've found it's most helpful to read what people on these forums say about humidity levels and their success rates. In general, the higher end of the humidity range is for if you're opening the incubator frequently to remove chicks. The lower end, for if you're going to leave it alone until they all hatch.

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Was it only dripping with water after the chicks hatched?

 

[mcdze]

couldnt say for sure, mine has sections in the floor and i only use one of them and keep it below half filled .. even that keeps it at 60 - 80 at egg level with the unit gauge reporting 65 .. so, id imagine if your filling mutiple sections on the floor or filling them high, yeah, it could get a might bit soggy in there .. one section under halfway is about right in my estimation and that should be good throughout the process up to hatch.

 

[NZpoultry]

Was it only dripping with water after the chicks hatched?

To my knowledge yes.

 

[NZpoultry]

couldnt say for sure, mine has sections in the floor and i only use one of them and keep it below half filled .. even that keeps it at 60 - 80 at egg level with the unit gauge reporting 65 .. so, id imagine if your filling mutiple sections on the floor or filling them high, yeah, it could get a might bit soggy in there .. one section under halfway is about right in my estimation and that should be good throughout the process up to hatch.

Thanks your one looks very much like mine. I’ll take your advice when I eventually incubate again nearer the Spring here in New Zealand as what you have said does make a lot of sense.