Top Hatch Incubator, How to use it, see the incubation process, watch chicks hatching.

[lisucav]

I have a question, I left my partition out because it didn't slide all the way down and it's crowding the eggs, should i put it back? And how much water should i put in, i have just been filling that tiny ring at the bottom outside 2 times a week.

[HTCSWEOD]

@lisucav Yes, put the partition back, it's how the eggs turn... the bottom rotates and the eggs are stopped against the plastic partition, this causes them to turn. Water will be adjusted as you know the evaporation rate... candle the eggs after the first five days to see the size of the air cell.. you can see a air cell chart at Fred's Fine Fowl for reverence... air cells are more accurate than actual humidity...

[isfake55]

I'm sorry but I have another question and I appreciate your help so much!! How much after the hatch day and the last hatch day should I wait until I know nothing more is coming out? So far I have one duckling out of 30 hatched and they were due June 2, and 0 geese whose last day to hatch is tomorrow.

[HTCSWEOD]

@isfake55 When did the one hatch? If it had been more than 72 hours... you probably should shut down. Don't forget to examine the eggs after you quit to see if they were developing at all, this will help you diagnose the reason for a lack of success and also determine if you had good fertility to begin with. Many ducks and geese of pure lines may have fertility problems. Sorry things don't appear to be working out very well for you.

[isfake55]

Hi, I'm incubating duck and geese eggs in the top hatch, and the duck eggs are on hatch day today, there has been no pipping and nothing hatching yet but we hear them peeping, is this normal to hear peeping coming from inside the shells, should we help them?? Also the geese are at day 31 and there hasn't been a pip or a peep at all, should I be worried? Thank you for your awesome video!!

[HTCSWEOD]

@isfake55 It is perfectly normal to hear peeping from inside the shells... that means their head is in the air cell and they should pip very soon... be patient and keep the humidity up. I hope you have a great hatch!!!

[technology49]

How much time i must have on the lamp?

[HTCSWEOD]

Please Join Fred's Fine Fowl on Facebook and ask questions there... it's fun to share!

[isfake55]

Great video very helpful, we just bought 2 Top Hatch incubators and we are going to incubate goose eggs in one and duck eggs in the other, I have 2 questions, first how much water should I put in the tray, enough to fill that side? Second, how do you know that the unit is turning, I am so nervous that the eggs won't hatch because I don't know enough about the unit, and the Brower website is not helpful at all! I would really appreciate your help!

[HTCSWEOD]

@isfake55 I always start off dry and candle the eggs to see the dehydration rate... shoot for 13% weight loss throughout the incubation cycle... add water if the air cell grows too quickly. You can take a q-tip, add some food coloring (blue is good) and mark each egg with a X on one side and a O on the other... you will then see these marks change as the unit turns... some eggs will turn more than others. Make certain the turning arm is properly aligned on the bottom. Find FFF on facebook!

[elfinsnipersal]

mine is not that loud

[HTCSWEOD]

@elfinsnipersal Oh that's good news... possibly they have made improvements with the turning mechanism and the fan unit... I have four of these and they all sound the same no matter what I do, but they are 2006 or older. What year was your unit made? I'm a big fan of quiet incubators (">

[Searcydeshler]

I live in Indiana and recently hatched out nine of eleven eggs in June. It was such an exciting show to watch through the little giant windows that I saved up more eggs and put them in the incubator. I am on day 18 with my second batch of fifteen eggs and there is an odor in the bator. Almost a death odor. I have candled the eggs but do not know what you mean when you say "evaporating off at the proper rate". Four are not furtile and one started and stopped at the seed looking stage. Help

[HTCSWEOD]

@Searcydeshler Look at all egg shells carefully, if any have tiny brown spots/bumps or any oozing, remove that egg right away. Pick up and sniff each egg and you will find the one which has spoiled. To learn more about what is meant by evaporation/air cell enlargement, visit FredsFineFowl(dot)com and there is a detailed instruction page on hatching with a chart showing how to candle your eggs. If you weigh your eggs, they should lose 13% of their starting weight by the 19th day. (">

[markoilic123]

2 of my 3 eggs hatched and ar now in my brooder (your style) but i was just wondering bcus i have a RCOM mini incubator and i just wanted your opinion about it

thnx

[teenmod12]

hello. i was wondering if i were to use the little giant incubator with the water thing in it to make humidity, would i have to keep taking the plugs out and every thing so the humidity dose not get to high or something. i was hoping to get the incubator with the automatic egg turner so i would not have to do anything with it untill the 18th day, so its kinda self contained cause im the type of person that always finds a way to mess something up. so, dose it need allot of watching. thnx

[HTCSWEOD]

Once things are running and the temperature is set/stable, you can let it run...

I don't put any water in it until the 18th day... in my area, high humidity is more of a problem, so I run it dry until the end during the pip-hatch.

You should candle your eggs to see if they are evaporating off at the proper rate, this is the best way to determine proper humidity for the eggs you are incubating. I leave the red plugs out throughout the hatch. Thank you for your question.

[BENNYHAWKINS1000]

Great video clip, but can you answer this question for me ? My friend says he believes alot of the fertile eggs that don't hatch are caused by the hatched chicks kicking unhatched eggs about. He thinks they lose the sense of up and die in the shell. What do you think ? I'm tempted to make a grid to hold each egg quite tight for the last 3 days to stop this, or remove hatched chicks to the brooder asap.

[HTCSWEOD]

With respect to your friend... eggs being knocked about by other hatchlings would be at the bottom of my list as to why fully developed chicks fail to pip and hatch successfully.  A more likely reason for this event, fully developed and not hatching, is a lack of moisture loss during incubation, resulting in a chubby/oversized chick which cannot completely turn around inside to complete the pipping process. Opening the incubator during the hatch can result on a loss of needed humidity.

[BENNYHAWKINS1000]

Thanks for your reply and I have taken it on board. I have constructed a frame for the last 3 days of incubation to hold the eggs, but not too tight. I will try it and see if I get better results with less dead in the shell chicks ? I'm also trying another hygrometer and various size bowls to get the right humidity before I incubate this time. Some incubators have various sections to fill with water, but mine does not. I'll find the best and then publish on the net.

[strikeard]

i only have 2 choices if my supermarket egg die in my incubator buy 1 chick from the petstore if they sell now or quit raising roosters.....

[zmingy]

cuz supermarket eggs arnet fertile................

[GardenGirltv]

Fred is the Chicken Man.

[poultrycrazy]

I just got one of these from a lady who said she couldn't get it to temp. I tried it out and it seems to be working but I don't know how to engage/disengage the automatic turning devise. (She never found the instructions for me :/ ) Also I don't know how to take it apart lol As you can tell I have a lot of questions about this incubator so please answer asap I would greatly appreciate it =)

[HTCSWEOD]

I sent you a message, answering your questions regarding taking the unit apart. I'm wondering, since the other owner hat problems getting up to temperature, what wattage bulb is in it? And what space it was in during incubation. A 40 or 60 watt bulb will heat up much quicker. You can also tape bubble wrap around the circumference, this still allows the unit to turn and holds heat in better. Thanks for posting your questions.

[puggychu]

2 things I don't like about this unit.

1) I don't like the idea that big unit relys on a light bulb for heating source. There is much greater risk to lose a big batch of eggs from the light bulb going out due to many reasons.

I much perfer the heating coil type which is much more reliable and less likely to burn out as frequently as a light bulb.

2) The lid is not see thru so you can't see much inside the unit.

[HTCSWEOD]

Hi Puggychu,

Thanks for all your observations and comments.

I have never had a light bulb go out during a hatch... If you have an important full load and you can't see the unit, I recommend just putting in a new light bulb at the start of your hatch cycle.

I don't understand the comment about the lid not being see-through?  This video was shot through the lid... so I'm a little puzzled by that comment? Older units are less transparent.

Thanks again for viewing and sharing.

[puggychu]

Oh yes. I see now at 2:14 that the lid is simi transparent.

At 4:17 you refered to peeking at hatching chicks thru the hole so assumed the lid was not see thru.

[destroyahdes]

So cute and very informative.

[HTCSWEOD]

Thanks Des.... you're always so nice!