[Kimbo]

Well this evening I put the new Octagon into operation with 6 Cream Legbar and 6 Wyandotte eggs. Its my first time and to say im nervous is an understatement 

The eggs are a slightly different size but the incubator is big enough for me to keep them apart so I hope that wont be an issue.

My first question is about setting up the little metal dividers in the cabinet. Do I fit them to hold the eggs firmly or not? The instructions say that some small rolling between the dividers is OK but should I be trying to avoid that if I can?

The second question is going to sound really stupid; apologies. But how do they actually go in? Upright? lengthways? diagonally? Pointy end up or down? Does it matter? The eggs are resting pointy end down now but when they go into the cabinet that looks like it would be the most unstable position to choose.

Im sorry to be so dumb 

[HesterF]

We've all been there- there are no dumb questions (unless you've already asked them 20 times!). You put the eggs on their sides in an Octagon normally. So their length runs along the length of the incubator so when they turn (have you got a cradle or are you turning by hand?), they turn from one side to the other rather than from end to end. Some incubators you do put them pointy end down so the air sack is at the top but not in this case. See not a dumb question!

I have the bars in fairly tight but I also sometime use the foam in the middle of the dividers so that if they are moving slightly as they rock, they're not banging against the divider. It mostly depends how many eggs I've got to fit in and how much space. At the moment I'm loading ducks and geese which means I can get three across but they're tight so no room for foam in the dividers (also turned manually individually so a whole different thing).

If you're turning manually for chicken eggs, you can just turn the whole Octagon from one side to the other which is the joy of the design - you don't have to open the incubator and turn each egg. But I'd always forget to I have cradles.

Good luck - have you bought a light so you can candle them next week sometime? That's the really exciting part :-) (that and hatching of course).

H

[Eve]

I cover the bars with a bit of paper towel for padding, then space the bars far enough apart that I can take the eggs out for candling with ease and without risking breaking them (so not tight).
So if they're a bit snug but you can still take them out easily it's fine.

[Kimbo]

thank you so much. Thank goodness I asked!
Im off to pop them in now. The incubator turns automatically so that's one less thing to forget remember!

[Anke]

Well we always hatch our chicken eggs upright with the pointy end down/air sack upwards. As per instructions in the Octagon.... works well...

[HesterF]

Sorry! Anke's right - the pictures on their website have pictures with them pointy down. Whoops! Anyhow, I lay them on their side - certainly no way you could do duck or goose eggs that way and I think I'd be pushed with the chicken eggs. Probably means it's doesn't matter much (and in nature they're normally on their sides so it can't do too much harm).

[Kimbo]

Not to worry, they are in so Im leaving well alone. I agree, a hen wouldn't keep them on their ends so it probably wont make a lot of difference. Im far more concerned about whether we have one of our all-too-frequent power cuts in the next month

[Kimbo]

Me again!
Im faithfully following the Brinsea instructions but the water in the channels seems to dry up quicker than Brinsea predicts. Should I keep the water levels topped up ( just one channel in the Octagon 20 at the mo) or should I let the channel dry up and just replenish when the instructions say to?
Ive been scared by my neighbour who set 48 eggs in a cabinet incubator 4 weeks ago and only 8 hatched 

[Anke]

I always keep the chicken eggs at 50% humidity during incubation, and yes it means topping up the channels (I have two) every other day or so. Also make sure that the air vent is closed.

[chrismahon]

Whether you need to put water in or not depends on the ambient humidity in the room and the porosity of the shells. We have just hatched and only added water for a few days when the weather here improved and the room humidity dropped from 85% to 70%. The development of the air sac is what is important and Brinsea do a hatching guide you can download which has a sketch of the air sac development over the hatching period. You can run 'dry' for the first 8 days then candle (to discard clears) and add water if the sac appears too big. At the hatching stage, so days 18 -21, turning stops and the humidity needs to rise considerably.

[Kimbo]

Im candling tonight.
I do hope its clear what are and aren't viable eggs 

[NicandChic]

It's very clear 

[Kimbo]

quite right N&C, it was very clear!
Ive lost just one Cream Legbar. The other 11 look good and I cd actually see 2 of them moving in their shells. I didn't expect to see that    I hope the different sizes of eggs dont cause me problems in hatching as the Legbars are quite a bit bigger than the Wyandottes.
How disproportianately exciting this is!
Thank you for all your help to date XX

[Kimbo]

Another question im afraid.
Monday is lockdown day here  . I candled and removed the one infertile egg. Should I candle again before lockdown or just leave them to it?

[NicandChic]

If your sure about the rest I'd just leave them!

Exciting isn't it, I've a few due to hatch on Tuesday.

Just wait till you see one pip...they take proper yonks to hatch...achy neck bent over peering in! I was up all night with my first lot   

Good luck