Janoel Model 12 Premium incubator

[Jenni]

Well my new incubator arrived today. The Janoel Model 12 Premium from Poultry Australia.. Order was easy to place and delivery was fantastic, arrived within the week of order.

The incubator is made in china but its not the no name copy version so I hope it lasts a little longer.
Has auto turner for 9 lg chicken eggs or if you want to hand turn you can go 30+ bantams. Me.. I'm only doing quail and in small numbers so auto turner for me.

I have been running it now for over 6 hours and keep checking the temp on the display against my own thermometer and its right on the money which is a great start. The fan is also surprisingly quiet. Humidity I need to keep an eye on manually.

 

[Mark]

I've read these smaller incubators are excellent for temperature control (obviously due to the size) so hatch rates are pretty good.

It looks compact and good quality! I can't remember ever visiting Poultry Australia's website before I wonder if they're rather new in the last few years?

I see they sell eggs too and brooder equipment etc.

When do you plan to use it? Have you got some eggs already?

 

[Jenni]

Not sure how long they have been around. I wanted to buy off an Australian supplier in case something went wrong with the device. Just makes things a bit easier.

I am going to try and see if I can get some eggs from quail kingdom at jimboomba if they are open being along weekend. Was thinking of starting off with 12 eggs and maybe 5 live birds... what you think?

Also going to pop into the pet expo that is on here this weekend to see whats there.

 

[Mark]

Was thinking of starting off with 12 eggs and maybe 5 live birds... what you think?

That sounds like a good start Jenni. Quail grow fast so you'll be breeding your own soon!

If you are getting live birds it's better to get sexed ones that way you won't end up with all males (you only need one male per 5 females).

 

[Jenni]

I am at day 14 and taken the eggs off the turner. I haven't worried too much about humidity only really added water now and only a little bit to help with the hatching process.

 

[Mark]

This is so exciting! The hatching area has excellent vision see through all round is it?

 

[Jenni]

Yeah really great view.. all around. Exciting and nervous all at the same time.

 

[Jenni]

Well... Exciting news.. I am now a mum to 8 new additions for the quail collection.

Out of the 12 I had ..
3 that didn't hatch and when opened was yolk.
1 that I decided to euthenaise as it kept going downhill.

I had them start to hatch on Monday and last one today (wed). So they went into brooder in stages.

All seem to be doing great. 2 hatched today and are a little weak but running around in the brooder with others so will see how they are traveling by morning.

So I would have to say the process was a success..

Just need more eggs..

 

[Jenni]

 

[Mark]

Congratulations!

That's a pretty good hatch rate - cute aren't they?

I won't be hatching out anymore quail until I get my incubator sadly... On the good side, I've been lucky with natural hatching from ducks and now chickens today (will create a new thread about them soon).

It's amazing how fast quail grow and develop in the egg! Incredible how they go from yolk to a fluffy bird in 17 days...

 

[Jenni]

Yeah they are so cute. And each has a personality all ready. I am also surprised how fast they move for such little fellas...

How long do they stay in the brooder for?

Brooder is a poly box, esky size. Will I need to move them to an interim bigger space?

Dude

 

[Mark]

What a cute Dude!

How long do they stay in the brooder for?

Usually about 4 weeks but in warmer months they can often be ready for release in 3 weeks.

Right at the point when they get all their adult feathers is a good sign for release into the pen and you will see they are not using or needing the heat source anymore.

Brooder is a poly box, esky size. Will I need to move them to an interim bigger space?

Without knowing the full dimensions of your brooder, I would say yes for 8 quail because in a week or two they will be quite large for a standard sized esky. Also, in a brooder you want a heated area and a cooler area for the birds to escape and help acclimatise. You'll find some chicks will want more heat than others initially so the brooder shouldn't be the one temp all the way through.

You can make a really good throwaway brooder out of a large cardboard box and have the heat lamp at one end with the drinkers and feeders moved further away each week to encourage the birds to wean off the heat. There's heaps of different ways and designs to make a diy brooder. I use a modified rabbit cage divided in quarters where I can use one quarter when they are small and then open the other side as they get bigger and less dependant on the heated side - there's many ways to do it.

Of course, you could keep the 8 chicks in a smaller sized area and continue to turn down the heat by a few degrees each week and replace the floor litter more often - that'd work too.

 

[Jenni]

Thanks for the tips.. I will head off to bunnings and get a large cardboard box and move them in to give them a bit more room.

How much should the temp be dropped? If its 30 outside today would that mean I can turn the heat lamp during the day and back on at night?

 

[Mark]

Just monitor the temp within the brooder itself. I use one of those indoor/outdoor thermometers with the outdoor sender unit (you can get them quite cheap). I place the outdoor sender unit in the brooder velcro to the wall or somewhere and have the main display sitting somewhere handy so you can monitor the temp. On a hot day, the brooder lamp might need to be turned down and then back up into the evening.

When the birds first come out of the incubator the temp within the vicinity of the lamp should be at about 37 C then drop the temp down gradually 3 or 4 degrees each week. If you see the chicks piling up on top of each other the temp is too cold. If you see the chicks panting and staying far away from the heat it's too hot. If the chicks are evenly spaced and going about their business the temp is perfect!

The book says to brood chicks for about 4 weeks but mine are often developed enough to release into the community after week 3.

 

[Jenni]

Thanks. I have made them a much bigger house so they can get away from heat. I turned the light of today when we hit 40deg.

If can find them you will notice they are all in the food container. Boy do they eat...

I am so surprised how quickly they are changing. Starting to get wing feathers already you can watch them grow. They must be related to bamboo.

 

[Mark]

They're camouflaged in that litter hey! Yeah bamboo indeed Did you know they are supposedly the fastest growing land animal? So they reckon... Apparently whales (I know they're in the ocean) are the fastest growing mammal/animal - don't quote me on this but I read it somewhere. Now I'm just starting to pull "facts" out of the air I wish I would write down where I read these things LOL...

 

[Jenni]

Have just had first failure with incubation.

1. Put 15 eggs in incubator
2. Two days after putting in temps here reached over 41deg and incubator temp hit 40deg so had to turn off and on to stop overheat.
3. at day 14 turned them off rotate
4. At day 15 2 birds hatched and noticed all eggs pipped but most birds dead. A a couple of eggs still in incubator with live birds inside.
5. today rest of birds seem to have died
6. Have put thermometer in temp was 43 although screen said 38. Took lid of and cooked system down put lid on and it quickly rise to 39.1 deg.

Conclusion I think incubator has overheated birds and won't work in high current hot temperatures... Very disappointing because girls are laying lots of eggs and I wanted to build up stocks. On instructions it says works best at 28deg although doesn't say at what temp out won't work at...

 

[Mark]

Geez that's a real shame Jenni

If it's any consolation, I would be surprised if there are any poultry breeders who hasn't had a failure exactly the same.

Most incubators do need a pretty stable room operating temperature especially the smaller ones. Maybe place it somewhere cooler? I guess that's stating the obvious.

The good news is at least your birds are laying plenty of eggs!

 

[Jenni]

Yeah was a real shame.. Was my first batch of eggs not a good start and on new year... Then on top my isolated male quail died for some reason overnight.

My parents have a two story house so I think I will collect some more then incubate my next batch there when they get home from holidays next week. It definately sits at cooler temperature inside the house.