[Prod]

I bought a Brinsea EcoGlow off our favourite website.  It is as described, nearly new, and arrived the next day.  I set it up for my tiny little Nankin chicks and all seemed OK.   

When I got up this morning at about 6.30  all the chicks were lay outside the brooder and looked dead.  I picked them up to dispose of them but I felt heartbeats and one chirped so I quickly wrapped them in kitchen roll and ran my hands under the hot water tap and held them for a bout an hour, under my dressing gown and low and behold they all responded and after 2 hours two of them were right as rain  so I put them back in the incubator.  The third, although it did recover, was really tiny (& Nankin eggs are small to begin with) about half the size of the others died about an hour later.

I know I cant keep them in there permanently but the problem is that when I place & hold my hand on the black panel underneath the Eco Glow it doesn't feel that warm.  I rang Brinsea and they say that's how it should be.

Does anyway use one and can advise me??


Many thanks

[splash101]

I dont use anything as fancy as that so i dont know how it works.

Do you have a thermometer that you can put underneath it to get a temperature under the heat part. I use a cheap greenhouse thermometer but any one will do

[Prod]

Funnily enough my partner put the thermometer that we keep outside the front door underneath about an hour ago and it reads  70 deg F  which is warmer than the incy as that is 37.5   or am I missing something??

[splash101]

I think your conversions maybe wrong 

I've just googled the temp conversion and 70 deg f is only 21.1 deg c which is way too cold. 37.5c is 99.5 deg f

When i hatched quails, they had it even hotter for the first 18 - 24 hours as they are so tiny

Im a little puzzled though why they were outside of the brooder area, if they were cold they would normally huddle together directly under the heat rather than wander outside of the heat source.

If possible, leave the thermometer under the heat source and monitor it over 24 hours to see if it is running at a constant temp, or fluctuating.
I wonder if they got too hot at some point and then wandered off but its a bit strange that they didnt return to the heat source.

Its common to lose the odd one after hatching 

Can you alter the temperature on the brooder to increase it?

[Prod]

I spoke with Brinsea and they say the eco glow should have a temp of 35 deg C   I have had this one on all day with a thermometer underneath and it doesn't get above 23 deg C   so I have contacted the seller. If he bought it within the last 2 years it is still under warranty but that isn't transferable  & I cant wait for that to be sorted   Nankins are very rare and I know difficult to hatch  so I don't want to lose these last 2. Of the 6 eggs I ought 2 were infertile (candled at 8 and 10 days)  four hatched  but the third took over 24 hours to hatch and died very shortly afterwards.  The fourth hatched ok but was tiny, even it's egg was almost half the size of the others  so I kind of expected that it would live.  My friend has advised that, as they are so small, I keep them in the incubator for now  but not to close the lid fully  so they will not get too hot and there will be a corner which will be cooler.  I have them inside so they can benefit from room temperature as well. I just don't know what I should replace this brooder with. Some  people say dull emmiter lamps are better  but I don't know.....

[splash101]

All I use is (for chihckens) a large plastic crate with a lid and a smaller one for quails.
It has air holes drilled in it for ventilation.
A lightbulb holder is fitted to one side of the crate and a 60w red bulb.
When they start getting bigger, i use a plug in dimmer switch so i can adjust the lightbulb.

This is adequate for me as i only hatch on a small scale but if i were to do big hatches i would get a lamp that you can raise and lower.

You dont need it to be a plastic crate, you could use an indoor rabbit hutch ot even a hamster / bird cage whilst they are tiny with a clip on lightbulb holder.

Ive put some links below (sorry i dont know how to do the shortened links) to show you what you could use which, could be put together quickly.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2M-METER-LONG-FLEXIBLE-MAINS-PORTABLE-CLIP-ON-SPOT-LIGHT-HOLDER-FOR-BULBS-/121053441317?pt=UK_Light_Fittings&hash=item1c2f58ed25

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MEDIUM-CHICK-BROODER-BOX-WITH-2-BULBS-DRINKER-chicken-ducks-quail-eggs-/261191864300?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Poultry&hash=item3cd03f8fec

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dimmer-Socket-Switch-Light-Table-Lamp-Mains-Plug-in-Free-first-class-Delivery-/160836088678?pt=UK_Sound_Vision_Other&hash=item257293f366

[Mum2mj]

I used the ecoglow for my day old cream legbars - admittedly they were prob a but bigger than yours! I don't want to ask the obvious but is yours on the lowest height setting? They also suggest raising bantam & quail chicks up a little under the brooder using litter. Hope that helps a bit

Edit to add-Also the ecoglow is to be used inside

[Prod]

The first brooder I have was for when I bought some 4 day old Cream Legbars  and that is the plastic (storage) box type with a permanent light fitting and red fireglow bulb  and it worked great   but I had 8 chicks in it.  These Nankins, when they hatch, are like the little fluffy chicks you get on Easter Cakes. and, it is not a daft question, but it is on the lowest setting. The seller says it is a 2013 model, with the black underside, but he doesn't have a guarantee. He has offered to refund me if I send it back , have just checked the thermometer underneath and it is still only reaching 25deg C  and it is a plastic box with lid  not just out in the open  but I am unsure about what to replace it with.