How do I hatch in a Brinsea Ova-Easy?

The Brinsea Ova-Easy incubators are fantastic incubators for those looking to get more out of an incubator with increased hatching capabilities.

There are 3 ways to hatch in an Ova-Easy, the first being what we call 'All in, All out'. You set all your eggs at once and they all hatch at the same time, in situ, on the shelves within the incubator. This can be done in the full range of Ova-Easy incubators: Ova-Easy 100, 190, 380 and 580. You set your eggs and once you come to the final 3 days you turn the egg turning off, level the shelves, remove the dividers, place the lid on the tray and increase the humidity and wait for them to hatch.

The second way is 'Multi-stage incubation'. You set batches of eggs at different points normally roughly a tray a week apart. When a batch reaches the final 3 days, you transfer the eggs into the hatching tray and place in the bottom of the incubator.  (This is possible in the Ova-Easy 190 and 380 incubators.). Once you've moved the eggs into the bottom of the incubator, you then replace the tray you removed with a fresh new batch. At this point you have two options. You can 'dry hatch' where you don’t increase the humidity (an option chosen by many breeders, who find it a very successful way of hatching especially in areas where the humidity is naturally already quite high), Or you increase the humidity setting. Don't worry. This won't affect the other eggs you still have turning. Humidity works on an average so it doesn’t have to be exactly on 45% or 50% until hatching. It will only be at a higher level for 3 days, the rest of the time it will be at the lower level as long as you set your eggs far enough apart, but this is also where egg weight loss comes in useful you may find you don’t need to increase the humidity depending on the weight loss.

The final way is to use a separate hatcher. You can use a hatcher whether you are doing 'All in, All out' or 'Multi-stage' incubation. Remove the eggs and place them in a separate incubator for hatching time. This gives you full control of the temperature and humidity without the worry of affecting your other eggs. Ideally, it is always best practice to use a separate incubator to hatch in.

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