The Chick
Chalet
Owners Manual
Avey Incubator, LLC.
Tech Support: www.aveyincubator.com/support.htm
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Chick Chalet
Owners Manual
I. Unpacking
A. Inspect for damage
1. Check for
damage when unpacking for the first time.
2. Unwrap the door(s). Slide the hinge long pin on the door
into the hole/slot in top of door frame until bottom (short) hinge pin clears
frame and drops into hinge hole. Place key in lock, close door and lock/latch
(lock serves as the latch too) Check for proper operation.
3. Fill water tray 2/3 full. (optional
on Chick Chalet Lite) The water wicks up into the
terry cloth washcloth hanging into the water tray. (Paper towels also work fine
in place of the terry cloth towel) The water tray installs on the inside right
hand side of the brooder. Slide the tab on the top of the water tray up into the gap
between the side wall and the inside top panel. Then let the water tray slide
down so the bottom tab is captured between the side wall and the inside bottom
tray. By adjusting the height of the crossbar holding the washcloth you can
achieve regulation of the humidity in the brooder.
B. The following items should be included
1. Chick Chalet
2. Air
filter
3. Owner's Manual
4. Humidity
water tray
C. Plug it in
1. The Chick
Chalet plugs into 120VAC and draws about 130 watts .
(185 watts for the large model)
III. Air Supply
A. A. The air supply completely changes about every 10 minutes, providing fresh air for the baby chicks. Air is recirculated, drawn up through the air filter, past the fan and heating elements, and humidity tray and then directed down the four corners of the Chick chalet.
B.
B. Cleaning
the air filter. (Optional on the Chick Chalet Lite) The
Air filter must be clean for proper air circulation. The air filter is located
in the center of the inside top. It covers the fan opening.The
Air Filter is removed by unscrewing the 4 nuts and removing the filter cover.
Rinse the filter material under the faucet and wring out to dry. Reinstall the
filter and cover. Do not install a wet air filter - you can damage the
temperature sensor. The temperature sensor is located between the air filter
and the fan. Don’t spray any liquid up into the fan opening. If you do, at some
point you will cause the temperature sensor to fail.
C.
C.
The air filter must be clean to allow proper air flow and
heating. A clogged air filter will cause
erroneous temperature
readouts.
IV. Adjusting the Chick Chalet
A. Selection knob
1. The
selection knob has 2 operations. Push in (momentarily then let go) to start and
push in to finish a selection and turn left or right to change the selection.
(Push in and then release - some people try to hold the knob in and then turn
the knob while it is held in - this won't work! Push in means push and release)
2. Passcode
a)
Your passcode is 5 (default)
b)
Push in the selection knob.
c)
When prompted dial in your passcode.
d)
Push in selection knob (and then let it out)
(i) If you wait too long the operation times out and the
Chick Chalet resumes normal operation.
(ii) If you dial in the wrong passcode the Chick Chalet
resumes normal operation
(iii) If you dial in the correct password the Chick Chalet
moves to the temperature selection screen .
3. Temperature Selection
A. Dial in the desired temperature.
B. Push in the selection knob to set.
C. Always
assess the baby when determining what is too hot or cold. A
baby that is too cold will huddle up against the side of the tub,
a baby that is too hot will stretch out or even hang their head over the side
when sleeping.
V. LCD (Liquid Crystal Display)
A. Displays the
temperature in both Celsius and Fahrenheit.
B. Automatically uses the last settings
even if the power has been off.
VI.
Cleaning
A. Windex and a soft cloth will be all
that is needed to keep your Chick Chalet clean. Spraying with Nolvosan or a 10%
diluted bleach solution will disinfect the Chick Chalet.
B. The clear
access door is made of a scratch resistant acrylic but for best performance
should be wiped with a clean cotton washcloth (not a paper towel. Paper towels
are more abrasive than cotton)
VII.
High/Low Temperature Alarm
B. The high
temperature alarm is pre-programmed for about 2 degrees higher than the
setpoint temperature.
C. The over high temperature scenario
includes:
1. Sun shining
through a window onto the Chick Chalet
2. At lower operating temperatures i.e. 80°f the birds
themselves may be big enough and old enough to generate their own heat to the
point where they over-temp the Chick Chalet.
a) If the high temp Alarm sounds - push in the selction knob to silence it and open the Chick Chalet to
vent some heat.
VIII.
From Day 1
A. Definition: Day One Baby is a baby 1
day old or less.
Run the
Chick Chalet at 98°f to start.
(With day one babies, I double
check everything so place a thermometer near the baby to double check the temperature setting. Adjust the brooder temperature
up or down to compensate. )
1.
Place the baby in a butter tub or container of your choice.
2. Place the
container inside a sandwich bag (or gallon ziploc
type bag) along with a soaked paper towel. Keep the paper towel separated from
the tub.
a)
The idea is to add extra humidity to just the area in the ziploc. DON'T SEAL (ZIP) the ZIPLOC!! The bag acts as a
shield so the air circulating in the Chick Chalet won't blow on and dry out the
baby. Even though the humidity tray will add humidity to the Chick Chalet, I
supplement that humidity for the first few days. After a week or so the baby
does not need the zip loc bag.
b)
Change the paper towel and bedding material in the tub at
every feeding. This warm moist environment will grow germs so extra vigilance
is required here. (True with any brooder).
B. Reduce the operating temperature of the
brooder on day 3 to about 97°f and look at the baby.
1. Always assess the baby when determining what is
too hot or cold.
a) A baby that is too cold will huddle up against the side of
the tub,
b) A baby that is too hot will stretch out or even hang their
head over the side when sleeping.
2. Every day or
two after that I reduce the temperature another degree. Assess the baby in the
brooder. (Is the baby acting too cold or warm?) So by the time their real down
feathers are coming in (2-3 weeks ) the temperature is
down in the mid 80's
a)
When fully down feathered they can be at "room
temperature". I'll leave them in the brooder (even turned off) and their
own body heat will keep them comfortable.
C. At this point I also lessen the amount
of dampness on the paper towel. Gradually over a period of
3-4 days allowing the baby to further dry out.
When placing older baby birds in the brooder
deduct ˝ degree
per day of age up to 12 days old for an approximate
starting temperature setting.
VIII. Humidity
a. Add humidity by adding water to the humidity tray. In extremely dry areas you may need to supplement the humidity with another pan of water placed in the brooder itself.
After about 3 weeks or so your baby parrot may be big enough to generate enough additional moisture on their own and extra water isn’t necessary anymore.
The adjustable
humidity tray mounts up on the inside of the brooder. To install, slide up
against inside wall and then down. To Adjust the humidity
level, vary the height of the cross arm holding the wash cloth. By
varying the height you also vary the surface area of wash cloth exposed to the
air for evaporation. Therefore a measure of humidity control can be
achieved.
This is the standard
tray provided with the Chick Chalet . For best
humidity control available, consider the available
as an option, digital
humidity control for use with
Chick Chalet II's.
This is one of the
most misunderstood features we offer. When we first designed the Chick Chalet
series we had a drawer that slid in the top that would hold water. We quickly
found that just a water tray did not provide enough surface area for
evaporation and the as a result the tray performed poorly.
But wait... that's
how the other brooders did it - how come ours performed so poorly? After
further research we found out that the other brands of brooders didn't perform
any better in adding moisture.
This is what started
us on the path that ended up with our digital humidity control that works so
well. But we also found that a water tray with a washcloth that dipped into the
water - acting as a wick - would provide a huge amount of surface area to
evaporate and achieved the goal of adding humidity (or water or
moisture).
The next step was
to make the bracket that holds the wash cloth adjustable so the amount of
surface area could be varied. This achieved approximately a 15% swing in
humidity from it's lowest setting to it's highest.
Normally from 35% to 50% humidity in the brooder - but these numbers can vary
based on temperature, ambient humidity and other factors.
This whole system
was very effective and easy to use. The water tray is easily removed. It is
dishwasher safe. The washcloth is easily replaced when it "gunks up" with mineral deposits. Which
is nice - no special pad or humidity block to hunt down.
Some people have
raised an objection to the water tray being accessible to the birds in the
brooder. My opinion is that if the baby birds are that mobile they are too old
to still be in the brooder - they should be in a starter cage by that
time.
A water tray that
is visible is more likely to be cleaned and sanitized. A drawer hidden in the
top puts the water (and all the gunk standing water accumulates) out of sight
and out of mind. Except the birds are breathing the air
anyway.
X. Warranty
A. The Chick Chalet carries a one
year parts and labor warranty. Shipping charges to and from our facility are the
buyer's responsibility. To get support,
fill out a support
ticket at www.aveyinc.com/support.htm to get started.
X1. Return Policy.
A. Returns will be accepted for 15 days after
shipping date on unused equipment returned in the original packaging.
You must call for return authorization or shipment will be refused. Shipping
charges and arrangements are your responsibility. A restocking charge of 20%
will be assessed. Packages must be insured. You need to call and notify us on
the day you ship your return, be prepared to supply your tracking number.
Door Installation Hints
The doors will go in without any binding or force. If you feel resistance or binding… then stop.
Insert
the top pin first, with the door a little more than 90 degrees from being shut
(basically wide open). The top pin is longer than the bottom pin. The Latch
should be oriented towards the bottom on 32”, double door models, and to the
right on 20” modes.
Slide
the door up, with the door panel moving into the notch or slot at the top.
Then slide door down so bottom hinge
pin slides into bottom hole in hinge pocket.
These
doors will provide trouble free service if not abused. But they will break if
forced or opened beyond their natural limit.
If
you do happen to break a door
– we will cover the breakage under warranty.
Addendum to Owner’s Manual
Digital Humidity Control
The ultrasonic humidifier replaces humidity tray. The
ultrasonic humidifier is placed as shown in this picture and the cord is
plugged into the outlet on the back of the brooder. 
Distilled water or filtered water (reverse osmosis) is necessary for extended trouble free operation. The white humidifier hose is pushed into the hole at the rear of the brooder. The hose end with the plastic disc goes in the humidifier.
Turn the switch on the humidifier to the high setting. When the incubator wants to add humidity the green light on the humidifier will also light up.
Setting the humidity level is just like setting the temperature. In fact it is the next menu screen after the “set temp” menu. The desired humidity range is between 40% – 50% relative humidity. Running at humidity levels in excess of 65% for and extended time will cause the electronics to fail prematurely.
The only problem I’ve seen with this humidifier is that sometimes it doesn’t put out any mist. Usually it happens after I have moved it when it had water in it. Somehow moving the humidifier will “swamp” it. The corrective action is to remove the water bottle, then empty the base of water and blot it dry with a paper towel, then replace the base and then replace the water bottle.
Read the owners manual included with the humidifier for additional information. Replacement humidifier can be purchased at www.americarx.com for about $47.00.