Anyone here incubate chicken eggs here?

[jmorris]

Title is the question, kind of out in left field but there seems to be a lot of diverse knowlege here and starting another project my kid might like.

[country gent]

We incubated eggs a few times cant remeber alot of it I do remeber eggs had to be fertile ( meaning hens with rooster) store eggs dont work LOL. I think they were sprinkled with water every morning and turned gentle 1or2 times a day. If memory serves its 28 days from start to hatch. Our incubator used a light bulb for warmth dont remeber temp needed to maintain or wattage of light bulb used either. I can remeber mom candling the eggs to check them. a light bulb with out shade egg held between it and you iluminates and shows whats inside. I think she was looking for what she called a blood spot that showed the egg to be fertile. One thing to remeber any eggs that dont hatch handle very carefully as the are probably rotten.

[rancher1913]

humidity is very very important. otherwise what county gent said. you can get elcheepo incubators but don't expect a high hatch rate with them.

[Beagle333]

'Not hard. A styrofoam incubator will yield more chickens than you know what to do with. Just use a good thermometer and watch the humidity carefully. Better equipment definitely increases yield.

[Vopie]

Incubated thousands of Pheasant eggs in the past, big thing is temp. and humidity control. Go to the 4-H office or web site, lots of good info there......

[Rattlesnake Charlie]

A real life sitting hen knows how to do it.

[joesig]

The incubator we used had a motor to rock the eggs and a heater for warmth. An adjustable opening to set the temp (99? degrees. It's all in the instructions by bird breed) and troughs to set the humidity level. It did take a few dry runs to get the temp right and steady. We did chickens and guinea hens (different duration/temps) If you have healthy hens and a rooster go for it.

[jcren]

Not that hard. The foam still air incubators work fine if you don't mind being involved. Keep a little water in the bottom, keep the temp steady and turn eggs frequently.

[C. Latch]

Sort of.

We have a hen that went broody about a week ago. Last year she and another hen hatched off over 20 eggs, but varmints got them all.

[jmorris]

Ok, I dug around my pile(s) of "junk" and this is what I have so far.



I have read temp is pretty critical and can maintain less than a half degree of variation but I have so many different ways to measure temp I don't know what one is right.

I have a digital humidity control on the way will likely use it to turn on an air pump for a fish tank to push too humid air out and fresh dry(er) air in when it gets too humid.

Any other suggestions?

That is just a test/stunt egg, getting the "real" eggs tomorrow.

[nagantguy]

We have a buff orphanington hen who will go broody at the drop of a hat, she's a great incubator whom controls her own temp and humidity, if we didn't drive her off a nest now and then she would set until she died..she's on a nest now in about two weeks we shod have our first peepers, she's 4 years old and this is her 5th or 6th hatch. When she gets broody we just stick eggs under her , if they are not fertile or not to her liking she'll just roll them out, she seems to like 7 at a time. Never did a electric incubator, we've had chickens 4 years and have never had to.

[country gent]

Nangantguy, reaching under a brooding hen can get the living **** pecked out of you. They get pretty defensive of that nest. Our nest had an opening in the front for the chickens and a smaller in the back to reach thru if needed. The wonder of seeing them actually hatch is really something to see ifyour lucky enough to be there when they start pecking thru. When they break out of the shell they are so frail and cute but then they become chickens

[country gent]

Nangantguy, reaching under a brooding hen can get the living **** pecked out of you. They get pretty defensive of that nest. Our nest had an opening in the front for the chickens and a smaller in the back to reach thru if needed. The wonder of seeing them actually hatch is really something to see ifyour lucky enough to be there when they start pecking thru. When they break out of the shell they are so frail and cute but then they become chickens

[jcren]

Humidity doesn't need to be that precise. A small hole (dime-quarter depending on size of unit) in the top is adequate. Anything pumping in outside air will cause a draft and cold spots. A simple tray of water in the bottom of the incubator will serve fine, eggs are permeable and you don't want to dry the little tellers out. On airflow, a very small computer fan can be pointed away from the eggs to circulate air like a convection oven and will usually improve the hatch.

[OBIII]

Google is your friend...

http://www.grit.com/animals/incubati...cken-eggs.aspx

http://modernfarmer.com/2015/04/how-...-chicken-eggs/

[jmorris]

Google is your friend...

http://www.grit.com/animals/incubati...cken-eggs.aspx

http://modernfarmer.com/2015/04/how-...-chicken-eggs/

Yep, read them both and others. The two you linked to have conflicting information, why I decided to seek out first hand knowlege from folks that do/have done it.

[nagantguy]

Yes we have a side and back door on our nesting box ,I use a piece of cardboard in one hand, for her to peck at and use the other hand to place, remove, mark the eggs if necessary.

[Wolfer]

I've never incubated any. My hens seem to do it just fine. The varmints do get a lot of them but I've trapped 11 possums and 13 coons out of the barn in the last few months. I'm hoping the two hens setting now make it.

I would like to deviate a little about an experiment I tried. My daughter had a bunch of chickens they had got from a nursery. These will be incubated for sure. While they layed eggs fine they wouldent go broody. When one of my Banties started setting I got some eggs from my daughter and traded them out under my hen. Only two of the chicks were hens but they each raise two to three settings each summer.

My conclusion from this very informal experiment is that a hen that wasn't raised by a momma may not have any momma instinct. For whatever reason these are the two most defensive hens I have when it comes to messing with their eggs or babies. Padded gloves may not be necessary but will certainly be appreciated.

[Beagle333]

The varmints do get a lot of them but I've trapped 11 possums and 13 coons out of the barn in the last few months. I'm hoping the two hens setting now make it.

My area is not chicken-friendly either. I'd need a tractor trailer as a trap for the coons, possums and neighbor's dogs running loose around here.
I hope you got a nice secure spot for em, jmorris. 'Best of luck with it!

[C. Latch]

My area is not chicken-friendly either. I'd need a tractor trailer as a trap for the coons, possums and neighbor's dogs running loose around here.
I hope you got a nice secure spot for em, jmorris. 'Best of luck with it!

You don't know how many woodland critters you have for neighbors until you get chickens. We've had an increase of mice problems, a bear knocked over the chicken feed barrel, and everything in between. We've killed a ton of critters since we started keeping chickens.