Incubator Tips - Chicken and Poultry Tips

in Animals on the Farm

If you're thinking about hatching some of those extra eggs and don't have a broody hen you can always try an egg incubator.

If money is tight, find a used incubator (see some below) or grab one of the cheaper models. (Beware with the cheaper models however - they often hold only a dozen eggs which will require manual daily turning. I have been told that the success rate with these smaller manual units are only about 50%. Likely due to heat loss when the lid is opened for egg-turning.)

Pre-Storing Eggs for Your Incubator Schedule

If you just have a few hens and need to store eggs until you've accumulated enough for the incubator, eggs can be stored in a cool place for up to 3 months. Don't wash them before you 'store' them. I've been told that the refrigerator is a fine place, the other keeps them in the basement. I've kept mine in the basement in some damp straw (not sloppy or wet, just not dried out and old) in a bucket for 10 days in waiting with success.

Not sure if this is a wives' tale, but another reader has written in to say that round eggs are roosters and oval ones hens. If you're hoping for more hens than roosters, try selecting only oval shaped eggs.

Incubation Period - Timeline

Place the eggs into the incubator and in 21-22 days at 98 degrees your eggs should start hatching. There are many types of incubators on the market. Check the unit's operating manual for specific instructions on turning, heat settings and moisture control. Truly the incubator with an automated turner and temperature regulator make this job easy.

Checking Un-hatched Eggs while Still in Incubation

You can 'candle' eggs to see if the chick has progressed in its growth inside the egg at about 15 days. A cheap make-do contraption for candling eggs can be made using an old shoebox and a bare light bulb (I use a mechanics light because it has a wire cage around it ensuring that the light bulb doesn't burn the sides of the box.)

Insert the light through the side of the box, cut a 2" hole in the top of the box and tape the sides so no light leaks out. Turn off the lights in the room, turn on the candling box and place an egg on top of the hole on top of the box. You should see an outline of the chick and some fluttering movement as the light shines through the egg, or some other movement within at this stage. The light change in the egg itself will cause a living chick to move around. If you see life, quickly place the egg back into the incubator.

I only resort to this tactic if I am 99% certain the egg is a dud...

If the day has passed for hatching and you're losing faith in your egg incubator you can also 'check' an egg by gently cracking the shell (leaving the membrane intact). The membrane is the last phase of life for the chick before cracking the shell. The air pocket between membrane and shell is where the chick takes its first breath of life giving it strength to crack through the shell. This practice is highly controversial and has serious potential for damaging the chick inside.

The First Three Weeks of Life

Once your chicks are born you must keep them under a heat lamp for the first 3 weeks or so (don't skimp on cash here, the chicks cannot afford a chill). Check in on them often in the first week. If they are piling on top of each other to keep warm or directly under the lamp you'll need to lower the lamp or purchase a hood to spread the heat. If they are standing at their boxes edge to escape the heat, raise the lamp so they don't overheat.

Feed your chicks a chick starter from the feed store and ensure they always have clean water. You may need to 'show' them the water by gently dipping their beaks into the water dish. When the weather permits and the chicks are old enough you can move the out from under the light and into the hen house.
 

Finally, a word of caution on chicks hatched from an incubator....

While these chicks are young you might like to keep them separate from your existing flock. Some hens are known to dislike new stock coming in and in an effort to maintain pecking order could actually harm the baby chicks. Take extreme measures and integrate new stock into existing flocks with caution.

Want more information on chickens? Keeping a backyard flock.