Small incubators are a great artificial means of hatching chicks. Select only the best eggs for incubation, and discard any which have thin shells or fine hairline cracks.
Eggs must not be kept longer than 7 days before beginning the incubation process. The optimum temperature for egg storage is between 12 and 15 degrees C. Stored eggs must be turned each day to prevent membrane and embryo damage caused by sticking to the shell.
Factors for Successful Incubation
All incubators work best in rooms with steady temperatures of 20 degrees C. There are 3 factors for successful incubation:
- Temperature - If too cool, the chicks hatch late and are generally soft and weak. If too hot , the chicks hatch early, may be deformed, have bloody navels which refuse to heal, and are generally weak. The correct temperature varies depending on the type of machine being used.
- Humidity - Without adequate humidity, the egg loses too much moisture; too much humidity the egg loses too little moisture. Again, this is variable between the two kinds of incubators, due to air flow and ventilation methods.
- Egg Turning - The main reason for this is to float the embryo to fresh food within the egg and to move it away from its own wastes.Turning should take place at least 3 times each day and optimally more often.
Still Air and Forced Air Incubators
Still air incubators are the more tricky of the two to set up correctly. The incubator must be set exactly level or temperature anomalies will occur inside the egg chamber. Set the temperature to 103 degrees F. Humidity must be measured by regularly checking the air cell inside the eggs. Eggs of different sizes cannot be successfully incubated together in a still air machine.
Forced air incubators use a fan to move the warm air around the egg chamber. This means a wider range of egg sizes can be incubated together as the ambient air temperature is more evenly dispersed within the incubator.
Forced air incubators are usually set at 99 to 100 degrees Farenheit. Humidity settings can be measured with a wet-bulb thermometer with usual settings of 82 to 88 degrees For setting and 94 degrees F and over for hatching.
When turning eggs, it is best to use an external turning mechanism and to stop turning 3 days before the hatching date.
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