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Gqf 1502 incubator7/15/2023 This lets me see how the chicks are developing. On day 7 or thereabouts, I'll candle the eggs. I monitor humidity and temperature a few times each day and write those down on a notepad along with the date and time and any other observations. Once I've loaded the eggs into the incubator and filled the humidity tray and plugged in the incubator and egg turner, there's not a lot to do except wait. This makes it easier for the incubator to keep temperature and humidity stable. You also want a place out of direct sunlight where the temperature will be fairly stable. The tabletop incubators can't cool - they can only heat. The Incubation Roomįor incubation, you need a room where the temperature stays under about 85 (F). This is the time when hens typically go broody. In fall, hens are molting, and we're not getting many eggs, except those from first-year layers (pullets), which it's not as good to hatch from. And the eggs don't hatch as well as they do in spring. The eggs get warm sitting out in the nest boxes. In summer, when the weather's hot, the chickens are under more stress here in Texas. Why? Because in January and February, even though I'm getting lots of eggs, it's too cold to raise baby chicks conveniently. Sometimes fine, hairline cracks are hard or impossible to see without candling, but they show up easily when you candle.Ĭandling an egg to find a crack When Is the Best Time of Year to Incubate? Once I've narrowed down the set of eggs to just those of the best shape and size, I candle the eggs in a dark room to look for cracks. Neither do I incubate eggs that are excessively round or excessively pointed. If an egg is symmetric and football-shaped, I don't incubate it. For incubation, I want just the eggs that have a proper "egg shape," meaning large and round on one end and more pointed on the other end. Any eggs that are oddly shaped or much bigger than normal or smaller than normal, I'll use for eating and not for incubating. I examine the shape and size of each egg. You don't want dirt or manure sitting in the warm, moist environment of the incubator for 21 days. This hasn't seemed to noticeably affect the hatch. I don't like to incubate eggs older than that because few will hatch.Īlthough some sources recommend storing eggs at 55 (F) prior to incubation, I don't have a convenient way to do this, so I store them at room temperature out of direct sunlight. When I'm getting ready to hatch in an incubator or under a broody hen, I store eggs for 7 days (10 days in a pinch). For the most part, all that's needed during the hatch (as far as managing the incubator is concerned) is to monitor humidity and add water to one of the water troughs every few days. This incubator keeps the temperature very stable and works very well. The turner rotates the eggs back and forth 4 times in every 24-hour period. I use it with a 41-egg turner from the same company. It's a table-top, styrofoam-shell incubator with a digital thermostat, a built-in digital thermometer and hygrometer, and a small fan to circulate the air for more even temperatures. GQF Incubators - 1588 on left About the 1588 Genesis Hova Bator My preferred incubator up to this point is a GQF 1588 Genesis Hova Bator. Keeps the humidity at the right level to encourage proper development (45-55% relative humidity during most of the incubation period, then 55-65% the last few days).Keeps the eggs warm (at about 99.5 degrees (F)).Turns or rotates the eggs (or you can do this by hand, but it needs to be done several times a day).Each has certain advantages and disadvantages. There are two ways to hatch eggs: either under a broody hen or in an incubator. And it's essential if you're breeding your own chickens. Hatching and raising chicks from eggs from your own flocks is a way to renew your flock. It's interesting and enjoyable, and you can learn a lot in the process. You can perpetuate your chickens by hatching eggs from your own flock instead of needing to buy chicks every few years. Once you've gained some experience raising chickens, I recommend starting to hatch eggs.
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