Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Poultry and Pets => Poultry FAQs and other Information => Topic started by: Aunt Sally on March 05, 2010, 17:18

Title: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: Aunt Sally on March 05, 2010, 17:18
A lot of people want to hatch and raise their own chicks.

I know nothing about this so please add your own information, experiences and advice to this topic.  Moderators may add any useful links that they find as things go along.

TMG has sugested some areas that could be covered

"all about incubators" (people could post why their incy is good or rubbish)

"hatching with a broody or incy" (this could be do's and don't of setting eggs, temperature and humidity and just about anything)

"when things go wrong"  (we've all done it, help them out or not? time from pipping to hatch ect) and

"caring for your chicks" ....(heat, feeding, the great outdoors etc.)

Please make any posts consise and useful.  No acres of words please, just make it easy to read.
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: Nails on March 05, 2010, 18:56
I think this will be a really useful post Aunt Sally, given the problems i have had over the last few days, i had loads of useful info given to me thanks to Caralou, TMG to name a couple, i think the one thing i have learnt over the last few days is to keep the humidity up, whether that is by spraying eggs, or putting wet sponges in the inncy, and NOT to keep opening it up, just let them get on with it, the ones that have been left to do it on there own over night, have all been fine fluffy and ready for food when i put them in the brooder, the one i interfered with has died.
i know a few people on here have loads more experience with Hatching and i look forward to reading their posts.
Donna
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: too many girls on March 05, 2010, 19:01
what kind of incy do you have Donna? it does sound like you had problems with the humidity, what with sponges and spraying i felt the humidity may well have been too high (unhatched chicks may well have drowned in shell) i just wondered if your humidity reader could have been incorrect/broken?
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: Nails on March 05, 2010, 19:18
It was to low i think, sometimes just hitting 65% the eggs membranes kept drying out and going hard, but i think i may have caused some of that by keep opening the inncy, and letting the cold air in. Inncy i a Novital covatutto 20 Automatic.
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: massa on March 05, 2010, 19:39
i was thinking about having a go at making my own incy, has anyone done this and if so has it been successful?
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: lisa80 on March 05, 2010, 20:12
we just had a very sucessful hatch using a r com pro temp 37 and humidity 45% on day 18 humidity up to 60% we had 11 hatch out of 15 :)however they are alot of money we hired ours and have just bought a standard r com so will let you all know how we get on.The good thing with the pro is we didnt have to do anything other than top up water.Also the temp and humidity literally took seconds to go back up after candling/removing chicks etc :) :)if your thinking of making your own incy i would suggest some way to turn the eggs without opening the lid this would help with temp and humidity        lisa
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: raeburg on March 06, 2010, 18:01
I have just taken delivery of a Brinsea mini advance so will let you know how i get on.  I have had mixed results from the octogen 10 auto turning.  ( I have small incubators so I don't hatch too many).
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: newhen on March 06, 2010, 21:27
Great topic, thanks. I get my first incubator next week and desperately looking for eggs!

If anyone knows the best place to look for eggs please let me know.
I will let you know how I get on..

I am getting a mini advance auto incubator which is only small but apparently popular with schools as it's really clear so we will see the hatching process. It will hold 7 eggs but I will enjoy trying to hatch a few times rather than having lots together. 

Now looking for a brooder if anyone has any recommendations.
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: too many girls on March 06, 2010, 21:55
i started off with a covatutto 16 manual (it's meant to hold 16 hens eggs but i've only ever managed to get 12 in)
when that wasn't big enough ;) i got a Brinsea octogon 20 eco semi automatic (meant to fit 24 eggs but again i found 20 a squeeze)
and then........................
i got one that holds 72 eggs (does fit 72 too) fully automatic,
my most succesful hatches have come from the Brinsea, the last hatch was 12 ducklings from 12 viable eggs (some that had addled or were not fertile had been candled out)
i'm currently using the Brinsea for my first hatch this year, 2 weeks to go :D
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: GrannieAnnie on March 07, 2010, 00:05
Great topic, thanks. I get my first incubator next week and desperately looking for eggs!

If anyone knows the best place to look for eggs please let me know.
I will let you know how I get on..

I am getting a mini advance auto incubator which is only small but apparently popular with schools as it's really clear so we will see the hatching process. It will hold 7 eggs but I will enjoy trying to hatch a few times rather than having lots together.  

Now looking for a brooder if anyone has any recommendations.


Hi Newhen. Little brooders are really easy! I've got 3.  2 are big plastic storage boxes from Wilko, the biggest ones they have.  Hubby cut a big square out of the top of one of them and over the top I put an old fridge shelf which because its strong can take the lamp so I don;t have to hang the lamp off of anything.  My other little brooder box is an old kitchen wall cupboard which hubby made a weldmesh cover for.  I have also made an emergency brooder out of 2 bits of a banana box ends opened out and stapled together to make one long box!

My little heat lamps are just a red light bulb in a socket with the cable plugged into a wall socket, and the lamp shades are little metal ones bought from Wilko for £5.  At the moment I've only got a picture of the wall cupboard one, but it will give you an idea.

Ooops, found one of the banana box brooder too!!!
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: newhen on March 07, 2010, 19:30
thank you.. I'm sure we will be able to make something now, seems simple.   :) I've ordered my eggs too.. I've given a few suggestions incase of availability but fingers crossed I get some silkies in there.

Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: joyfull on March 12, 2010, 08:11
This thread is a wonderful idea as I am helpless in giving any advice when it comes to incubator hatching as I have only ever hatched using broodies so thanks TMG and Aunt Sally  :)
Title: Incubation
Post by: Brown hen on March 12, 2010, 12:17
Hi
I am back after the big clean out last year.
 
I bought a RCOM PRO so very this is automatic.  The only thing that is concerning me is the candling.  I put the incubator in the cellar as advised in the “incubating at home book by Michael Roberts, but it is quite cold down there and when I open the lid of the incubator the temperature falls like a stone.

It would be a great help if anyone could help me on the following question.

Do I have to lift the eggs out to candle or can I leave them in the incubator and just put the light on them.

Would it be a good idea to place a heat light over the incubator for the candling period as I am not going to be as quick as a professional.  
Title: Re: Incubation
Post by: lisa80 on March 12, 2010, 12:43
we used a pro last time they do recover their temp very quickly but i wouldnt put it in the cellar if its too cold .candeling is a 2 person job really i lifted the lid while hubby took egg out and candled.The temp hardly dropped at all which is why i say maybe yours is some where that is a bit too cold :)
Title: Re: Incubation
Post by: too many girls on March 12, 2010, 12:47
in the cellar? any room with a stable temp would do, ie unused bedroom, (i have mine in my bedroom, that way i can watch them hatch and watch telly at the same time  ::))  
you need to take the eggs out to candle them effectively, put the light at the big end where the air sac is, be carefull not to twizzle them as this can cause the embryo to break away from the shell, you only need to candle them  at 7 days and then again at 14, remove any infertile or addled ones, good luck...........
ps there is a sticky on incubation and hatching at the top of the hen house.
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: traacyken on March 12, 2010, 13:31
im getting my broody monday,  looking around and on too, ive found the heat lamps with the energy saving infa red bulbs are around£30 ish with pnp. does anyone know where i could get one cheaper?. or poss rig something up. :unsure: for when and if they hatch when i get them
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: pandora on March 12, 2010, 14:16
Can anyone give me the advantages of a RCom 20 over a Suro? I'm not sure which one to buy, but all the reviews for the Suro seem very good, I just don't know why it is cheaper than the others. I'd like an incubator I have to do nothing with but check! Ie I don't want to be having to turn the eggs myself etc. 

I'd rather use broody hens, but the Silkies I bought over a year ago just for this purpose must be the most prolific laying, least-broody Silkies ever to walk this earth!
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: Chookiechook on March 12, 2010, 22:08
Hiya...

I can give you some first hand findings.... :)  I have both... 2 x suro and 1 x rcom 20 pro.

suro... .looks the biz.... easy to use etc..... but fiddly to set up.... eggs (although it takes more eggs) are very squeezed in.... all on end to fit in the 24.... hatching is a real squeeze and visibility is weird with the curvy plastic which distorts your view.  Its messy as you have the pump for the water and a water bottle, as well as two electric leads... one for the turner and one for the upper part..... I managed to upset the bottle the first day by moving the bator and not the bottle or pump ::)

To take the eggs out you have to take the whole top off and lay it down somewhere.... the first time I took an egg out I fumbled it and dropped it on the floor..... luckily for me, but sad.... it was already dead in the shell... but it would have been horrific if it had been alive.  Perhaps I am just clumsy, but I find it a bit difficult.

The Pro on the other hand, is a doddle to set up, has one lead, no external pumps or water bottles.... takes less eggs but all are laid down and well spaced out so therefore more room to hatch out.  The viewing window is easily lifted off and very easy to see through..... no taking off the whole of the bater top!!    The pro has a countdown type electronic display that tells you exactly how long there is to go and automatically adjusts the temps and humidity for the hatching part...... 

Both are easy enough to clean.... but one of the suros i bought second hand... having been used only once apparently, is pretty scratched on the viewing part.... so you would need to be careful not to do the same :(

Having bought the suros first, I can honestly say that I would buy the pro everytime.

BUT I have yet to have hatching results from the pro..... the suro let me down big time...... I set 24 good eggs.... all but three were fertile and went to full term, but only four hatched.....  the rest all died before hatching.

Not really sure what went wrong.... checked temps and humidity with independant gadgets afterwards and all fine, but at the time of hatching the humidity was off the scale!!  This is what I put it all down to, untill I checked afterwards..... Bit of a mystery really.
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: GrannieAnnie on March 12, 2010, 22:34
Although not an expert at hatching, I did put on here earlier 2 of my little brooder box attempts.  Here's a photo of the other 2.  Not set up properly here, but I thought I'd get them out of their storage and just show you what I use for small numbers of chicks.

The first day they came out of the incubator, I used kitchen towel for them to run on, but then I put in some shavings, and laid an old clean pillowcase (which I buy cheap) over the top.  It helps to stop them slipping and maybe getting spraddle leg, and is also nice and absorbent.  Once they know their way around and can find the food properly, I carefully take the pillowcase away and I've got nice clean shavings under them.

I buy the pillowcases really cheap at auctions and boot sales etc.

Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: massa on March 14, 2010, 19:41
do you make your own incubators Granieannie?
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: joyfull on March 14, 2010, 20:31
Wildwitchy made her own incubator last year, so may be worth pm ing her if you want to know how she did it.
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: GrannieAnnie on March 14, 2010, 22:28
No Massa, afraid not!  I did have the instructions for making one out of an old fridge, that was in the Smallholder magazine once, but never got the nerve to try it.  I sent the instructions to RichyRich, but I don't think he's tried it either yet!

With the high prices of incubators, we decided to look at China.  Found a lovely one on there, worked out at £360 for 264 eggs, fully auto.  They make them up to order and it was with us in a month, but with all the import and port and security etc charges, it cost us another £316 to get it here!

Transport from Shanghai to Felixstowe was £40, but transport from Felixstowe to Lincolnshire was £70 !!   :ohmy:

It's a lovely incubator though.  Fully auto temp and humidity, and a really loud alarm if any of them go too high or low.  They even sent a new fan and a couple of other spares that I can't remember what they are, but useful if anything goes wrong.

And now we have Rosa and Bella the white silkies trying to sit on the same eggs, so hopefully I'm sorted for small numbers!!   :D :D
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: IMOmimey on March 29, 2010, 13:40
sorry, I dont totally agree.

I have a hilume candler, and a very quick look, WITHOUT lifting the egg is how I do it. I only lift out any that Im unsure of, so i can look more thoroughly. Lid opening needs to be kept to an absolute minimum, and 18 days is the LOCKDOWN, so I check them at that point, as I remove the inserts and put a hatching mat in place. If you have your incubator in a really cold place, the incubator will be using a lot of electricity too, and opening the lid with such a sudden drop in temperature will affect your hatch badly. Keep inci in a stable temp room, sort of at comfy room temp...NOT under a window, or near a radiator.

I candle at 7-9 days, ish, then leave them til lockdown day, when i raise the humidity to 65% (just poka a bit of loo roll in one of the vent holes) and lower temp to 37

My brooder, I do what Teapots always says, USE A CARDBOARD BOX.  small boxes when they v.young, it is draughtproof too. The when its yukky, throw it out. Simples. as they get older, use  bigger boxes, and by about 3 weeks you will need a wire top to stop them flying away.
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: TeaPots on March 30, 2010, 22:52
Yeah, cardboard boxes every time...reduces risk of bacteria, recycles, perfick  :tongue2:
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: GrannieAnnie on March 30, 2010, 23:10
That's what I did as an emergency measure last year. 

I clipped the tope and bottom of a banana box together lengthwise, removing the middle section.  put netting over the top and a little box at one end for them to sleep in.  My Araucanas were in it for a while.  Then just put it on the bonfire when they'd finished with it!

 
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: TeaPots on March 30, 2010, 23:31
see? it doesnt have to cost a lot. cardboard box, and a study lamp angled over it, simples.
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: newhen on March 31, 2010, 16:13
I have my first hatch!  a quail  :D   so cute. 
Just hope my other eggs will start hatching.  :D
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: Hayley'sHens on March 31, 2010, 19:28
Wheres the photo Newhen?
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: Brushcutter on March 31, 2010, 20:48
Rearing chicks is great fun. We have allways used a broody hen, eggs off ebay or friends.
 No chicks this year, personally i have weighed up the joy and fun aspect of chick vs killing the unwanted cockerels, and i cant stomach it.
It is a tricky thing, you cant keep all those cocks that hatch, allways seems they are easier to hatch than hens.
 Then they fight, get agressive to your favourite hen, look great but dont lay eggs and are noisy!
Very difficult to rehome unless its to some scumbag who wants to use 'Free To Good Home' cockerels to train their fighting cocks.
I urge anyone who cant kill there own birds not to hatch chicks.
Apologies for the seriousness of the post but it needs to be said, i dont want to lecture anyone, im sure everyone here is responsible in there poultry keeping.

Happy Hatching! :wub:
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: traacyken on March 31, 2010, 22:04
i know what you mean :( ive got 15 eggs in the inky for the first time ever. dont want some idiot getting hold of any boys for figthiting small men with no b...s geting satisfaction from watching other males from whatever speicies fight >:( ive read on here how to kill older ones know its awfull but with the good meathods on here, a video or pics (the vid esp) would be fantastic s to us new ones could be certian the right way to  kill the boys esp young ones day old on kindly. ive 6 self sexing chicks out of them all, its one thing reading about it but another to be shown.id be happy to give them away but like you say they often go to  small men witrh smaller pants, unless the lovely lot on here. thats if i get some babys at all x
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: lisa123 on April 01, 2010, 08:08
hi i tried to make my own incy out of polystyrene, a light fitting and two bowls of water, a bit of tape, a glass off a photo frame. the humidity was perfect and so was the temp for a while but then it kept rising so will have to do fase two, have got to get hold of a thermostat. but it prooves that it dosnt have to cost alot. :)
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: joyfull on April 01, 2010, 08:16
wildwitchy made her own incubator last year  :)
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: lisa123 on April 01, 2010, 11:47
what did she use and did she have a thermostat to control the temp?  :wub:
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: joyfull on April 01, 2010, 12:01
not sure try pm-ing her - I'm sure she will help you - it would have been about last April/May time she made it  :)
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: Brushcutter on April 01, 2010, 20:01
Hi there Traacyken,

Good luck with your chicks! When the time comes if you can get someone local to show you how to dispatch the unlucky fellas that would be best! Alternatively you could grow them on to eating size. Are your auto sexing eggs Legbars?
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: traacyken on April 02, 2010, 08:46
hi yes 6 or 7 of the eggs are self sexing, the others are silkie xs and some other xs
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: Tania on April 10, 2010, 08:59
I have just taken delivery of a Brinsea mini advance so will let you know how i get on.  I have had mixed results from the octogen 10 auto turning.  ( I have small incubators so I don't hatch too many).

Would love to know how you get on with this. I'm thinking of purchasing one and a review or three would be helpful
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: oliviamaryb on April 12, 2010, 15:23
Last year I bought the cheapest kind; the Covatutto 7. I put in 7 eggs and 6 hatched - the other pipped but died (I wish I had helped it).
I followed the instructions and loved the whole thing - turning the eggs, checking the water and candling.
The more expensive ones do all that for you.
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: ajkula77 on April 13, 2010, 12:34
I have had a lot of success with our R-Com 20 and our own eggs or eggs bought from Ebay. Ideally though buy hatching eggs from a breeder where you can see adult stock, I 've just hatched two lots of barnevelders, both meant to be double laced but some are definitely only single!
FYI you can't hatch the rare breed eggs bought in waitrose.... ::)
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: Ribbit on April 13, 2010, 14:56
Just read the latest PP mag. It has a page about home hatching, it suggests that if a chick hasn't got the strength to hatch it's way out then leave it, because it won't be a strong chick.
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: lisa80 on April 13, 2010, 18:38
I agree im afraid as much as you want to help the chances are they wont survive anyway.My last hatch the last 2 that hatched both had deformed legs and we also had 2 eggs that didnt hatch at all and on inspection were both fully formed chicks just not strong enough to get out :(
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: sarah f on April 13, 2010, 18:52
i have a brinsea mini advance, fantastic incubator, i had 3 good hatches from it so far
6 out of 6, a 5 out of 6 and another 5 out of 6 chicks. ( 2 lots of silkies and one lot of seramas)
really easy to use .
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: raeburg on April 18, 2010, 20:29
I have just taken delivery of a Brinsea mini advance so will let you know how i get on.  I have had mixed results from the octogen 10 auto turning.  ( I have small incubators so I don't hatch too many).

Would love to know how you get on with this. I'm thinking of purchasing one and a review or three would be helpful

the octogen hatched 6/6 and the mini advance 0/6 although there were disrupted air sacs in 2 and the other 4 didn't start at all. I now have some araucanas in and they are going well so far.
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: pine on April 24, 2010, 23:10
Hi,

I'm new here and desperately hoping someone can help me out. I've made my own incubator which is beautifully warm and humid but the trouble is I can't accurately measure either the temp or humidity! I bought a digital thermometer/hygrometer off ebay which turned up today but I was convinced it was underestimating both temp and humidity so I put my greenhouse thermometer in and the 2 are rather a long way out. The greenhouse one reads 35 deg C while the new one reads 32 deg (I can easily increase the temperature in the incy to get it up to the correct level). The hygrometer's reading 51% which sounds about right yet inside it feels very moist.

I have a couple of questions I'm hoping someone can answer -

1) Does around the 50% humidity mark feel very moist when you put your hand in the incubator? (I've got 2 ramekins and a jamjar lid in there with water in them)

2) Does anybody have any suggestions for a make and model number of a thermometer/hygrometer they can vouch for as being accurate? (The reason I suspect the new thing as not being spot on is that I monitor my greenhouse very closely and the thermometer in there is always very accurate when we have ground frosts and light frosts. That doesn't automatically mean it's accurate at the other extremes I know but it's an old trusted friend.)

I have a dozen turkey eggs waiting to go in there. They were all laid between Sunday and Tuesday so are now 6-8 days old. I don't want to wait much longer before setting them so if anybody has some suggestions it would be very gratefully received!

Thanks,
Andrew
Title: Re: Incubation
Post by: hillfooter on April 25, 2010, 04:41
I bought a RCOM PRO so very this is automatic.  The only thing that is concerning me is the candling.  I put the incubator in the cellar as advised in the “incubating at home book by Michael Roberts, but it is quite cold down there and when I open the lid of the incubator the temperature falls like a stone.

It would be a great help if anyone could help me on the following question.

Do I have to lift the eggs out to candle or can I leave them in the incubator and just put the light on them.

Would it be a good idea to place a heat light over the incubator for the candling period as I am not going to be as quick as a professional.  

It's best to keep the incubator in a room which is as stable a temperature as possible and is warmish.  Ideally you are trying to maintain stable conditions so temperature and humidity doesn't vary widely requiring the incubator to compensate for rapid changes.

Incubate broad end upwards.  I think it's best to not disturb the eggs too much and I just open it to top up the water for the humidity.  I candle twice or three times at the most.  After 6 days (the most important time to check all eggs to remove infertile ones), 12days (to check development, not necessary to check all just sample candle), 18 days (not vital as at  this stage you probably are going to let them run to full term anyway and it's just for interest really.)  At 18 days raise the humidity by following the manufacturers recommendations.  

When I candle I lift out all the eggs on a tray and cover them  with a warm fluffy towel to minimise the heat lost.  I replace the incubator lid to maintain humidity and temperatue.  I lift out and check the eggs individually and replace them immediately under the towel so thay don't drop much in temperature.  No need to heat the eggs as they will survive short periods of temperature dips during candling, just insulate them with a cloth cover.

If you use a fine mister to raise the humidity after returning the tray to the incubator do so sparingly and don't wet the eggs.  Humidity shouldn't be too high before 18days.  Raise it in the last 2 and a half days when you should stop turning.  Don't lift the lid during hatch until half have hatched and no more frequently than once per 6 hours.  Remove chicks to a warm bucket for transfer to the brooder.  Remove empty egg shells at this time also.  Keep lid off at this time as short a time as possible as high humidity is most critical at this time .

Simple evaporation pads can be made by using kitchen paper folded into strips about 3inches wide and one end dipped into the water trough to wick up the water and evapourated from the rest of the pad in the incubator.

HF
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: hillfooter on April 25, 2010, 05:48
hi i tried to make my own incy out of polystyrene, a light fitting and two bowls of water, a bit of tape, a glass off a photo frame. the humidity was perfect and so was the temp for a while but then it kept rising so will have to do fase two, have got to get hold of a thermostat. but it prooves that it dosnt have to cost alot. :)

The big problem with such incubators is making them sterile for the next time you want to hatch.  Polystyrene is very difficult if not impossible to sterilise well.  Hatching is very messy and produces a lot of dander fluff and pathegens which needs to be removed completely after the hatch.

Maintaining a stable temp is also difficult and using a way to stir the air with a LOW speed fan to prevent hot spots is a good idea as well as maintaining some ventilation and as stable and moderately accurate humidity as possible.  A high airflow is not good either as too much will cause uneven drying if the top of the egg is in a draft but the bottom is in still air.

The heater should not be too hot and a large area lower temperature heater is better than a single higher temperature small area heater.  Radiant heaters if used directly are likely to cause temperature gradients across the egg and aren't as good as large area conductive or air space heaters.  One way to avoid this might be to heat a large area alluminium plate pianted black 6 inches or so above the eggs rather than use direct radiant heat from a lamp.

During the first 18 days average humidity needs to be around 40 to 50% RH to produce the right water loss in the egg.   Turning the egg is critical during this period to prevent any drying of the egg air interface inside the egg.  Accurate humidity measurements are difficult and the sort of cheap humidity sensors sold on ebay are not very reliable or accurate.   I'd be very cautious about relying on them though precise humidity isn't so critical.  If the humidity is as noticable as you suggest I would be concerned it is too humid.  For a home made incubator I'd calibrate it by using the egg weight method.  Use a couple of 'sensor' eggs in fixed positions and regularly measure their weight loss (you need an accurate scale) and plot a graph against time.  The % weight loss you need to achieve can be obtained from charts.  This is a direct measure of what in fact you are trying to achieve and is better than just measuring humidity.  Too much weight loss indicates too low a humidity and vice versa.  I'm affraid it's a trial and error calibbration method but one which commercial incubator manufactuers will have used to calibrate their incubators and produce their instructions.  

The thermometer needs to be more accurate (within half a degree or so of an optimum 37.5degC.  A way of ensuring even temperature for example by using a low speed fan is very important too.

There's no reason you can't design and build your own incubator but it's very likely they won't produce as consistent or a successful results as good commercial ones such as Brinsea and RCom.

HF
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: spizanne on April 25, 2010, 19:08
Hi everyone. we have always bought POL's in the past but decided to try hatching our own. Hubby bought me a Brinsea mini advance last week and we went and bought 7 hatching eggs today. have set them in our living room so i can watch them turn etc (sad eh!) The breed we bought are Marsh Daisies and they are on the endangered species list so hopefully we can help rejuvenate the breed. Any one else out there with Marsh Daisies, I may need a cockerel some time in the future?
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: raeburg on April 28, 2010, 21:49
Latest mini advance hatch - 4 out of 6 lavender araucanas.  One egg was a dud from the start and the other failed late on.  4 little lavender and yeallow pom poms are doing very well
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: lisa80 on April 29, 2010, 08:40
our hatching has started  :)welsummers faverolles and some silkies for a friend  :)got another hatch due on sunday .I think its safe to say no housework will be done over the weekend :D
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: hillfooter on May 03, 2010, 01:36
If you are hatching eggs then a useful tool is a candler.  You can buy a purpose made one or equally you can easily make one using a halogen bulb torch such as a Mag-lite over which you fit the egg cradle.  I made a very effective one using waste packaging and a few odds and ends.

To make the egg cradle you will need.
1  A small cardbord box or lid which will fit over the lens of the torch. I used the lid from a Single Malt whisky bottle box (first drink the contents)
2  5cm thick piece of polystyrene or packing foam sheeting which will fit inside the box to grip round the torch
3  a 1 cm thick piece of foam rubber or plastic packing just smaller than the box/ lid to cushion the egg against.
4  a small piece of rubber from a cycle inner tube to act as a light seal
5  thick light proof (black) cloth adhesive tape to fix the egg cushion and light seal to the box.  (Duct tape is OK or carpet tape)

Cut a hole in the end of the box (1) about 2.5cms diameter.  Using (2) polystyrene packaging (or similar foam rubber sheeting) cut  to fit within the lid.  Cut a circular hole through it of a slightly smaller diameter than the end of the torch.  The foam/polystyrene sheet needs to be about 5 - 7cm thick as it needs to grip the end of the torch.  

Over the end of the lid glue or tape a spongy piece of rubber mat (3) with a 2.25cm diameter hole in it.  This is the mat against which the egg will be cushioned.  An added sophistication on mine is a rubber mat (4) cut from a black cycle tyre inner tube with a 2cm hole in it forms the light seal round the egg.  This is very important to ensure no light escapes round the outside of the shell otherwise the inner detail is lost.  This can be achieved by snipping lots of small 3mm long cuts around the hole in the seal using very sharp manicure sissors to form a flexible fringe to seal round the egg.

Using (5) tape the mat and light seal over the hole in the box end and cover the outside of the box so no light can escape and you are done.

Fit the cradle over the lens of the torch so it grips it and stays in place and hold the egg over the end applying a gentle pressure to seal the light in so it illuminates the inside of the egg to create best contrast when viewed in a dark room.

See the diagram and photos below.
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: hillfooter on May 03, 2010, 02:34
Once the eggs have hatched you will need a brooder to rear the chicks in until they are about 5 weeks old when they can be hardened to outside conditions and phased over gradually to growers feed.

Here's how to make one in the form of an octogon which is much better than a square as chicks can't be crushed in the corners.  The one described will easily accomodate upto 40 or more chicks upto 4 or 5 weeks old.

A really useful and easlily made one can be made from old melomine fitted wardrobe door panels.  These need to be approx 45 cm (18ins) wide cut into lengths of about 55-60cms long.  Depending on the length of your door panels either cut them into thirds (you'll need 3 panels) or quarters (you'll need just two),  These are arranged in an octogon formation using 135 deg corner fillets.  

These are made from 3 - 4 cm square section softwood baton or similar.  Cut into 16 identical triangular fillets.  Fix them top and bottom (leaving no space under the base fillet which might trap a chick) using two screws for each fillet into each panel.  Pre drill clearance holes for the screws in the panels.  The holes need to be identically positioned so when you disassemble and re-assemble any fillet can be used on any panel.  Make a template to enable you to mark and/or drill the holes identically positioned.  A useful tip is to use double sided tape to hold the fillets on one edge in place before  the screws. Fix two fillets to the same (LHS or RHS) edge of each panel first before attempting to fix the panels together.  Finally on a flat surface assemble the panels together to form the Octogon shape.  the edges as snuggly as possible to reduce drafts.

Being melomime it's easy to clean and disinfect between uses.  When disassembling leave the two fillets which were taped to the panels fixed with the screws so it's easy to build again.  Store flat stacked.

When using brooders such as this in an outhouse it's always best at night to use two heat lamps so that should one bulb fail they won't die because of the cold.  Use preferably softwood shavings as a 5cm deep litter covering on a concrete floor such as a garage or outhouse.

Happy DIYing
HF
See the photos
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: spizanne on May 16, 2010, 09:51
 :D  Mike bought me a new toy thursday, the Brinsea ecoglow chick brooder. just in time too, 6 cheep cheeps hatched between noon yesterday and 7 this morning, last one still trying, can see the shell moving where it has broken through.
Brooder is a green recycling box that the council give you with the Brinsea inside, the chicks went straight under and we can hear them rummaging around, only disadvantage is we can't see them but we sure can hear them.
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: spizanne on May 16, 2010, 13:25
yippee! number 7 hatched, that's 7 out of 7. what a great little machine the Brinsea is. and the brooder is brill too, the chicks pop their heads out now and then and we can hear them shuffling around under it and lots of cheeping.
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: joyfull on May 16, 2010, 14:42
Good hatch rate  :D
Look forward to seeing the photo's in a day or so  :)
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: spider on May 16, 2010, 22:26
I was really happy with my Brinsea until one of my turkeys drowned in the water reservior  :(

I didnt think the gap was big enough, but it is  :mad:

Spider
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: spizanne on May 17, 2010, 22:44
photo not brill, had to take it on my phone cos we couldn't find the charger for the camera, but here they are, 7 little Marsh Daisies
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: spizanne on May 17, 2010, 23:13
hubby found the charger, will post better pics tomoro.
was a little concerned they weren't eating much, or drinking at all even though i had dipped their beaks in when i put them in the brooder
had scattered some crumbs in front of them which they did peck at but not very much.
have sussed it. took the brooder out of the box, chicks stood for a few seconds then went to the dish and started pecking, had to put a 2nd dish in so they could all eat together.
next the water.
tapped the side of the waterer, one came over, tapped inside, she (i hope) followed my finger into the water and hey presto! she sussed it, got others out and they are now all eating and drinking just fine
and of course are now pooping everywhere lol
oh the joys of motherhood!
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: kelhippo on May 18, 2010, 00:05
Hi,ive looked into this and although i would love to hatch my own,unfortunantly as a percentage you will hatch mainly males. i think its somthinng like 6 out of 10 chicks born will be male,unless you have plenty of room and having a few cockrells wouldnt be a problem then go ahead,most male chicks that are born are killed straight away.it is very hard to rehome a cockrell...
Cheers Kels :wub:
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: spizanne on May 18, 2010, 00:16
I am hoping to get at least 2 cocks, 3 would be better, I am getting more eggs from a different family and hope to get 3 cocks from them as well and will then breed the 2 strains together and get more Marsh Daisies which as an endangered species will benefit from my help. Will get more hybrids for eggs cos my old ladies have finished laying now.
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: joyfull on May 18, 2010, 08:51
Hi,ive looked into this and although i would love to hatch my own,unfortunantly as a percentage you will hatch mainly males. i think its somthinng like 6 out of 10 chicks born will be male,unless you have plenty of room and having a few cockrells wouldnt be a problem then go ahead,most male chicks that are born are killed straight away.it is very hard to rehome a cockrell...
Cheers Kels :wub:

This is only possible with colour or feather sexed unless you know how to vent sex which very few people do. Often you can't tell what sex a chick is until it starts to crow or lay by which time they can be quite large and a lot of people find that even though they thought they could cull the boys they can't.
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: stan deakin on May 20, 2010, 11:47
incubators can be very tricky i found , i only use a hova bator but now get very good results through trial and error , i was advised not to put any water in at all untill the eggs start to pip and its worked like a charm , that advice was off somone who has been hatching for years[please try it ]

stan just joined you all ::)
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: joyfull on May 20, 2010, 11:52
Hi Stan and welcome, why not nip over to the welcome section and introduce yourself properly to the rest of the forum - I'm sure they will be pleased to meet you  :)
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: hillfooter on May 20, 2010, 12:52
incubators can be very tricky i found , i only use a hova bator but now get very good results through trial and error , i was advised not to put any water in at all untill the eggs start to pip and its worked like a charm , that advice was off somone who has been hatching for years[please try it ]

stan just joined you all ::)

Hi Stan,

Your experience is not untypical of real life situations and if it works for you then actually it's not that unusual.  However don't everyone assume that this will work for you when hatching with a different incubator in a different part of the world and in a different environment.

Water needs to be lost from the eggs through the incubation process.  A sitting hen will maintain a slightly higher humidity than ambient and that's why incubators are recommended to artificially raise the humidity.  However the actual extra humidity you need to provide in any given incubator depends on several factors such as the ambient humidity, whether it has forced air (a fan) as obviously a fan will increase drying and therefore needs higher ambient humidity, the amount of exterior ventillation, too little ventillation will hold in the humidity caused by the drying eggs, the design of the incubation chamber its self for similar reasons.  Ventillation is one factor most people don't think about and it's highly relevant.  Every time we raise the lid to candle or fiddle about we lose humidity and too much of this I suspect is the reason many people have problems with chicks pipping but not hatching before they dry to the shell.  Similarly too little ventillation can cause hatch problems with unhealed tummies and sickly chicks.

A well designed and characterised incubator will have a fan and ventillation system which helps to maintain consistent results between different egg loads.  If the designer has done proper characterisation of their product you can rely on their instructions but there's still the external humidity variable which they can't really account for and your own experience can help to optimise.  So there will always be a trial and error element.  

You can of course take guess work out of the equation completely by having a 'test' egg which you regularly remove and weigh accurately to determine actual moisture loss so you can vary humidity up or down to fit an optimum weight loss curve (data is available for this).  The next best method is to measure and control the humidity.  Unfortunately accurate instruments to do this are expensive and the cheap ebay ones are highly suspect.  

Or, as in most cases, it's not that critical and if you have a good incubator (as described above) you can do as virtually all enthusiasts do and just follow the instructions and learn a few tweeks from your experience.

Happy hatching
HF
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: rjf180 on May 24, 2010, 23:28
We're totally new to this and we used a Rcom king suro 20 incubator - all automatic - and either we've been really lucky or the incubator was fab but we got 8 healthy chicks and three ducklings out of 14 eggs. it's been an experience! can't wait to get some more. we kept it in the kitchen (fairly warm) and the temp. went back up really fast after candling.
used a huge cardboard box and a heat plate instead of a lamp - working brilliantly
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: lisa123 on May 31, 2010, 20:47
hi there i have built my own incubator and the eggs are duck eggs. they have about 9 days left then i will see if they hatch or not, it wasnt that hard to build ijust hope it works.
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: hillfooter on May 31, 2010, 23:41
We're totally new to this and we used a Rcom king suro 20 incubator - all automatic - and either we've been really lucky or the incubator was fab but we got 8 healthy chicks and three ducklings out of 14 eggs. it's been an experience! can't wait to get some more. we kept it in the kitchen (fairly warm) and the temp. went back up really fast after candling.
used a huge cardboard box and a heat plate instead of a lamp - working brilliantly

RCom incubators are well regarded for producing good results as are Brinsea.
HF
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: lisa123 on June 16, 2010, 07:52
hi there i am now on day 27 and are waiting to see if the ducklings hatch, i have had problems with the humidity but have increased when needed, i just hope they hatch okay and make it, unfortunately i have a bad feeling that it wont work and i will be back to square one. has anyone else on here made there own incubator? ???
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: joyfull on June 16, 2010, 08:02
wildwitchy made her own one last year.
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: sianyem on July 19, 2010, 13:33
I've got 5 days to go! This is the first time Ive hatched some eggs. Started with 20 Wyandotte eggs but have ended up with only 8 developing I think because of the fertility and not the incubator. I am using the R com 20 pro and it seems really easy to operate. What happens and what do I have to do when the first egg starts to hatch?
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: hillfooter on July 19, 2010, 17:47
I've got 5 days to go! This is the first time Ive hatched some eggs. Started with 20 Wyandotte eggs but have ended up with only 8 developing I think because of the fertility and not the incubator. I am using the R com 20 pro and it seems really easy to operate. What happens and what do I have to do when the first egg starts to hatch?

First go on a speed reading course and when they start to hatch start reading Katie Thears book on incubation.  I wouldn't waste time planning if you are making progress!

HF
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: TeaPots on July 20, 2010, 20:39



RCom incubators are well regarded for producing good results as are Brinsea.
HF
[/quote]

Rcoms are made by Brinsea. I have several rcoms. the mini (3), 20 and 20pro, and they are brill. These are the ones I hire out because they are so easy to use, and very reliable. I have managed several 100% hatches. 

i agree with you about the relevance of keeping environment consistent. I run mine with water from the outset, with humidity set at 45% RH at 37.5C  Interestingly, the humidity in my spare room is also currently around 45%, so I can see how the water may not be necessary at the beginning. HOWEVER, I would think that the humidity AND temperature would fluctuate between these baking hot days, and the cooler nights. So, its ll about consistency to me. (I change the settings to 70% and 37C on day 18 for chickens
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: massa on July 25, 2010, 18:34
hi, i am wanting advise regarding buying an incubator, i have made my own incy which has had varying results mostly disapointing, i think this is due to the temp and humidity fluctuating too much. therefore i have decided to save up and buy one. i have around 150 - 200 to spend and want the best i can get for the money, the one ive been looking at is the Brinsea Octagon 20 Adv ex which i have found for around 200pound but have also seen the rcom suro which has all the same features for around 50pound less than the brinsea. has anyone used either of these or is there any others i could consider in my price range? thanks massa
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: hillfooter on July 26, 2010, 03:05
hi, i am wanting advise regarding buying an incubator, i have made my own incy which has had varying results mostly disapointing, i think this is due to the temp and humidity fluctuating too much. therefore i have decided to save up and buy one. i have around 150 - 200 to spend and want the best i can get for the money, the one ive been looking at is the Brinsea Octagon 20 Adv ex which i have found for around 200pound but have also seen the rcom suro which has all the same features for around 50pound less than the brinsea. has anyone used either of these or is there any others i could consider in my price range? thanks massa

I've had great success with the earlier model Brinsea Octagon 20 without the automatic humidity control.  Humidity sensing and control is notoriously difficult to do accurately and I wonder if for chickens having an automatic system is just an unnecessay complication which is just another potential thing to go wrong.  However the most unreliable component in any incubator is the nut on the outside.  The manual humidity system I've found to be OK and I think the varying results some people get is due to them not having good viable eggs initially or not storing them well when assembling a clutch or fiddling with the incubator and eggs too much in use.  I strictly limit intervention to a maximum of two candlings.  One after 5 days to weedout the infertile ones and one at 14 -16 days to check development.  I avoid further intervention close to hatch and follow Brinsea's advice on raising humidity at day 18.  This year's hatch was 100% successful and in past years I've never had more than 3 eggs fail at the hatch stage including ebay eggs.  Fertility has been good too at day 5 but that's a function of the chickens and egg storage/transport largely.

Spec wise both these seem very similar but one other consideration is service and spare parts.  Brinsea being UK based is very good but I've no experience with RCom.  I heard someone (Joy?) claim Brinsea and RCom were linked somehow but I haven't seen evidence of that though both these products look very similar.

If you can get to see them check out how easy they are to clean and sanitise.  This is an important aspect and a topic which is never discussed in reviews.  Hatching is quite messy and every part which is exposed to the egg compartment gets a covering of dander which needs to be thoroughly cleaned before you stow for the next use.  This is another reason to avoid buying secondhand.  The Brinsea I have is a bit more fiddly to clean the fan and monitoring system than I'd like though this could be improved on later models.  Another reason to be wary of added complication with humidy control.  Does this add extra cleaning burden?

HF
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: joyfull on July 26, 2010, 06:17
not me I never use an incy - try teapots she has lots  :lol:.
I have far too many broodies to even consider using electric  :D
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: tesni on July 28, 2010, 11:49
Right - I have taken the plunge and sent for some hatching eggs and an incubator.  The only way to get me started was to hold my nose and go for it.  Now I'm panicking    :wacko: been reading up and it says to rest eggs before setting them - can anyone explain (as if to an idiot) what that means?  Should they remain in box, at room temperature, broad end up or down...... any tips to get a complete novice off the mark would be gratefully received thanks  ::)
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: hillfooter on July 28, 2010, 15:13
Right - I have taken the plunge and sent for some hatching eggs and an incubator.  The only way to get me started was to hold my nose and go for it.  Now I'm panicking    :wacko: been reading up and it says to rest eggs before setting them - can anyone explain (as if to an idiot) what that means?  Should they remain in box, at room temperature, broad end up or down...... any tips to get a complete novice off the mark would be gratefully received thanks  ::)

Rule 1              DON'T PANIC!

When you get your incubator (what make & model is it) Carefully read the instructions.  Set it up in a spare room preferably a bedroom which is shaded and where it won't be disturbed with comings and goings.  Have plenty of room round about it so it's not perched on the end of a dressing table.  A kitchen table is good.  Turn it on with the recommended water and leave it running with it's cradle rocking assuming it has one.  Check it reaches the correct temperature recommended which should be around 37.5degC.  Adjust only if necessary and allow at least an hour between any adjustment.  Note your digital thermometer might only display every 0.2 deg C so don't worry if it's 37.4 or 37.6 it won't matter.  Let it settle for around 24hrs before you introduce eggs.  If it says to wash the egg tray do that in warm water with detergent or a santiser if you have any.

When the eggs arrive discard any which are cracked however slightly before storing them in the same room broad end up for about 24 hrs. Hopefully they are clean but if not you have the option to wash them using an egg sanitiser in bucket of water at 30degC, dry naturally.  You can hatch slightly dirty eggs but I prefer any heavily soiled eggs to be washed.  You can turn them once every 12 hours or so ideally when in storage.  They should be fine for at least 8 days after laying and will only slowly reduce in fertility after that.  Assuming your incubator is auto turning load up with the eggs in the morning and keep your eye on it during the first day to ensure it reaches set point temperature. DON'T be tempted to keep lifting the lid once you start the incubation process.  Only do this if you need to top up the humidity or to candle.  Don't fret with the humidity control set it as instructed.  There must be some ventillation so make sure the inlet port is around half open or whatever the manufacturer suggests.

You are allowed to go in and admire your eggs for the first 5 - 7 days but don't lift the lid unless needed for topping up the water, and then you can candle them.  Best done on a very dark evening.  The purpose of candling is to weed out any non fertile eggs.  Be realistic here don't continue to incubate eggs which don't show any signs of development as they can go off in the high temperature and contaminate the other eggs.  When you candle rotate the egg slowly over the light source so you can see into it.  If it's fertile you shouldn see a black fuzzy dot about 5mm or so within a bent tadpole type shape.  Sometimes you can see radiating vein type structure through the egg.  Sometimes you can see it moving about and the heart beating.  If there's such a sign of development the egg is fertile and you can return it to the incubator.  Any which appear uniformly lit up with maybe just a hint of a darker shaddow (the yolk) aren't fertile.  If in doubt mark them and continue with them for another 7 days or so.

After about 14- 16days you can candle again and you should notice a big change the shaddow will have become a much darker region completely opague with a bright area which is the air sack which should be at one end.  If there are any which haven't developed from the initial candling discard.

Return the eggs and after 18 days stop the turning and raise the humidity to 70%RH or set up the humidifier as instructed and leave until 21 days when they should start to pip and hatch.

DO NOT attempt to assist them out of the shell and don't raise the lid until at least half the eggs have hatched.  You can transfer the first batch to the brooder at this stage and discard the egg shells as quickly as possible to avoid loss of humidity (you can mist the incubator when closing it don't wet the eggs though).  All the eggs which are going to hatch should have done so by day 22 and any which show no signs of pipping at this stage probably aren't going to but you can leave until 23 days if you like.

Clean the incubator very well with sanitiser before storing it away.
Attached is a plan for a home made candler using a maglite torch.
The hole on the rubber gasket (cycle inner tube) is 20 - 25mm max and it has 2mm snips in it to form a flexible edging fringe so the light is sealed against the shell and doesn't illuminate the outside of the egg.  The black tape is Duct Tape.

HF
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: tesni on July 28, 2010, 21:38
 :Dthank you so much - that is enough to calm the nerves and hopefully see me through to some chicks - I will keep that by me and post any results and pics if I'm lucky  :nowink:
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: hillfooter on July 28, 2010, 22:47
Don't get too worried if you don't do every thing right there's a fair margin for making mistakes.  I once, to fill up a section in an incubator to stop the eggs rolling, added some eggs which had been in the fridge.  I intended to replace them with new laid eggs but forgot and when I came to candle them I discovered they were fertile and they eventually hatched.  Also this year I left my incubating eggs in charge of my SIL while we were away for a long weekend and he forgot to top up the water.  When I returned the reservoir was empty and I guess had been for at least a day.  Then I forgot to turn the cradle back on after filling the reservoir and I didn't notice for about 30 hrs or so it wasn't rocking.  I had 100% hatch of 18 eggs!  So a few small slips particularly in the early part of the process doesn't necessarily spell disaster.
HF
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: tesni on July 30, 2010, 22:43
 :) am expecting to make many errors so let's hope my little ones are as forgiving as yours!  :tongue2:
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: cool chick on August 04, 2010, 12:05
I have just bought my first eggs, light Sussex, they should arrive any day, and i must say i am excited and nervous. I have been given an incubator but the turner doesn't work so has to be done manually. I also have a heat lamp and a fairly big box, should they go into this as soon as they hatch? And also how long should they stay under the lamp(how old) before they can go outside in the ark?? Any advice for a beginner would be welcome. I also have my 3 other chucks, so not new to the chicken scene just the rearing bambinos
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: hillfooter on August 04, 2010, 12:53
I have just bought my first eggs, light Sussex, they should arrive any day, and i must say i am excited and nervous. I have been given an incubator but the turner doesn't work so has to be done manually. I also have a heat lamp and a fairly big box, should they go into this as soon as they hatch? And also how long should they stay under the lamp(how old) before they can go outside in the ark?? Any advice for a beginner would be welcome. I also have my 3 other chucks, so not new to the chicken scene just the rearing bambinos

Your heat lamp and very big box is what's called a brooder.  You should set that up a few days before they hatch and check the temperature 5 cms or so above the floor approx 10cm off centre with the litter in.  This should be 32 - 37 deg or so.  Raise the lamp to adjust the heat.  They will move closer to or further away to adjust their temperature so having a gradient of heat is ideal.  The sides of the box should be 45cms or so high and the box should be open so it has plenty of ventilation but isn't a heat trap.  Size depends on the number of birds but should be large enough so they can move away or get closer to the heat source to regulate their temperature.  Get a spare lamp so if one goes there's a readily avaiable replacement and preferably they should be an invisible or low light infra red type.  Best to use two if the box is big enough in case one goes the chx won't be without heat.  

Once at least half the pipped eggs have hatched transfer this first batch from the incubator to the brooder.  There's no need to offer food or water for 24 hrs but when you do put the water in a shallow bowl which won't get tipped too easily when perched on, you can use marbles to reduce the depth so there's no danger of drowning.  Jar lids are often used initially but get a proper designed chick drinker and feeder after a few days as these are cheap and much better as they get older.  Dip their beeks in this to show them and they'll soon learn to drink.  Also with food which should be chick crumbs offered on a wooden board to start with.  Tap your finger on the crumbs in a sort of pecking motion and again they will come to investigate and quickly learn to feed.  Have nothing in the box which is slippy or shiny as they are prone to splaying their legs when very young which can cause permanent injury.  

If the chx huddle directly under the lamp and cheep loudly they are too cold, lower the lamp and if they are distributed around the periphery and are panting they are too hot, raise the lamp.  If they move around freely they are fine.  Chx will synchronise their behaviour so when one rests they will all lay down and rest and feed and drink too so watch out for these fastinationg behaviours.  I'll leave it to you to figure out why this is but if you think of how a hen with her brood would behave naturally there's a clue.

They will start to show feather development on their wings after around 4 days and from this point you can start raising the lamp to reduce the heat so they are off heat within 4 weeks.  If the weather is warm maybe sooner.  Just have on at night as they get towards fully feathered.  You can put them out after about 6 weeks and start to migrate them over to growers pellets gradually over about two weeks from 5 weeks onwards.  As they grow raise the height of their drinker and feeder to back height (ie above their vents) to prevent them fouling their food & water.  Use wood and bricks for this tie the feeders and drinkers to the bricks with wire twisted round if necessary (tuck the ends in so they don't cause injury) so as they get more boisterous they don't knock them over and spill them.  My feeder is a long plastic trough with chick sized partitions which prevent the feed from being scratched out and the drinker is a small inverted fountain type which holds a 1L reservoir of water and provides a narrow trough around the circumference for them to drink from.  These I've found ideal.

You can usually sex the  chx reliably by 8 -12 weeks depending on breed.

Don't give corn untill they are around 15 weeks by which stage they should have access to grit.  You can also make oyster shell available though they really shouldn't need this untill they start to lay and then really only after their first years laying but it doesn't harm to have it available adlib. from the off.
Best of luck
HF
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: tesni on August 04, 2010, 18:48
getting way way ahead of myself here - only on day five of eggs in inc, not even candled yet  :blush:  exciting times tho  :)  if I'm lucky enough to end up with some chicks and don't wimp out at what age will they be ready for the table?  they are hubbard 757s hybrids.   
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: hillfooter on August 04, 2010, 19:17
getting way way ahead of myself here - only on day five of eggs in inc, not even candled yet  :blush:  exciting times tho  :)  if I'm lucky enough to end up with some chicks and don't wimp out at what age will they be ready for the table?  they are hubbard 757s hybrids.   

Sorry Tesni I hadn't realised your birds are table birds in which case my advice was based on rearing layers so this makes a big difference on how you rear them after the hatch.  Read this link for a better idea on broilers,

http://www.blpbooks.co.uk/articles/table_chickens/table_chickens_traditional_breeds.php.

This is advice from katie Thear and you can't do better than that.
Regards
HF
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: tesni on August 04, 2010, 19:46
the early bits apply to all tho, and that link is really good thanks HF. 
I will try some dual purpose next I expect as we have our ladies in the back garden who lay for their supper......but one step at a time, must keep my expectations reasonable  :nowink:
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: GrannieAnnie on August 05, 2010, 13:17
757's should be table ready from 8 weeks, but we have found they get to a better size between 12 and 16 weeks.  Our biggest 757 weighed 5kg dead weight!
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: Ronald on August 06, 2010, 07:44
Hi there,just manage to get hold of a King Suro 20 inch, eggs have been in14 Days, but the manufactures tell me to keep Humidity at 35to45 for poultry & heating at 37.5 it has a little Automatic drip pump. it rocks like a baby's cradle very slowly once a hour. But I have discovered a fault in the design,and have now rectify this by making a wooded jig to hold it all together. I have installed,6 Polish-chamois& 6other Bantam eggs.also 6Jersey, and 7
Monster black Turkey eggs! the kind lady gave me a extra one.
Can any one tell me my next move,as I think Ive made a mistake by installing the Turkey eggs? :unsure:  I have tried to candle, but all I see is lots of red strands inside the eggs.
As I do carpentry Hobby Work,I have just completed a twin brooder.
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: rachelr on October 05, 2010, 20:24
so has anyone had any good results with a home made incuabtor. is a broody different thing altogether or is it the same
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: hillfooter on October 05, 2010, 21:24
so has anyone had any good results with a home made incuabtor. is a broody different thing altogether or is it the same

I'm sure someone must have had good results from a home made incubator. 

An incubator is for artificially hatching eggs,  a brooder is a heated enclosure for raising chicks from hatch until they are big enough to go outside in a normal house and run.  A Broody is a sitting hen who is hatching or wanting to hatch eggs.  A Bridie is a Scotish meat pasty originally from Forfar and a birdie is one under par at golf and a birdy is what an incubator is for hatching:D

HF
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: Autumnlover on October 06, 2010, 17:24
Hi I am a newby to this site, Ihave kept chickens off and on for last 10 years and have only started using a incubator this year, I bought a Brinsea Advance and its so far been brill, and I've managed to hatch out some really lovely birds. Is it too late to hatch out some now Iwonder?
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: hillfooter on October 07, 2010, 04:09
Personally I'd leave it till next spring say late Feb.  Otherwise you are going to have to keep them on heat for a lot longer and you won't be giving them the best start.

HF
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: grenhouse on October 09, 2010, 17:51
I hatched late last year and really wished that I hadn't. They had to stay on heat for a long time and it was a real pain as to when to put them out. I have however just sat some eggs under a broody silkie which should be a lot easier as she will keep them warm, also have a new garage!
Artificially incubated I really wouldn't bother now.

Steve
Title: Humidity Levels
Post by: kegs on July 14, 2011, 18:43
I'm running a Brinsea Octagon 20 Eco Incubator in preparation for incubating eggs.  The temperature is reading 37.5 but although I've filled one of the chanels with water and opened the ventilation hole half way as advised in the instruction booklet the humidity on the hygrometer is reading at 35%RH.  How important is the humidity at this stage?  Any advice appreciated?
Title: Re: Humidity Levels
Post by: min200 on July 14, 2011, 19:33
It wants to be at least 45%  ;)
Title: Re: Humidity Levels
Post by: Helenaj on July 15, 2011, 08:42
Kegs - drop an email to Brinsea - I've found them really helpful in the past and if you use the UK site, they get back to you within a couple of hours. They should be able to tell you exactly how far to open the vent - the instruction booklet with mine leaves a lot to be desired.
Title: Re: Humidity Levels
Post by: kegs on July 15, 2011, 11:48
Kegs - drop an email to Brinsea - I've found them really helpful in the past and if you use the UK site, they get back to you within a couple of hours. They should be able to tell you exactly how far to open the vent - the instruction booklet with mine leaves a lot to be desired.

Thanks Helena.  I'll get on to them now.  I didn't go to bed till 1 trying to figure out how to adjust it (and checked it again at 5am  :wacko:).  Even with the vent closed it wouldn't go up further than 35%.  I finally got it to go up to 50% this morning by adding hot water but it's crept back down to 35% again now.

I know what you mean about the instruction booklet and the online download version is the same. :tongue2:

Thanks again
Kerry
Title: Re: Humidity Levels
Post by: Helenaj on July 15, 2011, 12:16
Kegs, would you be prepared to post the advice they give you on here? I'd be interested in what they have to say.
Title: Re: Humidity Levels
Post by: AL Hathaway on July 15, 2011, 12:28
I had the same one and to be honest i did not worry about humity untill day 18 did not fuf about witht the water tray as you want your eggs to lose moisture for the first 5 days but on day 18  stop the craddle fill the water tray add a sponge it will sit around 55% to 60% and that is fine for most eggs and my hatch rate is 90% not do to with the incy but with the eggs themself as in duds or dead early on.

it's called dry incubation. works well with thick shell eggs such as Burford Brown

Title: Re: Humidity Levels
Post by: joyfull on July 15, 2011, 12:30
can I just say well done on trying it out brfore you get the eggs, so many don't  :(
Title: Re: Humidity Levels
Post by: kegs on July 15, 2011, 12:45
can I just say well done on trying it out brfore you get the eggs, so many don't  :(

I had to sit on my hands and stop looking at the egg boxes  - I'm sure they kept calling out to me to put them in the warm !!!  Almost as tempting as chocolate !!  ::)
Title: Re: Humidity Levels
Post by: kegs on July 15, 2011, 12:59
Kegs, would you be prepared to post the advice they give you on here? I'd be interested in what they have to say.

I don't mind doing that - but could a Mod. advise me on whether there are any rules I should follow if I post their advice?
Title: Re: Humidity Levels
Post by: joyfull on July 15, 2011, 13:02
no problem so long as any advice given is credited to them  :)
Title: Re: Humidity Levels
Post by: kegs on July 15, 2011, 13:11
This is Brinsea's reply to my query:

"Good afternoon Kerry
 
Further to your enquiry regarding the humidity in your Octagon 20 Eco first of all how are you measuring the humidity levels in the incubator?
How much water do you have in the base, do you have just one trough filled or both? What are the ambient conditions in the room where the incubator is situated?
If you could let me know some of this information we may be able to advise.
 
Kind regards
 
Nyree Lancastle
Sales Office Administrator
Brinsea Products Ltd
"

Followed by my reply back to Nyree:

Hello
I'm measuring the humidity with a new humidity meter - item PY71 (second item from the bottom)
 
 http://www.ascott-dairy.co.uk/cgi-bin/sh000001.pl?REFPAGE=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2eascott%2ddairy%2eco%2euk%2f&WD=meter%20humidity&PN=Accessories__Thermometers%2ehtml%23aPY71#aPY71
 
I tested it outside of the incubator with a damp cloth and it is calibrated correctly.
 
I have put water in just one trough.  The incubator is placed in the sitting room, on a wooden floor and is an ambient temperature (this is one of the cooler rooms in our house as it has 3 outside walls).  I have no heating on but it is sited near a window but no direct sunlight.  The vent at the moment is closed, and the temperature is stable at 37.6
 
I finally got the humidity to go up to 50% this morning by adding a small amount of hot water but it has crept back down to 35% again now.
 
Many thanks.
 
Kerry


That's it so far.  I'll post any further information I receive.
Title: Re: Humidity Levels
Post by: joyfull on July 15, 2011, 13:17
they sound really helpful, please keep us posted on their next reply  :)
Title: Re: Humidity Levels
Post by: kegs on July 15, 2011, 15:25
Brinsea's prompt updated reply as follows:

"Hi Kerry

It sounds as though you are doing everything right you just probably need to add some water to the second trough (though not fill it) to increase humidity.

You could also try placing some kitchen towel or blotting paper on the base of the incubator with one end in the water trough to absorb the water and increase the surface area available.

I hope this is of help and please let me know how you get on.

Kind regards
Nyree Lancastle
Sales Office Administrator

Brinsea Products Ltd"


I'll let you know if it works !!

Title: Re: Humidity Levels
Post by: kegs on July 15, 2011, 18:31
Yippee.

Two squares of kitchen roll folded so that an inch sits in the second trough which was filled with hot water.  The vent is a quarter open and although initially the humidity went up to 70% it stabilised quite quickly at 50% with the temperature at 37.5

Fingers crossed - Day 1 over.
Title: Re: Humidity Levels
Post by: Helenaj on July 16, 2011, 16:11
Thanks Kegs, this has been really helpful for my incy too.
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: joyfull on July 16, 2011, 16:36
have moved this into here as I believe the advice given by Brinsea will be very usefull to others - many thanks Kegs for this and good luck with your hatching  :)
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: joyfull on July 16, 2011, 16:41
also I see Brinsea have a free download regarding hatching on incubation:-

http://www.brinsea.co.uk/free-downloads?page=2

hopefully this may be of us  :)
Title: Re: Incubators and chick rearing
Post by: polishbunnies on September 29, 2020, 23:05
I bought a river systems 49 ET and have struggled to keep the humidity regulated especially at hatching, just can't seem to get it high enough despite ample water in the trays. Is the "Nebula" actually needed to make the system work correctly?