[traacyken]

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. for when and if they hatch when i get them

[pandora]

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!

[Chookiechook]

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.

[GrannieAnnie]

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.

[massa]

do you make your own incubators Granieannie?

[joyfull]

Wildwitchy made her own incubator last year, so may be worth pm ing her if you want to know how she did it.

[GrannieAnnie]

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 !!   

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!!   

[IMOmimey]

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.

[TeaPots]

Yeah, cardboard boxes every time...reduces risk of bacteria, recycles, perfick 

[GrannieAnnie]

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!

 

[TeaPots]

see? it doesnt have to cost a lot. cardboard box, and a study lamp angled over it, simples.

[newhen]

I have my first hatch!  a quail     so cute. 
Just hope my other eggs will start hatching. 

[Hayley'sHens]

Wheres the photo Newhen?

[Brushcutter]

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!

[traacyken]

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