[babe]

i know nothing can beat a broody for hatching eggs, but i live in a bungalow and have quite a large room that has always just been empty and sems a waste.

ive been toying with getting an incubator and broody cage and turning it into a mini hatchery.

any advice, pros or cons would be great, ive had eggs hatch naturally but know absolutely nothing about incubators.

[muntjac]

it will stink .....

[babe]

it will stink .....

is that it??? :?    

surely it will only stink if i dont keep it clean?

[babe]

and im only talking 6/12 at a time. no more than that

[muntjac]

i dont do incubators happy sally and some others do so im gonna sit this one out lol
 

[babe]

cheers munty, i did ask for pros and cons. lol

has to be best to know whats involved before spending out all that money.

could turn out to be a bad idea.

[van connick]

lol.....

i have an incubator room, running 3 incs.......and 7 brooders.

yes it can be a bit whiffy, but it is not that bad as long as you clean the brooders out regularly....i even have an incubator in the kitchen on the dresser...!!

i dont have broody birds, so incubators are the only way i can hatch.

the smallest inc i have holds 50 hens eggs ( in the kitchen ) and i have so many brooders because it is easier then just having one per inc.....because then you can transfer the chicks to another brooder at various ages, instead of having to raise the light every week or so....plus it is easier to clean the brooders out if they are empty.

another reason it can get smelly is if you have exploding eggs, but with good management, that should not happen that often.

you need good fresh eggs to go in the inc, and dont leave them in there too long after expected hatching date, only 3 days max, and you will be fine.