Topic of the Week - Incubating eggs

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Thanks for that link; it was really helpful reading. I am about to incubate my first batch of Pilgrim goose eggs and the hatching manual with my incubator (a Lyon Turn-X from GQF) said to run it at about 50 to 60% humidity right away, whereas I have read different things here on BYC that say to run around 20 to 30%. So I was confused. I think I will start by following the manufacturer's recommendations but monitoring the air sac and adjusting from there.
I have several Turn-X incubators and have been using them for many years. I have had great hatch rates using the manufacturers recommended settings for humidity. I run all of mine at 50%. Depending on your location. You may need somewhat higher or lower humidity than what works for me. It is a good starting point though.
 
The worst incubators. From my experience and why.
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The first incubator I ever bought was the little bubble incubator. You can only fit 3 chicken eggs in it, and the middle egg is the egg that would get heated enough. You lose the heat every time you lift the lid to check on eggs. The cord was bent tight from being coiled. If you ever bumped the cord, the whole incubator would get knocked over. And if you pop the top off to check eggs, the mesh, and every thing in the incubator would roll about and you have to set it up again. The little bulb gets surprisingly hot, so you have to watch that too. If I were to have this one again, what I would do different is tape down the cord so it would not flip the incubator, and put it in a box to hold the heat better. or in a small cabinet. You would want your $10 back pretty quick on this one.
Although I wish I kept it so I could play with it, it went in to the garbage out of frustration.

Chinese Yellow top incubator some times with a diff bottom same machine.
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I bought mine used, and the guy who sold it to me said he only hatched with it one time. He was a semi-friend, so I don't think he was lying, it looked new. I had a really good hatch the first time I used it. Worked great. (had just barnyard mixes in incubator.) My next hatch I wanted to use on my fancy shipped eggs I ordered. One week in my yellow top decided it didn't want to get above 35C and I had to order a diff incubator, and set up a DYI, in the mean time. Boy was I mad.

DYI are nice, and I have had luck with them but I have been using factory foam incubators lately they are reliable and I don't have to turn eggs.

I have been using 2 incubators currently. One is a farm innovator still air foam incubator, no turner, and a little giant foam incubator with a fan and turner. One thing I like about both, is they keep what ever temp you want them to keep. I also like having a back up.
 
Im plaining on hatching eggs this spring. I was wondering how to pick the right egg to put into the incubator. My husband wants use to try the one at tractor supply (the cheap one until we get good at it)
Choose the cleanest eggs you have. (*Collecting within 7 days because any eggs older than a week tend to decrease chance of successful hatch*) If some or all are dirty or covered in more than a dime-sized amount of dirt or feces then you have the option of either doing your best to remove the debris as carefully as possible without interfering with the eggs natural protective membrane or wash them all in a homemade sanitary solution of your choice, which you can easily find here on BYC if you search through threads. You don’t want to incubate any oddly-shaped eggs or eggs with very visible cracks/damage to them as they risk contaminating the rest.
 
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Just going by some post I have seen on the site. If you are going to try hatching eggs for your first time. Do not buy an off brand incubator that you know absolutely nothing about. A week before your purchased eggs arrival. On that note. It is best to stay away from pricey shipped eggs until your are more familiar with using a tried and true, reliable incubator. That you have had many successful hatches with.
 

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