Simulated Natural Nest Incubation~Experiment #1 So it begins....

[dolfi]

Wao. I have to follow this. Can't wait for the results. Bet it will work.

 

[Shellz]

Sounds promising! A very interesting experiment.

 

[Aacre]

Hi, BeeKissed! I'm following along! I think that egg hatching doesn't have to be rocket science. I bet you will be able to get a pretty good hatch rate.

 

[Beekissed]

The first day has been really fun, but I bet it levels off from here...nothing much to do but turn eggs, air out the nest every now and again, keep the "ground" moist, and wait..and wait. I won't even have to do a "lock down" other than just stop turning the eggs and add some extra moisture to the nest.

 

[Beekissed]

Hi, BeeKissed! I'm following along! I think that egg hatching doesn't have to be rocket science. I bet you will be able to get a pretty good hatch rate.

That's what I've been thinking too....if the hen can make it simple, why can't we? I'm hoping this works too...could mean a lot to folks who are daunted by the thought of trying to incubate in complicated or expensive ways.

 

[Beekissed]

Or maybe a hen's heat regulatory system is so sophisticated that these complex incubators are the only way to duplicate it with any degree of success. God made chickens uniquely equipped for incubating chicks, so much so that even we, with all our technology, still cannot do it as well as the chicken can. It may just be a miracle to get chicks in this manner, lacking in the appropriate controls.

We shall see......

Final report on this first day of incubation: Ambient temps in the room are 48* in the windowsill and temp had dropped to 98, so insulation was placed between the box and the window and the "hen" was place back on top of the heating pad, while the pad setting was raised to #2. Will continue to monitor throughout the night to see how much swing I'm getting in the window on temps. The moves made to tweak were successful to bring temp back to 99.5, so we'll see if that will hold well this night.

I want to thank everyone for their good advice and for the encouragement, it was greatly appreciated. We'll see what tomorrow brings!

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Bee, a chicken has a body temp of like 107. I think you'd be just fine tweaking it up 1 degree and then letting it drop just a tiny bit at night.

 

[MEMama3]

Thank you!  I think maybe out there in BYC land the hills are ringing with the laughter of experienced hatchers as they read this thread....but what if it works?    I love the possibilities in life....

If it works, I'll use the same method to brood the chicks and I'm going to place the brooder in the coop where it can get natural lighting.  It would be much cheaper than paying for an Ecoglow or Premier heating plate brooder. 

As a wise BYCer said to me when I was panicking about my emergency incubator "with the right temperatures and humidity, you can hatch an egg in a shoe". And let's not forget about the several women who hatch eggs in their bras (I'm not sure if the men have yet jumped in with a plan for their gender lol). I have great hope for you and your "broody".

 

[ChickenAndMore]

I cant wait to see the results! Good luck

 

[autumnprairie]

I am excited to see the results of your hatch.