Are incubaters worth it?

[collingwood]

The title explains it all!

 

[chickster5003]

Yes! It's a wonderful experience brining something into the world. You really get connected to the embryos. And there's so much good stress and excitement. And candling is so cool it's like an ultrasound, so you can see your baby. Also hatching day in a incubator is so excited. With that it is so easy!

 

[collingwood]

That's great I've been saving up for ages to get one!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

What chickster said is all true, but................ often times there are failed hatches, especially the first tries. Don't get me wrong, I totally recommend hatching if you are going to raise chickens, it's an awesome experience (and addicting), but just know that sometimes it's sad and you have to prepare for the losses as well as the successes. Advice...read, read and do more reading before incubating. Understand why we control humidity and how to know if your percentages are working for your eggs. (Despite popular belief there is no magic number.) Consider dry incubation vs standard incubation. (I do dry when I can and love it.)

There is a lot to learn and take into consideration before incubating IF you want a fairly successful hatch. Often newbies by an incubator and their sole source of instructions are those darn incubator manuals. They are often wrong and misleading, especially in the area of humidity. So do as much info gathering as you can and ask questions before you even set your eggs, and you'll increase your probability of success.

One of the best sources for newbies is right here on BYC: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-101

I'm also putting together a "rant" on humidity for my new chicken blog as well.

 

[chickster5003]

What chickster said is all true, but................ often times there are failed hatches, especially the first tries. Don't get me wrong, I totally recommend hatching if you are going to raise chickens, it's an awesome experience (and addicting), but just know that sometimes it's sad and you have to prepare for the losses as well as the successes. Advice...read, read and do more reading before incubating. Understand why we control humidity and how to know if your percentages are working for your eggs. (Despite popular belief there is no magic number.) Consider dry incubation vs standard incubation. (I do dry when I can and love it.) 

There is a lot to learn and take into consideration before incubating IF you want a fairly successful hatch. Often newbies by an incubator and their sole source of instructions are those darn incubator manuals. They are often wrong and misleading, especially in the area of humidity. So do as much info gathering as you can and ask questions before you even set your eggs, and you'll increase your probability of success.

One of the best sources for newbies is right here on BYC: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-101

I'm also putting together a "rant" on humidity for my new chicken blog as well.

I agree completely! A lot of research should be done and test runs before putting eggs into the incubator

 

[collingwood]

Thank you!

 

[PipeLayer214]

Very much worth it. So much fun watching the changes they go through and knowing you made it happen. Very rewarding

 

[collingwood]

That's good! Thank you and welcome to BYC!