Hatching season is upon us. Lots of folks are gearing up for their first hatch with a new incubator. Others are getting ready for yet an other season of hatching. No matter whether it's your first hatch, with a brand new or even borrowed incubator, a home made incubator, or a repeat performance with an incubator which sits in moth balls 10 months of the year, it's important to review your skills and your equipment.
1. Calibrate your thermometer and your hygrometer. Numbers don't mean a thing if the equipment is not calibrated. I like to use a good medical grade thermometer, and calibrate all other thermometers to 100* (if they are submersible) in a cup of water. Digital fever thermometers are guaranteed accurate to +/- .2*F. I also use an old fashioned mercury bulb rectal thermometer. Use the salt test to calibrate your hygrometer.
2. Test your incubator. Plug it in, and use your calibrated thermometers to test multiple positions in the bator. I sometimes have 3 or 4 thermometers in my bator during the first 18 days. OCD, much????? But, it gives me reassurance. Even with a forced air bator, you may find that there are warm and cool spots. depending on your bator model/style, you can make adjustments with foil air baffles to redirect the air flow, or addition of extra vents, and blocking other vents.
I like to test my bator every season by loading it up with some sealed water bottles to act as a heat sink. I then let it run for 3 - 4 days, while assessing for warm/cool spots, and making adjustments as needed.
If there are spots that are outside of ideal range even after playing MacGuyver with tinfoil and drill, (and what ever else you come up with) simply take note of the "not ok" spots, and decrease the number of eggs you put in. One option I employ is to hatch in egg cartons. I cut them to appropriate size, so that I can move each 6 pack throughout different "temperature stations" in the bator, seeing to it that each egg rotates through warm and cooler zones. Of course, if you use egg cartons, you will need to tilt the cartons instead of rolling the eggs.
If you have an auto turner, your options are limited when it comes to rotating eggs through warm/cool zones. Beware, there may be a warm zone near the turner motor.
3. Set your bator up in an area that maintains steady temp. I use wood heat, so have to be creative: At night, I snuggle a blanket, some pillows, or a jacket around the bator to help it maintain temp. Of course making sure to keep vents free.
4. Forced air temp: 99.5. (I use 100 for forced air with very good results) Still air temp 102 at top of eggs. Calibrated thermometers are a must!!!
Poor hatching temps result in chicks with congenital defects.
5. Use humidity to monitor air cells and keep them at the correct size in relation to the embryo's maturity. I use 30 - 40% through day 17, and kick it up to 60 - 70 after day 17/18. On occasion, I will run the bator completely dry until first internal pip. It all depends on air cell size!
6. Do NOT block vents to maintain hatching humidity. Those babies need to breathe!!!
7. Read, read, read. I suggest that you read all of Hatching eggs 101 in the learning center. Before you start to incubate, you should be familiar with candling procedure. You should know what an embryo should look like in relation to it's incubation age. You should know what your air cells should look like in relation to the age of the egg. You should know the difference between healthy vascular development, and vascular deterioration which indicates death. You should know how to calibrate your thermometer and hygrometer, what to do in the event of a power outage, a heat spike, a drop in temperature, how and when to do an assisted hatch. You should also know how you will manage any defective or failure to thrive chicks, and what you will do with all of the cockerels you hatch. No one should hatch eggs unless they have an ethical management plan in place.
8. Hatching your own eggs? If so, put your flock on a high protein diet, and a good multivitamin supplement at least 2 weeks before collecting eggs. Also, learn how to store those eggs to ensure the best possible outcome. Don't use shipped eggs if it is your first hatch. Become familiar with your bator, and hone your skills before committing to shipped eggs.
Bringing new life into being is a heavy responsibility. Before doing so, take the time to educate yourself so your new chicks have the opportunity to start life with good health.
1. Calibrate your thermometer and your hygrometer. Numbers don't mean a thing if the equipment is not calibrated. I like to use a good medical grade thermometer, and calibrate all other thermometers to 100* (if they are submersible) in a cup of water. Digital fever thermometers are guaranteed accurate to +/- .2*F. I also use an old fashioned mercury bulb rectal thermometer. Use the salt test to calibrate your hygrometer.
2. Test your incubator. Plug it in, and use your calibrated thermometers to test multiple positions in the bator. I sometimes have 3 or 4 thermometers in my bator during the first 18 days. OCD, much????? But, it gives me reassurance. Even with a forced air bator, you may find that there are warm and cool spots. depending on your bator model/style, you can make adjustments with foil air baffles to redirect the air flow, or addition of extra vents, and blocking other vents.
I like to test my bator every season by loading it up with some sealed water bottles to act as a heat sink. I then let it run for 3 - 4 days, while assessing for warm/cool spots, and making adjustments as needed.
If there are spots that are outside of ideal range even after playing MacGuyver with tinfoil and drill, (and what ever else you come up with) simply take note of the "not ok" spots, and decrease the number of eggs you put in. One option I employ is to hatch in egg cartons. I cut them to appropriate size, so that I can move each 6 pack throughout different "temperature stations" in the bator, seeing to it that each egg rotates through warm and cooler zones. Of course, if you use egg cartons, you will need to tilt the cartons instead of rolling the eggs.
If you have an auto turner, your options are limited when it comes to rotating eggs through warm/cool zones. Beware, there may be a warm zone near the turner motor.
3. Set your bator up in an area that maintains steady temp. I use wood heat, so have to be creative: At night, I snuggle a blanket, some pillows, or a jacket around the bator to help it maintain temp. Of course making sure to keep vents free.
4. Forced air temp: 99.5. (I use 100 for forced air with very good results) Still air temp 102 at top of eggs. Calibrated thermometers are a must!!!
Poor hatching temps result in chicks with congenital defects.
5. Use humidity to monitor air cells and keep them at the correct size in relation to the embryo's maturity. I use 30 - 40% through day 17, and kick it up to 60 - 70 after day 17/18. On occasion, I will run the bator completely dry until first internal pip. It all depends on air cell size!
6. Do NOT block vents to maintain hatching humidity. Those babies need to breathe!!!
7. Read, read, read. I suggest that you read all of Hatching eggs 101 in the learning center. Before you start to incubate, you should be familiar with candling procedure. You should know what an embryo should look like in relation to it's incubation age. You should know what your air cells should look like in relation to the age of the egg. You should know the difference between healthy vascular development, and vascular deterioration which indicates death. You should know how to calibrate your thermometer and hygrometer, what to do in the event of a power outage, a heat spike, a drop in temperature, how and when to do an assisted hatch. You should also know how you will manage any defective or failure to thrive chicks, and what you will do with all of the cockerels you hatch. No one should hatch eggs unless they have an ethical management plan in place.
8. Hatching your own eggs? If so, put your flock on a high protein diet, and a good multivitamin supplement at least 2 weeks before collecting eggs. Also, learn how to store those eggs to ensure the best possible outcome. Don't use shipped eggs if it is your first hatch. Become familiar with your bator, and hone your skills before committing to shipped eggs.
Bringing new life into being is a heavy responsibility. Before doing so, take the time to educate yourself so your new chicks have the opportunity to start life with good health.
Last edited:
