Breeding Chickens??

[mandelke86]

So i just got 8 chickens and there about month and a half old i know they have a while till they start laying eggs but how do i breed them. Everyone i ask talks about leaving the egg with the mother but i want to incubate the egg as soon as possible so my questions are. How do i know the egg is fertile? How long should i leave the egg in the nest before i grab it? Finally as far as incubaters go what temp and humidity is best? Thanks!

 

[ozexpat]

So i just got 8 chickens and there about month and a half old i know they have a while till they start laying eggs but how do i breed them. Everyone i ask talks about leaving the egg with the mother but i want to incubate the egg as soon as possible so my questions are. How do i know the egg is fertile? How long should i leave the egg in the nest before i grab it? Finally as far as incubaters go what temp and humidity is best? Thanks!

my best advice is to read the hatching 101 guide in my signature below. sally sunshine writes well a nd its full of the info you are looking for

good luck!!

 

[RWise]

As for the temp and humdity, once set and the eggs are in I never change the thermistat, the humidity is where I have had my problems, what works for me is to start out dry, add no water and run that way untill the humidity drops below 30%, Then add a shot glass of water (more if needed) to get between 35% and 45% humidity until lock down at which time I go to 75% - 85% humidity (fill all water trays)

Using the instructions that came with the bator was horable, the chicks were stuck and crocked toes on some. Read a lot! look into "dry hatch" read read read!!!!